Playbooks

Trips

Shotgun·10

At a Glance

FormationShotgun

Personnel

101 RB · 0 TE · 4 WR

Plays49

In 12 playbooks

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Overview

Shotgun Trips puts three receivers to one side with a single receiver isolated on the backside, running 10 personnel (4 WR, 1 RB) so the defense has to declare coverage strength before the snap. That declaration is the whole point of the set. Unlike Shotgun Spread or Shotgun Empty looks that distribute targets evenly, Trips forces the defense into an unbalanced shell: either rotate safety help to the three receiver side and leave the backside X on an island, or play balanced and get outnumbered in the flood. The read is available before you ever touch the snap button.

The alignment gives you a wide number one, a slot number two, and a tight number three (often the flanker or a shifted slot) stacked into the field, with the HB in the backfield to preserve run threat and screen protection. That backfield presence is what separates this from Empty Trips sets. You keep Inside Zone, HB Counter, HB Sweep, Speed Option, HB Mid Draw, and Mtn HB Draw as legitimate calls, which means light boxes get punished and the RPO family (RPO Base Alert Bubble, RPO Alert Screen, RPO Zone Alert Screen, RPO Read Screen, RPO Peek Stick, RPO Alert Bubble) becomes a true post-snap conflict on the flat defender instead of a gimmick.

Concept-wise this is one of the deepest sets in the game. You get flood structures (Cross Flood, Stick Wheel, Curl Post Wheel), spacing and horizontal stretch (Slant Spacing, Stick, Mtn Stick, Z Spot, Curls, Fade Stops), verticals (Four Verticals, 60 Go, 60 Slide, 61 X Choice), West Coast timing routes (Slot Drive, Slot Drive KO, FL Dig, Levels, Middle Slant, PA WR In), and a full screen game (HB Slip Screen, Mtn HB Slip Screen, WR Mid Screen, Bubble Screen, RNS Flat Screen). The isolated backside receiver is the money matchup: put your best separator there, check the corner's leverage and the safety rotation, and you have a one-on-one on nearly every snap without needing a single hot route.

Strengths

Flood concepts like Cross Flood, Stick Wheel, and Curl Post Wheel attack Cover 3 and Cover 2 by putting three routes at three depths in one defender's zone, and the corner/flat/curl triangle is unguardable without a user defender committing early.
The isolated backside receiver is a free man beater read. Against Cover 1 or Cover 0, hot route the X to a slant, fade, or in and throw it before the safety can help, and Read Special plus 61 X Choice already build that iso into the play art.
The RPO package (RPO Base Alert Bubble, RPO Zone Alert Screen, RPO Peek Stick, RPO Read Screen) puts the overhang defender in a legitimate conflict. If he crashes the box you throw bubble, if he widens you hand off into a light front with Inside Zone.
Stick and Mtn Stick are elite zone beaters out of this alignment because the stick sits down in the seam between curl and flat while the number three runs the flat, forcing the defender to pick one. Add a hot route drag from the backside for the man beater answer.
Motion mechanics are a cheat code here. Motioning the number three across to balance the formation tells you man (defender follows) versus zone (defenders stay) instantly, and you can snap mid-motion to create a moving target on Slot Drive or Slant Spacing.

Weaknesses

Only five blockers plus a single HB means A-gap nano blitz and overload pressure from the weak side gets home fast. If you leave the back on a route (Four Verticals, 60 Go), interior heat arrives before the deep concept develops.
Cover 2 Invert and quarters shells that rotate a safety over the trips side kill the flood concepts and force you back to the backside iso, which a good user will double or sit on with a user-controlled safety.
The formation is an obvious tendency tell. Three receivers to one side with 10 personnel screams pass to experienced players, so they will set the line, play soft zone, and user the middle of the field against Stick and Levels.
Screens (HB Slip Screen, WR Mid Screen, Bubble Screen, RNS Flat Screen) get shut down by pressed coverage and blitzes that outnumber the blockers, and the slip screen family is especially dead against edge pressure that beats the back's release.
The run game out of this look is limited to one gap concepts with minimal help. HB Sweep and Speed Option struggle against a defense that sets the line outside and crashes the unblocked edge, since you have no fullback or tight end to seal.

Usage Tips

Read the safety rotation first. Two high with balanced leverage means run the flood (Cross Flood, Stick Wheel) into the trips side. Single high or a rotated safety means go to the isolated backside receiver on Read Special or 61 X Choice.

On third and medium, live in Stick, Mtn Stick, and Slant Spacing. The stick route sits at the sticks against zone and you can hot route the number three to a drag or slant to convert it into a man beater without changing the call.

Use the RPO family on early downs to punish light boxes. RPO Base Alert Bubble and RPO Zone Alert Screen let you take the free yards when the defense drops seven, then flip to Inside Zone or HB Counter once they commit numbers to the flat.

Motion the slot or number three before the snap to diagnose coverage, then check your protection. Block the back or hot route him to a flat release depending on whether you see edge or A-gap pressure, especially on Four Verticals and 60 Go.

Mix in the screen game after you have run vertical concepts a few times. Mtn HB Slip Screen and WR Mid Screen are best when the opponent starts dropping deep or rushing four wide, and Fake Screen Wheel punishes defenders who bite on your screen tendency.