Playbooks

Orbit PA Curls

Shotgun·Normal Y Off·11

Play Action Motion Pass Play Curl

Play diagram for Orbit PA Curls from Shotgun Normal Y Off in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetNormal Y Off

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 2 playbooks

Bills OffenseOffense NFL Live Bills OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Orbit PA Curls uses an orbit motion out of the backfield to sell run action before the QB pulls into play-action. Post snap, the play-side receiver runs a deep corner/go route up the sideline, a middle route breaks off with a curl at the second level, and the inside receiver runs a wheel/curl combination toward the flat while the backside X sits on a curl or hitch to the boundary. Up front the offensive line executes play-action pass protection to sell the run fake before setting up in pass pro. This is primarily a zone beater that stresses the flat to curl to deep third areas, and the primary read progression starts with the deep corner route to check for a blown coverage or Cover 3 seam, then works down to the intermediate curl/wheel combo, and finally to the backside curl as the checkdown against zone drops.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment since two high safeties signal zone coverage that the curl combo can exploit in the soft spots. Watch the linebacker depth at the snap, if they bite hard on the orbit motion and run fake, the intermediate curl and wheel routes will open up quickly. Post-snap, identify any user-controlled defender dropping into a lurk position around the curl zone, since that defender can jump the route and bait a turnover. This play struggles against aggressive man blitzes with no delayed pass rush, since the play-action fake does not hold defenders long enough and the QB can get pressured before routes develop. Watch for corner routes getting undercut by a deep safety rotating late, that read tells you to work the ball down to the shorter curl or checkdown instead of forcing the deep shot.

Usage Tips

Use the orbit motion pre-snap to bait linebackers and safeties into flowing with the fake run action, which opens up the intermediate curl windows.

Look for Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells before the snap since the deep corner route and curl combo work well against those static zone drops.

Hot route the backside X into a quick out or slant if you see man coverage bracketed on that side, since the base curl can get squeezed by tight man technique.

Run this on second and medium to second and long, or on early downs after establishing HB runs from this formation, since the play action carries more weight when defenders respect the run fake.

Pair this play in a sequence with Inside Zone or HB Counter from the same set to keep linebackers honest, then call Orbit PA Curls once you see linebackers creeping up to fill run gaps.