Playbooks

Air Raid Stick

Shotgun·Trey Open·11
StickStick ConceptPass Play
Play diagram for Air Raid Stick from Shotgun Trey Open in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 5 playbooks

Air Raid OffenseOffenseBengals OffenseOffenseTitans OffenseOffenseNFL Live Bengals OffenseOffenseNFL Live Titans OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Air Raid Stick out of Shotgun Trey Open lines up with three receivers bunched to the right (the Trey side) and a single receiver plus an in-line blocker to the left. On the strong side, the two inside receivers run the classic stick combo, one settling at five yards while the other works an angle out to the flat, and the outermost receiver clears vertically up the sideline to hold the corner. The backside single receiver runs an out breaking route while the fullback or attached blocker releases on an arc to the boundary, giving the quarterback a built in checkdown away from the stick side. This is a man and zone beater built around the stick concept, with the primary read starting on the stick side flat-to-curl combo before working back to the backside out route.

Defensive Reads

Watch the strong side linebacker depth pre-snap, if he is sitting shallow expecting the flat he will jump the stick route and take away the easy completion Check the single high versus two high safety shell before the snap, single high usually means more man coverage underneath which favors the stick combo rubbing off defenders Post-snap, key the flat defender in zone coverage, if he sinks with the vertical clearout route the underneath flat and curl window opens immediately Look for a user controlled defender flashing down into the stick concept, this is a common lurk spot in online play and signals you should reset to the backside out route This play struggles against aggressive man blitzes with no underneath help, since the stick routes need a beat to develop and the quick throws lack separation versus press man with no help defender

Usage Tips

Identify the coverage shell pre-snap by checking if the strong side corner is playing off or pressed, since off coverage opens up the quick out for an easy pitch and catch

Attack zone defenses by reading the flat defender first, if he sits the throw goes to the curl sitting behind him, if he widens the flat route is open underneath

Use the backside out route as a checkdown against blitz looks, it releases fast and gives the quarterback a safety valve when the strong side is jumped

Hot route the vertical clearout receiver into a shorter comeback against teams that play a lot of press man to speed up the timing

Pair this with Curls or Double Ins from the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick game and intermediate breaking routes, since the formation and initial releases look similar

Other Plays in Trey Open