Playbooks

Post Wheel Shallow

Shotgun·U Off Trips·12
PostWheelShallow CrossPass Play
Play diagram for Post Wheel Shallow from Shotgun U Off Trips in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

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Breakdown

Post Wheel Shallow lines up out of Shotgun U Off Trips with 12 personnel, using the trips side to stack a wheel route underneath a deep post from the two outside receivers while the third trips receiver runs a shallow cross underneath the formation to the opposite side. The backside receiver on the line runs an inside release corner or seam route (shown breaking upfield outside the numbers), giving the quarterback a full field stretch from deep post to intermediate corner to shallow drag to wheel. This is a man beater built around natural picks and crossing traffic, with the primary read starting on the post route for an explosive shot play, working down to the shallow cross as the underneath rhythm throw, and finishing on the wheel route if a linebacker or safety bites on the crossers.

Defensive Reads

Man coverage with linebackers or safeties matched up on the trips receivers is the primary trigger for this play since the shallow cross and wheel are designed to rub off each other and create natural separation. Watch for a single high safety rotating to the post side pre-snap, which tells you the defense is vulnerable to the deep post since the underneath defender is occupied by the corner route. Cover 3 zone with a hard flat defender sitting on the shallow cross can undercut the underneath read, so be ready to climb the progression to the wheel or post quickly. Blitz-heavy defenses that bring a linebacker off the edge will remove a shallow zone defender, opening a throwing lane to the shallow cross, but this requires a quick decisive throw before pressure arrives. If corners are playing off man or bail technique at the snap, the wheel route loses its window since the flat defender or trailing corner can stay on top, so lean on the post and shallow cross instead.

Usage Tips

Use this play on early downs or second and medium when you want to take a shot down the field off man coverage tendencies.

Check pre-snap for man coverage indicators like tight press alignment on the trips side receivers, since the shallow cross and wheel combo is designed to pick off man defenders in trail technique.

If you see a single high safety, prioritize the post route immediately since the corner route occupies the underneath zone defender and the safety cannot cover both verticals.

Hot route the running back into a check release or quick flat if you anticipate a blitz, since the shallow cross alone may not hold up against pressure with no extra protection called.

Pair this play with Mesh Wheel or Z Short Cross in your call sheet to keep opposing defenses guessing between different crossing route families out of similar trips looks.

Other Plays in U Off Trips