Playbooks
At a Glance
In 1 playbook
Overview
Trio Rt Open is the trips-to-the-right variant in Shotgun that keeps 11 personnel on the field while stacking three receivers to the strong side and leaving the backside completely isolated. Unlike standard Trio sets that align the tight end tight or in a wing position, Open flexes the tight end out into the trips cluster, which means all five eligible receivers are detached or in the backfield. That alignment forces the defense to declare coverage strength pre-snap, and it tells you immediately whether you are seeing single high, quarters rotation, or a man look with a bracket on the number one receiver.
Strengths
- The three-by-one alignment overloads the strong side, so any zone shell that plays with a hook defender to the trips side leaves the backside isolated receiver in true one on one, which is a free read on every snap.
- Flexing the tight end into the cluster creates a linebacker or safety in space matchup, and against man coverage you can hot route him on a slant or drag to win inside leverage immediately.
- Scene 44-8 is a Gadget play, so the play art gives you a non-traditional read that punishes users who commit to a normal drop coverage assignment before the ball is out.
- The trips side supports every high percentage zone beater in the game with minimal hot routing: flood the sideline with three levels, or run a smash concept off the outside receiver while the number two settles in the void.
- Motioning the number three receiver across the formation before the snap gives you a clean man versus zone diagnosis without losing your protection scheme.
Weaknesses
- With the tight end flexed into the cluster there is no extra edge protection, so five man protection against an overload or nano blitz off the weak side means the running back is your only chip help.
- Heavy trips alignments telegraph pass on obvious down and distance, and good opponents will roll a robber or bracket the number one receiver on the isolated side and take away your primary answer.
- Gadget play art like Scene 44-8 has slow developing steps, and a user controlled defender who reads the trigger will blow it up before the concept ever gets to its second level.
- Backside run leverage is weak because the strong side alignment pulls defenders toward the trips, but so does your blocking, leaving cutback lanes unaccounted for against penetrating fronts.
- Against tight man press across the board the cluster can get jammed and cluttered, which kills the natural rub and stack releases the set relies on.
Usage Tips
Read the safety count first. If you see single high with the coverage strength declared to the trips, hit the isolated backside receiver on a fade or slant hot route before the defense can rotate.
Save Scene 44-8 for a scripted shot, ideally on second down after you have shown standard trips concepts twice, because Gadget plays lose all value once the opponent knows your tendency.
If your opponent shows man coverage, motion the inside trips receiver toward the formation and let the natural traffic in the cluster create the separation, then throw the drag or shallow crosser.
Against blitz heavy users, pull one of the trips receivers into a block assignment or slide protection toward the pressure side and check to the isolated receiver on a quick out.
Use this set on third down between five and nine yards, where the trips side flood and the isolated one on one both give you a first down conversion window without a deep drop.
