Playbooks

Mtn Stick Wheel

Shotgun·Trey Open HB Str·11

Wheel Stick Hitch Post Slant Swing Pass Play

Diagram coming soon

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetTrey Open HB Str

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 3 playbooks

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Breakdown

Mtn Stick Wheel is a man beater out of the Trey Open bunch look, pairing a wheel route from the backfield or slot with a stick concept on the outside to attack cornerback leverage and create a natural pick against man coverage. The wheel breaks vertically up the sideline off the mountain bunch alignment, forcing a linebacker or slot corner to run with it in space, while the stick and flat routes underneath hold shorter defenders and clear space for the wheel to climb. The primary read starts with the wheel route matchup, checking for a linebacker in man coverage, then works down to the stick and flat combo if the wheel is taken away or the defense shows zone.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify if a linebacker or slower defender is aligned over the wheel route runner in the bunch, since that mismatch is the entire point of the concept. Watch safety depth and rotation before the snap, because a two-high shell that rotates late into Cover 3 will have a defender sink into the deep sideline and take away the wheel. Post-snap, key the flow of the linebacker responsible for the wheel route, if he sits and reads the quarterback instead of running with the route, the offense should abandon the wheel and hit the stick or flat. User-controlled defenders who lurk in the shallow flat or jump the stick route can bait a quarterback into forcing the wheel throw into a trailing defender, so recognize aggressive user positioning before the snap. Cover 2 shells with a hard flat defender and a deep half safety over the top squeeze the wheel route's sideline window, making the stick route the higher percentage read against that shell.

Usage Tips

Check pre-snap for man coverage indicators like a linebacker walked out over the bunch, since the wheel route is designed to exploit that exact matchup with a speed mismatch.

If you see a safety rotating down over the trips bunch pre-snap, expect Cover 3 or Cover 1 robber, and be ready to work the stick route underneath instead of forcing the wheel.

Use motion or a hot route to adjust the underlying stick routes into shallow drags if the defense shows a heavy blitz look, giving your quarterback a quick outlet against pressure.

This play pairs well with Mtn Spot Y Corner and H Mtn Mesh Wheel in the same set, since all three create traffic near the bunch and force defenders to guess between wheel, corner, and mesh crossers.

Best called on second or third and medium when you need a defense to declare man coverage, since the wheel route punishes any linebacker or nickel defender who bites on the underneath stick action.