Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Stick out of Shotgun Trips HB Wk sends the backside X on a corner route from the isolated left side while the trips side runs the classic stick concept: the outermost trips receiver clears vertically up the seam, the middle slot runs an out to the flat, and the inside receiver sits down on the stick route working the hook zone. The HB stays in to help protect against the four man rush shown by the red pass block key. This is a zone beater at its core, built to stress the flat defender and hook/curl defender simultaneously on the trips side, with the corner route on the backside acting as a man beater window if the defense rotates coverage away from it. Primary read progression starts with the stick route sitting in the hole, then works to the flat, and finally to the vertical clear-out or the backside corner if the defense collapses inside.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender at the snap: if he sinks too deep into the hook zone, the stick sit route will be wide open underneath. Key the safety alignment pre-snap; two high safeties usually signal zone coverage that this concept is built to exploit, while one high safety often means man or Cover 3 with a robber underneath. Track the middle linebacker's drop on the stick side, since a slow or lazy drop leaves the sit route uncontested in the throwing window. User-controlled defenders sitting in the shallow hook zone can bait the QB into an interception if the stick route is thrown late or into a lurking underneath defender. Cover 2 with aggressive corners jumping the flat route can shut down the stick concept quickly, so check corner depth before the snap and be ready to work the backside corner route instead.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into showing their drop zones before the snap so you know whether the stick route will have a clean throwing lane.
Identify Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells first since the stick concept is designed to sit right in the seam between the flat defender and the hook/curl defender in those coverages.
Hot route the backside X to a slant or drag if you diagnose man coverage pre-snap, since the corner route can be jumped by an aggressive corner playing outside leverage.
Throw the stick route quickly on third and short or third and medium since the sit route settles in fast and beats blitz pressure before it develops.
Pair this play with Curls or Deep Stick from the same set to keep the defense guessing on route depth while using the same trips alignment to disguise your intentions.
