Playbooks

Empty Bunch Wide

Shotgun·11

Specialists3DRBGadgetSLWR

Set alignment for Empty Bunch Wide from Shotgun in Madden 27

At a Glance

FormationShotgun

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

Plays16

In 19 playbooks

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Overview

Empty Bunch Wide is Shotgun's five-wide 11 personnel look. The running back and tight end both leave the backfield, and the QB stands alone in the gun. A three-man bunch sits outside the numbers to one side, and a two-receiver set sits on the backside. That alignment separates it from standard Shotgun Bunch or Trips sets, where a back stays home for protection and run action. Here, every eligible is a pre-snap threat. The defense has to declare its coverage shell immediately because it cannot hide a linebacker in the box without leaving a receiver uncovered.

The personnel package creates the advantage. With 11 personnel on the field, defenses often stay in base or nickel and leave a linebacker or safety matched on your RB or TE. The 3DRB tag makes the back a legitimate receiving weapon when he is split out. Drive Wheel, Stutter Wheel, and the Mtn Orbit Swing Screen concepts put him in space against slower defenders. The SLWR tag highlights how the slot receivers in the bunch win on option routes, spot routes, and switch releases. The wide bunch spacing creates natural rubs that punish press man coverage.

Conceptually, the set does two things. The first is a quick passing game: Spacing Switch, Z Spot Smash, Drag Curl, and Mtn Spacing Dig all attack the flats and underneath. The second is a Gadget layer: QB Draw, RPO Q Screen Draw, RPO Screen QB Draw, Jailbreak Screen, and the Orbit motion screens punish defenses that sell out to cover five receivers. Because the box is lightly populated against empty, the QB run game and screen game become real answers to heavy coverage or drop 8 looks.

Strengths

The wide bunch creates built-in rub and pick action on Spacing Switch, Z Spot Smash, and Drive Y Corner, making these elite man beaters against Cover 1 and Cover 0 press looks.
Empty spreads the defense horizontally and forces coverage declaration pre-snap, so you can read man versus zone by motioning the RB or checking alignment before choosing between Drag Curl, Deep Flood, or Post Corner Read.
QB Draw, RPO Q Screen Draw, and RPO Screen QB Draw punish light boxes and drop 8 zone heavy defenses, giving a mobile QB easy yards when linebackers bail to cover the five receivers.
The 3DRB split out creates linebacker mismatches on Drive Wheel and Stutter Wheel. The wheel route beats Cover 3 and Cover 4 flat defenders who squeeze underneath, and it gets on top of man coverage linebackers.
Deep Flood and Z Spot N Go provide a three-level stretch against Cover 3 and Cover 2 zones, and the Mtn Orbit screens attack overaggressive blitzers who vacate the flat.

Weaknesses

With no back in the backfield, pass protection is limited to five linemen. Nano blitzes and overloads off the bunch side or backside edge get home fast, especially against slow developing concepts like Deep Flood and Post Corner Read.
A user-controlled defender sitting in the middle hook or robber spot can erase Drag Curl, Mtn Spacing Dig, and the QB Draw lane, since both the quick game and the QB run funnel into the same area.
The run game depends almost entirely on the QB and gadget screens, so a spy or QB contain assignment combined with shallow zones can make the offense one-dimensional and predictable.
Defenses can bracket the bunch with a Cover 2 or Cover 4 match look, jamming the point man and stacking flat defenders to take away the switch releases and spot routes.
Screens like Jailbreak Screen and the Orbit Swing Screens are vulnerable to users who read the motion and crash the flat, and they get blown up by edge blitzes that happen to rush through the screen lane.

Usage Tips

Motion the RB before the snap to read coverage. If a defender travels with him, it is man, so check into Spacing Switch or Z Spot Smash for the bunch rub. If the defense shifts without following, it is zone, so go to Deep Flood or Drag Curl.

On 3rd and short to medium against Cover 0 or heavy pressure, hot route the point man in the bunch to a slant or drag. Consider streaking the backside receivers to clear space, and get the ball out before the unblocked rusher arrives.

When the defense shows a two-high shell with only five or six in the box, audible to QB Draw or RPO Q Screen Draw. The light box and bailing linebackers create easy lanes for a mobile QB.

Use Mtn Orbit Swing Screen and Mtn Orbit Fk Swing Screen as a paired sequence. Call the real screen to condition the defender to crash the orbit motion, then call the fake version to hit the vacated downfield window.

In two-minute and red zone situations, lean on Z Spot Smash and Drive Y Corner. The bunch corner route beats Cover 2 and Cover 4 in compressed space, and the spot and flat routes offer quick checkdowns that keep the clock manageable.