Playbooks
Empty Trey Flex
At a Glance
In 1 playbook
Overview
Empty Trey Flex is the five wide, no back look in Shotgun that forces the defense to declare its coverage before the snap. The formation puts a trey bunch style stack to one side with two flexed receivers to the other, which means the defense has to either walk a linebacker out into the flat or accept a bracket somewhere else. Because there is no running back in the backfield, every defender is accounted for in coverage or rushing, and you get a clean five on five protection read the instant the ball is snapped. That is the core tradeoff of the set: maximum route distribution, zero backfield help.
Strengths
- Five eligible receivers spread across the width of the field forces the defense to reveal man or zone pre snap, and the trey side alignment gives you natural rub and pick action against man coverage without needing a single hot route.
- Four Verticals out of Empty Trey Flex stresses single high shells because you have five threats and only one deep middle defender, and the seam runner from the flex side almost always comes open against Cover 3 and Cover 1.
- Smash Y Sit and Smash Z Under are built in Cover 2 and quarters killers, pairing the corner route over the top with an underneath sit route that finds the soft spot between the flat defender and the hook zone.
- Stick Ohio and Stick N Nod give you quick game answers versus blitz looks, with the stick route breaking off in under two seconds so you can get the ball out before pressure arrives.
- Levels Switch and Dbl Slot Cross create crossing traffic that man coverage struggles with, especially when you motion a flex receiver across the formation to confirm the coverage and create additional traffic at the snap.
Weaknesses
- Zero backfield protection means any six man pressure or well timed nano blitz gets a free rusher, and you have no back to chip or pick up the extra defender.
- Interior A gap pressure is the fastest way to beat this set because your only answer is a sight adjustment or a pre snap slide protection, both of which slow down your read progression.
- Elite user controlled defenders can sit in the middle of the field and take away Dbl Slot Cross and Levels Switch since so many of the concepts work between the numbers.
- The set telegraphs pass on almost every down, so opponents will play pass first coverage and dedicate a user defender to your favorite concept once they see the alignment.
- QB Draw is your only real run threat and it dies immediately against spy calls or any defense with a user sitting in the box, which limits your ability to keep the defense honest.
Usage Tips
Use this on third and medium to third and long where you need to spread the field, but check the defense for a fifth or sixth rusher before you commit, because Empty Trey Flex has no answer for an unblocked defender other than a fast throw.
Motion a flex side receiver toward the trey side to confirm man or zone, then flip to Smash Y Sit against zone and Levels Switch or Dbl Slot Cross against man.
When you see two high safeties, go to Four Verticals and hot route the inside trey receiver to a curl or drag so you have a checkdown against the bracket.
Hot route the single flex receiver to a slant or fade based on the corner leverage, since Empty Trey Flex isolates that side and gives you a true one on one read.
Mix in QB Draw and WR Screen a few times per game to punish opponents who drop eight and rush three, and to slow down aggressive user defenders playing over the top.
