Playbooks
At a Glance
In 35 playbooks
Overview
Trips TE is the 11 personnel bunch-adjacent alignment in Shotgun that stacks three receivers to the strong side with the tight end aligned inside the trio, leaving a single receiver isolated on the backside. Unlike Trips or Trips Y Flex, where the tight end splits out or the third receiver is a pure slot, Trips TE keeps the TE tight to the numbers as part of the three-man surface, which means the defense has to declare strength with a physical body in the mix. That distinction matters: you get bunch-style route distribution and rub concepts without sacrificing the TE as a chip or extra edge blocker on run plays and play-action rollouts.
The three-man surface forces the defense into a coverage declaration before the snap. Against man, you are reading which defender travels with the TE, because a linebacker or safety following him inside the trips creates instant leverage for the levels and cross concepts (Inside Cross, Z Cross, Mtn Return Levels, Shuffle Mtn Levels). Against zone, the horizontal spacing of X Spot, Mtn Z Spot, Flood, and Flood Y-Delay stresses the curl-to-flat defender who cannot cover both the underneath sit route and the flat release. The isolated backside receiver is the other half of the equation: with SLWR tagged, you can put your best route runner alone on an island and let Curls X Go, WR Short Post, Texan Deep In, or Switch Y In work one-on-one while the defense rotates help to the trips side.
Where this set really separates from the rest of Shotgun is the RPO and option volume. RPO Alert Bubble, RPO Zone Alert Bubble, Orbit RPO Zone Alert, Read Option Bubble, Read Option, Speed Option, QB Zone, and QB Strong Power all live here, which means a mobile quarterback can punish light boxes without changing personnel. Layer in the screen package (TE Screen, WR Screen, HB Slip Screen, TE Middle Screen, Orbit TE Middle Screen, Orbit Cross Screen, RPO Alert Mtn Screen) and you have a set that can attack every level from the same look while the defense guesses whether you are running, throwing, or bailing out on a screen.
Strengths
- Flood and Flood Y-Delay give you a true three-level stretch to the trips side that breaks single-high zone, and the Y-Delay tag adds a second-window checkdown after the flat and deep routes clear the coverage.
- X Spot and Mtn Z Spot are elite third down concepts: the spot sit route settles in the void against zone while the corner route off the trips surface beats Cover 2 and Cover 4 flat defenders who squat.
- Inside Cross, Z Cross, and Drive Post create natural rubs from the three-man surface, which makes them premium man beaters against Cover 1 press without needing to hot route anything.
- The RPO and option volume (RPO Alert Bubble, Orbit RPO Zone Alert, Read Option Bubble, Speed Option, QB Zone) lets a mobile QB punish six-man boxes and single-gap fits, and the orbit motion tells you man or zone before the snap.
- The isolated backside receiver is a built-in mismatch button: hot route or use the play art on Curls X Go, WR Short Post, and Texan Deep In to attack whichever corner is left without safety help after the defense shifts strength to the trips.
Weaknesses
- Only one back and one TE means limited interior protection against A-gap nano blitz looks, and the trips side pulls linebackers into coverage responsibilities that free rushers up the middle if you do not slide protect or block the RB.
- Heavy motion and screen plays (Orbit Cross Screen, WR Screen, TE Screen) get shut down fast by user-controlled defenders who key the flat, and a bad screen read here is a tackle for loss or worse.
- The three-man surface invites press-bail and heavy overload pressure to the strong side because the defense knows where your concepts live, so opponents will cheat a safety down and blitz off the trips edge.
- Deep In, Deep ln, and Verticals develop slowly, which is a problem behind five-man protection with no chip help when the TE is releasing as part of the trips.
- The set is pass and RPO first, so predictable tendencies show up quickly: opponents who see Trips TE will commit to nickel or big nickel and play their coverage tighter against your inside-breaking route tree.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion (orbit or manual motion of the number three receiver) to diagnose coverage: if a defender travels across the formation it is man, and you go straight to Inside Cross, Z Cross, or the isolated backside route.
On third and medium, live in X Spot and Mtn Z Spot, then check the flat defender's depth. If he squats, throw the spot sit route. If he widens, hit the corner behind him.
Against a light box with two high safeties, run the RPO and option package (RPO Zone Alert Bubble, Read Option Bubble, QB Zone) because the bubble alert punishes any linebacker who crashes the mesh point.
Block the RB or slide protect to the trips side when you see A-gap heat, then take Slants, Slot Quick Flat, or HB Angle as your quick answer against blitz-heavy users.
Set up your screen game after establishing Inside Zone and HB Counter. TE Middle Screen and HB Slip Screen hit hardest once the linebackers start flowing hard to your run fits.
Save PA Boot Shot, PA Shot Wheel, and Orbit PA HB Wheel for after you have shown QB Strong Power and Speed Option, because the play-action rollout only works when the defense respects the QB run threat.
