Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
HB Slip Screen out of Shotgun Trips is a designed screen pass where the two outside trips receivers push vertical to clear space while the inside slot receiver breaks underneath across the field to occupy linebackers, and the backside X receiver runs a deep vertical to pull the corner off the screen. The offensive line sets up a delayed release to let the HB slip out to the flat behind minimal blocking, relying on defenders flowing upfield past the line before the ball gets out. This is a zone beater at its core, punishing aggressive linebacker drops and outside pass rush lanes, with the primary read being an immediate check to the HB in the flat before working to the crossing slot route if the screen is sniffed out.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if both inside linebackers immediately drop into deep zone coverage or bite on the play fake, the screen lane opens instantly. Identify if the defense is in man coverage with press corners on the trips receivers, since man coverage often leaves an unblocked defender close to the line who can blow up the screen before it develops. Key the defensive ends and outside linebackers, if they crash hard upfield on the pass rush without containing, the HB has a clean release to the flat. User a linebacker or safety to sit in the shallow flat area and read the quarterback eyes, since sniffing out the screen and staying home eliminates the play's value. Look for teams running a spy or scrape exchange technique with their second level defenders, as this specifically defeats the blocking scheme on the slip screen and forces a negative play.
Usage Tips
Call this against defenses showing zone shells with linebackers who bite hard on play action or drop deep into their zones, since their pursuit angles create the alley for the HB to work.
Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into overcommitting to the pass rush, which widens the throwing lane for the screen.
Pair this with 60 Go or Four Verticals earlier in a series so defenses respect the deep trips concept, then hit them with this screen when they start dropping linebackers deep to cover verticals.
Avoid calling this against interior defensive line stunts or delayed A gap blitzes, since those disrupt the timing of the HB release before blockers get set.
On third and short or second and medium, this play punishes teams selling out on the pass rush, since the delayed blocking scheme thrives when the defense rushes upfield instead of containing.
