Playbooks

Mtn Stick

Shotgun·Trips·10
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This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 1 playbook

Air Raid Classic OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Mtn Stick out of Shotgun Trips 10 personnel is a classic Stick concept run from a mountain (bunched trips) alignment, designed to attack both man and zone coverage with quick, high percentage throws. The trips side runs a stick combo (flat, hitch, and seam or corner read) while the backside receiver works a dig or drag to give you a hot outlet against pressure. Your primary read starts with the flat defender: if he widens with the flat route, throw the stick/hitch behind him, and if he sits, work the seam or corner breaking off the top of the stick.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, check safety depth over the trips side, since a rotated safety into the box signals Cover 3 or Cover 1 and opens up the seam read on the stick. Identify the flat defender's alignment before the snap, since a defender sitting inside at 5 yards tips zone drop responsibility rather than man match on the flat route. Post-snap, key the underneath linebacker's drop, since a hard flat robber sitting on the stick route can jump the quick throw and blow up the primary read. Watch for a user controlled defender sitting in a lurk technique on the trips side, since that defender can bait the quarterback into the seam and undercut the throw for a pick six. This play struggles against a hard match Cover 4 or aggressive Cover 2 man with underneath robbers, since both flood the stick and hitch windows and force the backside dig to be the only clean answer.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a shift to confirm man versus zone before the snap, since the bunched trips alignment makes it hard for defenses to disguise leverage.

Attack Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells by working the stick to hitch conversion, since zone defenders will often sink under the seam and leave the flat and hitch soft.

Against man coverage, hot route the backside receiver into a quick out or slant if you see a corner blitz coming off that edge, since the single receiver side has no help.

This play pairs well with Stick Wheel and RPO Peek Stick in the same set, since the mirrored formation and route stems disguise which concept is coming and force linebackers to hesitate on their zone drops.

Best used on second and short or third and short since the stick and hitch combo gives you a built in checkdown that consistently gets to the sticks without needing to test the deep middle.

Other Plays in Trips