Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
Speed Option out of Shotgun Trips is a pure run play that attacks the edge with the QB and HB working in tandem to the play side. The diagram shows the HB aligned just off the QB, both flowing laterally right before the ball carrier decision point, with the trips receivers stalk blocking or clearing space on the perimeter rather than running route combos. This is a run-first design meant to exploit outside contain and force a defender to declare on the option, not a man or zone beater in the passing sense since there is no route tree shown. The primary read is the QB reading the edge defender (usually a DE or OLB set at the point of attack) to decide whether to keep or pitch to the HB.
Defensive Reads
Watch the play side DE or OLB pre-snap: if he is sitting wide and squeezed, the QB keep lane opens up. Key the alignment of the second level defender assigned to the option pitch key, since a fast flowing linebacker can blow up both the keep and pitch options. If the defense shows a nine technique or scrapes a safety down into the box pre-snap, that is a sign the defense is loaded to stop this exact edge run. Post-snap, track any user-controlled defender flying downhill outside the tackle box, since a disciplined option defender who stays square can force a bad pitch or a tackle for loss. Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells with aggressive edge-setting defensive ends tend to shut this down, while light boxes or blitzes that vacate the edge get gashed.
Usage Tips
Call this on early downs (1st and 10 or 2nd and short) when you want to establish outside run threat without tipping pass intent.
Check the defensive edge alignment pre-snap: if the DE or OLB is crashing hard inside, pull the trigger on the pitch read fast.
Use the trips bunch to occupy corners and force outside linebackers or safeties to fill run support, opening the perimeter lane.
Pair this with Bubble Screen or RPO Alert Bubble from the same Trips Shotgun set so defenses cannot sit on the edge run without getting burned by a quick pitch or screen look.
Avoid calling this into heavy blitz packages that stack the box, since the numbers advantage disappears if extra defenders crash downhill before the option read develops.
