Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
61 X Choice out of Shotgun Trips Slots Close is a pass play built around a choice route from the X receiver isolated to the backside, paired with a three man trips concept that clears out the underneath and intermediate zones. The trips side shows a deep vertical seam release, a corner breaking route up the sideline, and an inside receiver running an under route across the field that crosses the formation from the trips side toward the X. The X receiver runs an option or choice route, sitting down against zone or breaking away from man, making him the primary read when he wins his leverage battle, while the deep trips routes work to hold safeties and open up the crossing route as a secondary answer.
Defensive Reads
Man coverage on the X receiver is the biggest tell, since the choice route is built to beat press and off man by breaking opposite the defender's leverage. Watch the free safety depth at the snap, if he rotates to the trips side to help on the vertical routes the X choice route is singled up and should win quickly. Zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4 that keep a cornerback deep over the choice route can shut down the primary read, forcing the quarterback to work the crossing route from trips instead. Linebacker depth on the crossing route is key, if the backers sink into the passing lanes on the under route the throwing window collapses, so user a linebacker to sit in that crossing lane if you are on defense. Corner blitzes or nano blitzes off the trips side can beat this play before the choice route develops, so if the QB does not get through his mesh point quickly the sack risk is high.
Usage Tips
Read the cornerback aligned on the X receiver before the snap to decide his break, if he plays outside leverage the choice route should sit inside and vice versa.
Use this play on third and short to medium since the choice route is designed to convert against both man and zone based on the defender's leverage.
Hot route the crossing route from trips into a deeper dig if you see zone drops sitting shallow, since the underneath crosser can get swallowed by linebackers in a Tampa 2 or Cover 3 sink look.
Pair this with 60 Go from the same set on the next snap since the vertical stems look identical, forcing the defense to respect the deep shots before you come back to the choice route underneath.
Against aggressive man coverage teams, trust the choice route matchup and take the quick throw rather than holding for the deep trips routes to develop, since the X should win his release almost immediately.
