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At a Glance
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Overview
Flanker Close WK is Shotgun's compressed 11 personnel look built around a tight flanker split and a weak side back alignment that flips protection and screen geometry compared to standard Shotgun trips or spread sets. You get a bunched near side (flanker tucked inside the numbers with the TE attached or wing aligned) and an isolated split end on the far side, which means every snap gives you a built in one on one read before you ever touch a hot route. The back aligns weak, so slide protection and the HB check release naturally favor the open side of the field, and that is the tell defenses have to respect when you call Mtn HB Slip Screen or Mesh HB Wheel.
Strengths
- Mesh HB Wheel is the set's flagship man beater: the mesh rub clears the underneath defender while the weak aligned HB wheel attacks the vacated flat and sideline, and against Cover 1 the wheel routinely wins with no user help
- Mtn Mesh Dig and PA Y Cross give you high low answers on the same read, so a single pre-snap coverage ID (safety depth and CB alignment on the isolated split end) tells you whether to work the dig window or the crossing TE
- The compressed flanker split creates natural traffic that wrecks man coverage and press attempts, and Cross H Divide plus Cross Z Corner turn that same bunch into a zone beater by flooding the boundary with three levels
- Mtn HB Slip Screen sells the same weak protection slide that your dropback concepts use, punishing edge pressure and nano blitz heat without needing a pre-snap adjustment
- Inside Zone keeps the run threat live out of a two receiver strength look, and the Power HB and SLWR tags let you get your best interior runner and slot mismatch on the field at the same time
Weaknesses
- The tight flanker split shrinks your field width, so overload blitzes to the boundary side arrive fast and you do not have a quick sideline outlet unless you hot route the split end to a slant or fade
- Weak side back alignment leaves the strong side edge lighter in some protection calls, which good users attack with A gap and strong side edge pressure before the mesh develops
- Mesh and crossing concepts take time, so under center level user blitz pressure (especially with a user controlled DT or blitzing nickel) forces checkdowns or scrambles more than a quick game set would
- Congested route spacing means user controlled defenders sitting in the mesh window can pick off in routes and drags, and the bunch limits how far apart you can spread the rubs
- Only one true isolated receiver, so a lockdown man corner plus a robber safety over the bunch can take away both halves of the read on the same play
Usage Tips
Read safety depth first: single high with a pressed corner on the split end means go to Mesh HB Wheel or a hot route fade on the iso; two high means work Mtn Mesh Dig or Cross H Divide into the vacated middle
On third and medium, motion the flanker across to confirm man or zone, then run PA Y Cross with the TE working away from the motion for a clean crosser window
Use Mtn HB Slip Screen on the second or third look after you have shown dropback concepts from the same weak back alignment, ideally against a defense showing two or more edge rushers
Keep Inside Zone in your rotation from this set to hold linebackers, then run Cross Z Corner off the same look to attack the corner void when the safety sits flat footed
Hot route the split end to a curl or comeback when you see zone with soft outside leverage, and block the HB if you read a nano to protect the mesh timing instead of releasing him
