Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Flex Y Off Wk is a Shotgun 11 personnel set that flexes the tight end off the line to the weak side while keeping a slot receiver and a single back next to the quarterback. That off ball alignment is the whole point: the Y is not attached to the tackle, so he reads as a detached receiver for coverage purposes but still sits close enough to the core to be a legal RPO conflict piece. Defenses that treat the weak side as a two man surface end up with a linebacker or safety walked out into space, and that is exactly the defender the RPO menu in this set is built to punish.
The separation from other Shotgun sets in the formation comes from the volume of RPO and sprint concepts stacked on top of a full dropback tree. RPO Peek Slant, RPO Glance Post, RPO Zone Peek, RPO Zone Alert Glance, RPO Power Peek, and RPO Read Screen all give you a run block look with a one read throw attached, which means you can run the same pre snap picture and change the answer based on how the box fills. Layer in the Mountain Sprint family (Mtn Sprint TE Screen, Mtn Sprint Bench, Mtn Sprint Slot Over) and you get half field reads that move the launch point away from interior pressure, a real problem for users who like to control an A gap defender.
The dropback side is not an afterthought. Four Verticals, X Dagger, Z Dagger, Double Post, Smash, Curls, and Double Slants cover every coverage family, and Sluggo Seam plus PA Go Slot Cross give you the shot plays off the run action. Because the Y is flexed weak, X Dagger and Z Dagger get a clean in breaking dig under the vertical clear out, and the isolated backside X gets true one on one looks against man. Pair that with 3DRB and SLWR tagged personnel and you can put your best route running back and slot mismatch on the field at the same time without telegraphing pass.
Strengths
- The RPO package (RPO Peek Slant, RPO Glance Post, RPO Zone Peek, RPO Zone Alert Glance, RPO Power Peek) puts the weak side linebacker in a true conflict, giving you a free throw any time he crashes the run fit or a light box run when he widens
- X Dagger and Z Dagger are elite Cover 3 and Cover 1 beaters out of this alignment because the seam vertical carries the deep middle defender and the dig lands right in the vacated window
- Mtn Sprint TE Screen, Mtn Sprint Bench, and Mtn Sprint Slot Over roll the launch point and cut the field in half, which neutralizes nano blitzes and user controlled interior rushers who cannot redirect in time
- Double Slants and Curls give you quick game answers under three seconds, and hot routing the flexed Y to a slant or drag adds a fourth quick option against heavy pressure looks
- Smash, Double Post, and Four Verticals attack every two high shell from the same personnel, so you never have to substitute out of 11 to change your coverage attack
Weaknesses
- The flexed Y off the line means fewer bodies in protection, so five man and six man pressure from the weak A gap gets home fast on the deeper dropback concepts like Four Verticals and Double Post
- RPO plays lock you into a single predetermined read, and a user defender who sits in the throwing window turns RPO Peek Slant and RPO Glance Post into picks with no checkdown available
- Run plays out of this set (Outside Zone, Inside Zone Split, Counter Y, 0 1 Trap) run into a naturally lighter blocking surface since the tight end is detached, so heavy box defenses with a plugged weak A gap wreck the run game
- The screen menu (HB Slip Screen, PA Jailbreak Screen, Mtn Sprint TE Screen, RPO Read Screen) is easy to read once you show it twice, and opponents who user the flat defender blow them up for losses
- Play action concepts like PA Slide, PA Read, and PA Go Slot Cross hold the ball too long against Cover 0 and cross blitzes, and the flexed alignment gives you no extra chip help on the edge
Usage Tips
Read the weak side defender pre snap on every RPO call: if the linebacker walks into the box or the safety rotates down, take the glance or slant, and if he widens over the flexed Y, hand it off on Inside Zone Split or RPO Zone Peek
Use motion to identify coverage before committing, then audible into Mtn Sprint Bench or Mtn Sprint Slot Over when you read man across the board and want to strain defenders in space
On third and medium, Double Slants and Curls hit against both man and zone, and hot routing the back to a flat or angle route gives you the blitz beater when you see six or more show
Save Sluggo Seam and PA Go Slot Cross for after you have run the RPO package a few times, because the corner who has jumped your slant twice will bite hard on the fake
Against heavy user pressure up the middle, lean on the Mountain Sprint family and RPO Read Screen to move the pocket and make the user defender chase, then go back to Four Verticals and X Dagger once they stop blitzing every snap
Plays (30)
0 1 TrapTrap, Run Play, Power Run
Counter YCounter, Run Play, Power Run
CurlsCurl, Pass Play
Double PostPost, Double Posts, Pass Play +2
Double SlantsSlant, Pass Play
Flanker SpotSpot, Pass Play, Cover 3 Beater
Four VerticalsFour Verts, Pass Play, Cover 2 Beater +1
HB DrawDraw, Run Play
HB Slip ScreenScreen Pass, Hb Screen, Pass Play
Inside Zone SplitInside Zone, Run Play, Zone Run- Mtn Sprint Bench
- Mtn Sprint Slot Over
- Mtn Sprint TE Screen
Outside ZoneOutside Zone, Run Play, Zone Run
PA Go Slot CrossPlay Action, Go, Pass Play +1
PA Jailbreak ScreenPlay Action, Screen Pass, Wr Screen +1
PA ReadPlay Action, Pass Play
PA SlidePlay Action, Slide, Pass Play
RPO Glance PostRPO, Post, Pass Play +1
RPO Peek SlantRPO, Slant, Pass Play +1
RPO Peek SlantRPO, Slant, Pass Play +1- RPO Power PeekRPO, Pass Play, Run Play
RPO Read ScreenScreen Pass, RPO, Pass Play +1- RPO Zone Alert GlanceRPO, Pass Play, Run Play
- RPO Zone PeekRPO, Pass Play, Run Play
Sluggo SeamSeam, Sluggo, Pass Play +1
SmashSmash, Pass Play, Cover 2 Beater
X DaggerDagger, Pass Play, Cover 2 Beater +1
Y Lead Read OptionRead Option, Run Play
Z DaggerDagger, Pass Play, Cover 2 Beater +1
