Playbooks

Curls Combo

Shotgun·Trey Open·11
CurlPass Play
Play diagram for Curls Combo from Shotgun Trey Open in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 3 playbooks

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Breakdown

Curls Combo out of Shotgun Trey Open lines up three receivers to the trips side with a lone receiver backside running a vertical seam that breaks off as a blocker or clearout route. The trips side stacks two curl routes at different depths (the outside receiver sits down around 10 to 12 yards while the slot curls underneath around 5 to 6 yards) while the third trips receiver runs a quick out breaking route to the flat, creating a natural curl-flat read with built in high-low spacing. This is a zone beater designed to attack Cover 3 and Cover 4 by settling receivers into the soft spots between underneath linebackers and deep zone defenders, with the primary read progressing from the deep curl to the underneath curl and finally to the flat route if the defense drops hard.

Defensive Reads

Presnap check safety depth, if both safeties are shaded deep at 10 plus yards the underneath curls will have more room to settle before the linebackers can drop into the window Watch the flat defender and curl/flat linebacker, if he sinks with the deep curl instead of squatting on the flat route, the underneath curl or flat throw opens immediately Man coverage with a single high safety is the toughest shell for this concept since defenders can trail the curls step for step without zone help Beware a user controlled lurk defender sitting in the shallow curl window, that defender can jump the underneath route if you stare it down too long Cover 2 with hard flat corners can bracket the curl/flat combo, so check if the corner sinks into the curl or stays flat before committing to a throw

Usage Tips

Presnap identify if the defense is showing a two high or one high safety shell, since Curls Combo thrives against zone shells with soft curl windows

If you see man coverage with no safety help over the top, hot route the backside vertical into a slant or dig to turn it into a quick man beater instead of a clearout

Use this play on second and medium to long third down situations where sitting down in the soft spot of a zone matches the sticks

Combine Curls Combo with Curls or Curls X Go from this same set so linebackers cannot sit on the same route depths every snap

Work your first read to the deepest curl and climb the pocket if the underneath throwing lane closes, since the flat route is your safety valve against a hard zone drop

Other Plays in Trey Open