Playbooks

Trips TE Offset

Shotgun·11

Specialists3DRBGadgetPower HBSLWR

Set alignment for Trips TE Offset from Shotgun in Madden 27

At a Glance

FormationShotgun

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

Plays24

In 7 playbooks

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Overview

Trips TE Offset is an 11 personnel look out of Shotgun that stacks three eligible receivers to one side, with the tight end attached inline as the #3 and two wide receivers split outside him. The lone X receiver sits isolated on the backside, and the running back aligns offset beside the quarterback instead of directly behind or pistol. Standard Trips sets flex all three receivers off the line. Keeping the TE attached here gives you a legitimate sixth blocker on the strength side, so the defense has to respect the run to the trips while still covering three vertical threats.

That hybrid alignment is what makes the set dangerous. Defenses that roll a safety to the trips side to match three receivers leave the backside X one on one, which is where concepts like X Under, Shock H Option, and PA Crossers do their damage. Defenses that stay balanced get outnumbered to the trips, and the RPO Alert Bubble and RPO Zone Alert WR Screen tags punish them by throwing to the numbers advantage outside. The offset back is set up for Inside Zone, HB Counter, and HB Flip Counter, and the read game (Read Option, Speed Option, Flip QB Wrap) turns a mobile quarterback into a second runner.

The play list balances deep pass concepts (Flood, Levels Sail, Verticals, Curl Combo) against a heavy run and RPO package and some gadget calls like Fake Screen Wheel and Flip QB Wrap. From one pre-snap picture you can threaten every level of the field and both sidelines. It suits a 3DRB who can win on Slip Screen and Scat, a Power HB who can press the Counter and Trap looks, and SLWR types who feast on bubble and quick screen RPOs against soft corners.

Strengths

The attached TE gives you a true run strength to the trips side, so Inside Zone and RPO Zone Alert Bubble force the defense to commit a box defender or concede numbers on the perimeter screen.
When the defense rotates coverage toward the three-receiver side, the backside X is left isolated, making X Under, Shock H Option, and a quick slant or fade hot route on the X elite man beaters against Cover 1 and Cover 0.
Flood and Levels Sail stretch Cover 3 and Cover 4 vertically and horizontally from the trips side, with the TE running a clear or flat route that puts the curl flat and deep third defenders in a true high low conflict.
The RPO Alert and RPO Trap tags give you a pre-snap and post-snap answer to every box count, letting you throw the bubble against light coverage outside or hand off against a light box without reading play art in a panic.
Gadget calls like HB Flip Counter, Flip QB Wrap, and Fake Screen Wheel feed off the screen and zone run tendencies you establish, punishing aggressive user linebackers and flowing safeties with misdirection.

Weaknesses

Because the RPO bubbles and screens are so featured, a user-controlled defender sitting in the flat or a corner pressed on the #1 receiver can blow up the Alert screens and turn them into loss plays or pick sixes.
With the TE attached and the RB often tied to protection or a flat release, pass concepts only put four receivers into routes on many calls, so heavy zone drops like Cover 4 Drop and Cover 3 Match can bracket the trips side and leave few answers.
Five-man and nano pressures off the boundary, backside from the trips, attack the side with only the tackle and offset back to protect, and the long developing Verticals and Levels Sail have little time to get downfield.
Opponents who read the formation will cheat a safety to trips and play press man on the isolated X, daring you to win with one receiver while crowding the run and screen game to the strength.
The option and counter game depends heavily on quarterback speed and ball carrier vision, so pocket passers and slow backs lose much of the value in Speed Option, Read Option, and Flip QB Wrap.

Usage Tips

Count the box and look at the trips side cushion before every RPO: six or fewer defenders in the box with a soft corner means you ride the handoff on Inside Zone reads, but a corner sitting ten yards off the #1 receiver is a free throw on RPO Alert Bubble.

Check the backside X pre-snap: if the safety has rotated to the trips and the X has press man with no help, audible to X Under or hot route the X on a slant or fade for a quick man beater.

On 3rd and short to medium, Stick and Curl Combo are the highest percentage calls, and a TE flat or RB flat hot route gives you a reliable outlet against Cover 3 and Cover 2 buzz looks.

After you have run Inside Zone and the bubble screens several times, dial up HB Flip Counter, Fake Screen Wheel, or PA Crossers to punish the user linebacker and safeties who are triggering downhill on the play fake.

Against heavy blitz looks, slide protection toward the pressure or keep the RB in to block on Verticals and Flood, and consider audibling to HB Slip Screen or Scat to get the ball out before the nano gets home.