Playbooks
Breakdown
Drive out of Shotgun Trips HB Wk sends the backside X on a deep dig that crosses the field underneath a corner route from the trips side, while the inside trips receiver runs a short drive route sitting at the sticks and the outside trips receiver clears vertically to hold the deep defenders. The HB stays in as a checkdown flat option out of the backfield off max protect, giving the QB a layered progression from shallow to intermediate to deep. This is a classic Cover 4 beater built on crossing patterns that stretch zone defenders horizontally and create natural picks against man coverage.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a single high safety rotating late, that usually signals man coverage underneath which makes the crossing dig vulnerable to a well timed rub. Key the flow of the middle linebacker, if he sits in the hole and does not widen with the drive route the shallow crosser will be covered and you should reset to the deep dig. Cover 2 with hard corners at the line can jump the short drive route, so check for cornerback press alignment before committing to the first read. User lurk defenders sitting in the shallow crossing lane are the biggest threat to this concept, if the user drops a defender in that window take the checkdown to the HB immediately. Blitz packages that bring extra rushers off the edge will not affect the max protect look, but a delayed linebacker blitz through the middle can disrupt the quarterback before the dig route develops.
Usage Tips
Read the safeties pre-snap, if they are sitting at 10-12 yards in a two-high or four-across shell this play is designed to attack the seams vacated by the crossing routes.
Progress your eyes from the shallow drive route to the deep dig, the drive route sits underneath zone linebackers and is your first read against Cover 3 or Cover 4.
If the corner over the trips receiver bails deep at the snap, hot route the outside trips route into a quick out to punish soft coverage.
Use this on second or third down medium distance situations where the sticks route can move the chains while the dig behind it threatens explosive yardage.
Pair this with Deep Stick or Curls from the same formation to keep defenders guessing between shallow combination routes and deeper crossing concepts, then hit Four Verticals once the defense starts jumping the underneath routes.
