Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
RNS Flat Screen out of Shotgun Trips Slots Close is a quick-hitting screen play designed to get the ball to the flat with blockers releasing in front. The diagram shows the outside receiver running a vertical clear-out route to pull coverage downfield while the near slot runs a shallow flat route that becomes the screen target, with the offensive line and a blocker setting up a wall to the flat. This is a zone beater built to punish overpursuit and aggressive underneath drops, with the flat route as the clear primary read and the vertical route serving strictly as a decoy to open up space.
Defensive Reads
Watch for linebackers crashing downhill immediately after the snap, since that overaggression is exactly what this screen is designed to exploit. Check corner alignment before the snap, tight press alignment on the vertical route suggests man coverage which can still work if the defender bites on run action but is less reliable than against zone. Identify Cover 3 or Cover 4 zone shells with underneath defenders sinking into short zones, since those drops open the flat lane for the screen blocker wall. If the defense shows a nano blitz or edge pressure package pre-snap, avoid this play since blitzing defenders can disrupt the screen before the offensive line gets outside to block. Post-snap, key the user-controlled defender's flow, if he stays home on the flat or drops deep to help on the vertical route, that same defender can jump the screen and blow it up for a loss.
Usage Tips
Call this against teams that show heavy underneath zone drops or Cover 3 shells that flood the middle of the field, since the flat route exploits the space vacated by linebackers dropping into hooks.
Use pre-snap motion or a hot route check on the vertical route to confirm if the corner is playing off man or zone before the snap, since a jammed corner at the line signals man coverage and a possible risk to the clear-out route holding its defender.
Throw the screen quickly once the blockers get outside, do not hold the ball waiting for the vertical route to separate since this play lives and dies off timing to the flat.
Pair this with 45 Quick Base or RNS Hitches in the same set to keep defenses honest on quick game reads, then dial up RNS Flat Screen when you see linebackers biting hard on short routes.
Best used on early downs or short yardage situations where defenses are more likely to sit in zone drops rather than blitz, since a well timed blitz can blow up the screen before blockers get set.
