Playbooks
At a Glance
Overview
Shotgun Trey Open is the 11 personnel workhorse set that trades a compressed trips look for spacing. You get a three receiver side (trey: X split wide, slot receiver, and the tight end inline or flexed just off the tackle) with a single receiver isolated on the backside and the back offset next to the quarterback. That "open" tag matters because the tight end is not stacked tight into a bunch, so you get clean release angles for all three route runners instead of the traffic and rub timing you rely on in Trey or Bunch sets. The result is a set that reads like a spread formation but still blocks like a base look, since the tight end can stay in as a sixth protector on plays like HB Draw, HB Off Tackle, and PA Read.
The alignment is what creates the matchup edge. Defenses have to declare strength to the trey side, which almost always leaves your backside X on an island. That is where the tag list pays off: with a Slot WR (SLWR) type in the number two spot and a receiving back in the game (3DRB), you can force nickel personnel to cover a slot mismatch while the isolated X gets a pure one on one. Iso the X with a fade or slant hot route against single high and you have a coverage-independent answer on any down. On the trey side, Curls, Double Ins, Levels Switch, and Dagger Deep Curl attack the same voids from different depths, so a user defender cannot sit on one level without giving up another.
Concept variety is the real selling point. You have full field spacing concepts (Mesh, Spacing HB Wheel, Air Raid Stick, Four Verticals), true man beaters (Clearout Rub Return, Clearout Pick Return, Mesh Rewind, HB Angle Screen), zone destroyers (Curls Combo, Y Cross Flood, Strong Flood, Y Sail, Read Dig), and a full RPO and option package (RPO Alert Draw Stick, RPO Q Stick Draw, Read Option, Power Read, Speed Option, QB Zone). Layer in three screens (WR Screen, WR Mid Screen, HB Slip Screen, HB Cross Screen) and Gadget tagged plays, and you can run an entire game plan out of one set without ever showing the defense a personnel tendency.
Strengths
- Clearout Rub Return and Clearout Pick Return are elite man beaters because the trey side spacing lets the rub develop without the receivers colliding, which is exactly what breaks down in compressed bunch versions of the same concept.
- Curls, Curls Combo, and Dagger Deep Curl flood Cover 3 and Cover 4 hook and curl zones at three different depths, so one user defender cannot take away both the sit route and the dig behind it.
- The isolated backside X is a permanent one on one. Hot route it to a fade against single high, a slant against off man, or a stop route versus a bail corner and you have an answer without touching the play art on the trey side.
- The RPO and option package (RPO Alert Draw Stick, RPO Q Stick Draw, Power Read, Read Option, Speed Option) punishes opponents who commit their nickel to the trey side, since the box count drops and your read key gets isolated on the edge.
- Four screens in the set (WR Screen, WR Mid Screen, HB Slip Screen, HB Cross Screen, HB Angle Screen) give you free tempo answers against heavy pressure users who keep sending A gap blitzes on early downs.
Weaknesses
- Five man protection on most passing concepts means interior nano blitzes and overloads to the single receiver side get home fast. If the tight end releases, your back is the only help and he loses one on one against a rushing linebacker.
- Deep concepts like Four Verticals, Jets Deep Post, Deep Post, and Sluggo Seam need real time in the pocket. Against Cover 1 Robber or a two man under look with a user in the middle, those plays stall out and force a checkdown.
- The trey side is heavily route congested on Mesh, Mesh Wheel, and Spacing HB Wheel. A user defender playing the middle window can undercut two routes at once because everything crosses through the same space.
- Opponents who recognize the set will man align to the trey side and press, killing the timing on quick concepts like Quick Slants, Slants, and Stick before the receivers get into their breaks.
- The run game is thin on power. HB Draw, Inside Zone, HB Base, HB Off Tackle, and HB Counter all work off spread spacing, so short yardage and goal line situations from this set are a coin flip against a stacked box.
Usage Tips
Read the number two defender on the trey side before the snap. If he widens with your slot, you have a zone shell and Curls Combo or Y Cross Flood eats it. If he presses, motion the slot inside and run Clearout Rub Return or Mesh Rewind.
On third and 5 to 8, live in Air Raid Stick, Y Stick HB Angle, and Stick N Nod. The stick and nod is your punish call once the opponent starts jumping the stick route with a user defender.
Use the run and RPO calls to set up the pass, not the other way around. Show Inside Zone and Read Option on first down, then run PA Read, PA Slot Under, and PA WR In off the same look to freeze the linebacker level.
Hot route the isolated X on every snap based on the corner's alignment. Fade against single high with an inside shade, slant or stop against a bail corner, and block him on WR Screen when the defense rotates strength away.
Against heavy blitz users, alternate HB Slip Screen and WR Mid Screen with quick game (Quick Slants, Y-Drag, Slot Drive). Once they slow the rush, open up Dig N Go, Y-Sail Go, and Sluggo Seam for the deep shot.
