Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Stick out of Shotgun Trips TE Offset sends the backside receiver on a deep vertical clear-out while the inside trips receiver runs a corner route to occupy the flat and deep quarter. The middle trips receiver settles on a stick route at the sticks (hook/curl area) as the primary option, with the outside trips receiver running a quick out to the flat underneath. The running back releases up the seam on a vertical stem, giving the quarterback a five-option progression built to attack zone drops and beat both man and zone coverage with layered spacing.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check the corner over the backside receiver, if he is playing off with a deep safety shaded that way it signals zone coverage and the stick concept underneath should be open. Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he sinks hard into the stick route window it clogs the primary read and forces the quarterback to check down to the flat or seam. User-controlled defenders sitting in the shallow flat or hook zone can bait a quarterback into the stick route, so as a defender you want to sink just enough to disguise the drop before jumping the route. Cover 3 with a sky safety over the trips side can be a problem for this concept since it gives extra help on both the corner route and the stick, forcing the offense into the backside vertical or seam as the only real answer. Blitz packages that bring pressure off the edge without accounting for the running back's seam release get exposed here, so defenses need a spy or a linebacker with seam awareness to prevent an explosive gain over the middle.
Usage Tips
Read the flat defender first since the stick route and the flat route stack the same area, if he sits on the stick throw the flat route to the outside trips receiver immediately.
Use the backside vertical as a coverage indicator, if the corner bails deep or a safety rotates over that receiver you are likely seeing zone and should work the stick and flat combo underneath.
Against man coverage, target the running back's seam release since linebackers rarely have the speed to stay on top of it, especially against Cover 1 or Cover 3 man variants.
Pair this play with RPO Alert Bubble or RPO Zone Alert Bubble from the same set so the defense has to respect both the quick game and the run fit, keeping linebackers honest on early downs.
This play shines on third and short to third and medium since the stick route sits right at the sticks for an easy conversion, and it also works well as a hot route adjustment if you see a heavy blitz look and need a quick answer.
