Playbooks

TE Swirl

Shotgun·Trips TE·11

Pass Play Play Action Corner Out Go Seam Flat Flood Curl Flat

Play diagram for TE Swirl from Shotgun Trips TE in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetTrips TE

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 2 playbooks

Seahawks OffenseOffense NFL Live Seahawks OffenseOffense

Breakdown

TE Swirl out of Shotgun Trips TE is a play action flood concept that stacks four routes on the trips side while keeping the backside receiver on a shallow drag away from the traffic. From the top of the formation, the outside receiver runs a deep go to clear the corner, the second receiver breaks off a corner route, the third receiver (in from the slot) runs a shallow out to the sideline, and the TE releases from the line on a seam that bends into a flat route underneath, with the HB chipping and then working out to the flat as an outlet. This is a man beater and zone flood combo in one, since the seam to flat combination stresses underneath defenders while the go and corner occupy the deep half. Primary read progression starts with the corner route working outside in, then works down to the TE seam/flat combo underneath if the coverage rotates deep.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify single high versus two high safety looks, since single high tells you the corner route has a bigger throwing window and two high means the flood underneath is the better answer. Watch linebacker depth at the snap: if they bite hard on the run fake, the TE seam and flat combo will be wide open behind them. Post-snap, key any user-controlled defender sitting in the flat or shallow zone (a lurk defender), since that player can jump the TE flat route or the drag if not accounted for. This play struggles against cover 3 sky or cloud looks where the corner sinks into the deep third and a safety cheats down to the flat, taking away both the corner route and the underneath flood. Man coverage with press corners is beatable if the go route wins outside, but be ready for a blitz look since play action rollouts and vertical routes need extra protection time against nano blitz packages.

Usage Tips

Use this on early downs or second and medium when defenses are likely to sit in zone coverage, since the flood concept punishes cover 3 and cover 2 shells that leave the flat and corner areas thin.

Check the safety alignment pre-snap: if you see two high safeties, expect the corner route to have a defender waiting, so prioritize the TE seam-to-flat read instead.

Hot route the backside drag into a deeper crossing route against man coverage if you need an extra answer versus press corners, since the play action fake holds linebackers just long enough to open that window.

Pair this call with Curl Flat or Mtn PA Y Corner earlier in a series so the defense respects the play action fake, then hit them with TE Swirl once they start crashing down on run keys.

Against blitz-heavy defenses, get the ball out fast to the TE flat route or the HB chip-and-release since the play action drop can be vulnerable to quick pressure off the edge.