Playbooks

PA Verts Shot

Shotgun·Trips TE Offset Wk·11

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

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Breakdown

PA Verts Shot is a play-action shot play out of the Trips TE Offset Wk set designed to attack deep zone and man coverage in one shot. The play-action fake from Shotgun holds linebackers and freezes the second level while all eligible receivers push vertical seams and outside numbers to stretch the deep coverage. This is a man beater against single high safety looks and a zone beater against light two deep shells where the four verticals overload the deep defenders, and the primary read progression starts to the trips side, working from the outside vertical to the inside seam before checking back to the backside single receiver vertical.

Defensive Reads

Identify single high safety alignment pre-snap since that leaves one defender to cover multiple verticals and creates natural one-on-one matchups on the outside. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, since shallow linebackers who bite hard on the play-action fake open up easy throwing lanes on the seam routes behind them. Read the safety rotation after the snap, if he commits to the trips side verticals immediately, come back to the backside single receiver vertical for a big play. Beware of two high shells that stay disciplined and do not bite on the fake, since that allows both safeties to sink deep and take away the seams and outside verticals. Watch for user controlled defenders sitting in a deep third or playing lurk on the seam, since a smart human safety can jump the inside route if the quarterback stares it down too long.

Usage Tips

Call this on early downs like first and ten or second and short so play-action holds the linebackers longer and the defense is not in obvious pass mode.

Check pre-snap for single high safety alignment or two high shells that rotate late, since this play is built to punish both man coverage and light zone shells.

Use the trips side outside vertical as your first read against man coverage since it forces the corner to run without help, then work to the inside seam if the safety cheats over the top.

Hot route the backside single receiver into a comeback or dig if you see a hard double team coming his way, since that removes an unnecessary low value route from the concept.

Pair this play with Verticals and Switch Dagger earlier in a drive so the defense respects the vertical shot and starts biting on the play-action fake, then dial this up when you see linebackers creeping into shallow zone drops.

Other Plays in Trips TE Offset Wk