Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
HB Slip Screen out of Shotgun Trey Y-Flex sends three vertical stems upfield to clear out the underneath defenders and drag the linebackers and safeties deep before the HB slips out to the flat behind a wall of blockers. The offensive line sets up a screen release while the RB sneaks out low, giving him a clean numbers advantage if the defense bites on the play fakes upfield. This is a screen play built to beat aggressive man coverage and blitz packages, since the vertical routes occupy man defenders and the delayed release catches blitzing linebackers out of position. The primary read is the HB in the flat first, with the deep routes serving purely as clear-out decoys rather than actual progression reads.
Defensive Reads
User the play side flat defender immediately to sit on the screen and prevent the offensive lineman from getting a clean block. Watch for lurking linebackers who stay home instead of dropping with the vertical routes, since they can jump the screen before it develops. This play struggles against zone coverage with disciplined linebackers who read the offensive line releasing upfield instead of biting on pass rush. Man coverage with blitzing linebackers is the easiest matchup to exploit since the rushers are out of position once the ball comes out. Watch defensive tackles for any A-gap penetration since a fast interior push can blow up the screen before the blockers get set.
Usage Tips
Call this play on early downs or after a blitz-heavy series to punish overaggressive pass rush tendencies.
Check pre-snap for stacked boxes or defenders creeping toward the line, since blitz-happy defenses are the primary target for this screen.
Delay your throw just enough to let the offensive linemen get out in front of the HB, but do not hold it so long that adaptive AI defenders sniff out the screen.
Pair this call with HB Draw and Inside Zone from the same set to keep the defense honest on run fits before hitting them with the screen tempo change.
Sequence this after Verticals or Empty Vertical from the same personnel to condition linebackers to drop deep, making the flat wide open for the slip screen.
