Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Empty HB Wide takes the standard Shotgun alignment and removes the back from the backfield entirely, split out wide as the number one receiver to one side. You get 11 personnel on the field, but the alignment reads as five wide: the halfback isolated outside, the tight end and slot receivers stacked inside the numbers, and the quarterback alone in the gun. That single change is the whole point of the set. Your 3DRB (third down back) gets a corner or a linebacker matched up in space with no traffic to fight through, and the defense has to declare its coverage rotation before the snap because there is no back to account for in protection.
What separates this from other Shotgun sets is the pre-snap information it hands you for free. With zero backs in the box, the defense either walks a defender out to the halfback (telling you man coverage) or leaves a safety rotated over the top (telling you zone). Man coverage on your back outside is a mismatch you attack with Shock WR Option, Stick N Nod, or a hot routed slant. Zone means the underneath defenders are stretched thin across five eligibles, which is exactly what Curl Flats, Stick, and Hoss Y Juke are built to shred. Jailbreak Slot Screen and RPO Q Stick Draw give you the change-up looks so opponents cannot just sit in quarters and rush four all game.
The concept library here is deep for a set built on gadget principles. Bronco Seams and Under Seams attack the middle of the field against single high looks, Bronco DBL Dig and Double Ins hammer the intermediate zone windows, and Quick Slants gives you the instant answer to pressure. Redzone Up exists for tight field situations where you need a fade or a corner route with the defense compressed. Because every eligible is already spread, motion and hot routes let you rebuild almost any route combo you want without changing personnel or tipping your hand.
Strengths
- Pre-snap coverage identification is nearly automatic: how the defense treats the isolated halfback outside tells you man or zone before you touch the stick
- Stick, Curl Flats, and Hoss Y Juke put four to five underneath defenders in conflict at once, which breaks Cover 2 and Cover 3 flat defenders who cannot cover both the flat and the curl window
- Bronco Seams and Under Seams attack the middle of the field against single high, and with five eligibles spread there is no extra hook defender to wall the seam
- The 3DRB isolated outside creates a speed or route running mismatch against a linebacker or nickel defender in man coverage, attackable with Shock WR Option, Stick N Nod, or a hot routed slant
- Jailbreak Slot Screen and RPO Q Stick Draw punish aggressive four man rushes and user defenders who bail into deep zones on every snap
Weaknesses
- Five man protection with zero chip help means any nano blitz or overload from the boundary gets home before your intermediate routes develop
- No backfield threat lets defenses drop seven or eight into coverage while still generating pressure with four, shrinking every window in Bronco DBL Dig and Double Ins
- The quarterback becomes the only run threat, so opponents can spy with a user linebacker and eliminate the scramble outlet that empty sets normally rely on
- Sharp opponents will match personnel with dime or quarters looks and press the isolated halfback, erasing the mismatch you built the set around
- Red zone spacing gets compressed and Redzone Up aside, the underneath concepts lose their horizontal stretch once the field shortens
Usage Tips
Run this on third and medium when the defense has to respect all five eligibles, and read the isolated halfback first: a linebacker walked out over him is your free matchup
Against blitz-heavy users, live in Quick Slants and Jailbreak Slot Screen, and hot route your isolated back to a slant or drag as your built-in pressure answer
Motion an inside receiver across the formation to confirm man or zone, then check into Stick or Curl Flats against zone and Bronco Seams or Stick N Nod against man
Use RPO Q Stick Draw as your tendency breaker after you have shown four or five straight dropbacks, especially against nickel and dime personnel with light boxes
Hot route the tight end to a sit route or block when you read a five man pressure look, and slide your protection toward the boundary where the overload is coming from
Plays (13)
Bronco DBL DigDig, Pass Play
Bronco SeamsSeam, Pass Play
Curl FlatsCurl, Pass Play, Flat
Double InsIn, Pass Play
Hoss Y JukePass Play, Four Verts, Go +5
Jailbreak Slot ScreenScreen Pass, Wr Screen, Pass Play
Quick SlantsSlant, Pass Play
Redzone UpPass Play, Quick Pass, Slant +7
RPO Q Stick DrawDraw, RPO, Stick +3
Shock WR OptionOption Route, Motion, Pass Play
StickStick, Stick Concept, Pass Play
Stick N NodStick, Stick Concept, Pass Play
Under SeamsSeam, Pass Play
