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At a Glance
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Overview
Wide Trips is the widest three-receiver-strong alignment in Shotgun, stacking the trips side out near the numbers with a lone backside X isolated on the opposite hash. That extra width matters more in Madden than it sounds: it forces the defense to declare its strength pre-snap, pulls flat defenders and curl zones horizontally, and creates real grass between the trips triangle and the single receiver. Compared to tighter Shotgun trips looks, the spacing here stretches Cover 3 buzz and Cover 6 quarters/cloud combinations to their breaking point because the apex defender has to choose between widening with the number three receiver or protecting the seam.
The 10 personnel package puts four receivers and one back on the field, which pulls linebackers off the field or forces the defense to stay in nickel and dime shells against a set that still carries HB Sweep, HB Mid Draw, Read Option, and Speed Option. That is the core advantage: you get light boxes with legitimate run play art, and the Power HB tag means you can lean on a downhill back against five and six man fronts. The 3DRB tag matters on passing downs, where HB Swing and RPO Alert Bubble Stick let a receiving back attack the vacated flat when the defense chases the trips side.
Concept-wise this set covers the full menu. Four Verticals and Switch Verts attack single high with three seam threats and the backside X running away from a hash defender. Hitch Mills, All Curl, and All Hitch are your quick game answers to pressure and soft zone. Deep Choice and PA Slot Choice give you option routes that break off against man, and PA Read Flood plus Wheel Curls give you the flood and wheel answers to Cover 3 and match coverage. Isolating your best route runner as the backside X in this alignment is the cleanest one-on-one you can manufacture in Madden without motion.
Strengths
- Four Verticals and Switch Verts overload single high shells because the extra width of the trips side forces the free safety to declare early, and the number three seam runs uncovered against Cover 3 sky if the buzz defender widens.
- The isolated backside X is a built-in man beater. Hot route him to a slant, fade, or in route against press man and you have a clean one-on-one with no help inside, especially out of Deep Choice and PA Slot Choice where the option routes hold the underneath defenders.
- 10 personnel forces nickel and dime looks, then HB Sweep, Read Option, and Speed Option punish the light box. Power HB tagged backs get downhill fast against five man fronts with two receivers already stalk blocking on the trips side.
- Hitch Mills, All Hitch, and All Curl are elite blitz beaters. Against nano pressure you get three quick throws to the trips side before the free rusher arrives, and the timing is fast enough to survive most Cover 0 looks.
- RPO Alert Bubble Stick and HB Swing attack defenses that overcommit to the trips triangle. If the flat defender squeezes inside on the stick, the bubble is an easy chunk with two blockers in front.
Weaknesses
- Pass protection is five man max on most concepts with only one back available for a chip. Overload blitzes to the weak side, where the isolated X gives you no help, will get home before the deep concepts develop.
- The alignment tips your strength pre-snap. Good users will shade coverage to trips, drop into Cover 3 cloud or quarters to the field, and rotate a user defender over the number two seam, which kills Four Verticals and Switch Verts without any risk.
- Running from 10 personnel means no lead blocker. HB Mid Draw and HB Sweep stall out against defenses that keep six in the box or crash a user linebacker downhill, and there is no fullback or tight end to seal the edge.
- The route tree is receiver dependent. Without three legitimate speed threats and a route runner at X, the vertical concepts get squeezed and you are reduced to checkdowns and hitches.
- Repeated use of the same trips side becomes a tendency. Opponents will start user matching the number three receiver or bringing a slot blitz off the trips edge, and you have limited answers if your back is not a 3DRB type who can pick up the free rusher.
Usage Tips
Read the shell before the snap. If the defense shows two high with the strength shaded to trips, work the backside X on an isolated route or check to HB Sweep away from the rotation. If you see single high with a tight box, Four Verticals and Switch Verts are live immediately.
On third and medium, Hitch Mills and All Curl give you the fastest reads in the set. Sit the trips side hitches against zone, and hot route the X to a slant if you get press man with no safety help over the top.
Motion the number three receiver across before the snap to identify man versus zone. If a defender travels, live with Deep Choice or PA Slot Choice and let the option routes break away from leverage. If nobody follows, the bubble and flood concepts are the higher percentage plays.
Use the run game as a changeup, not a base. Read Option and Speed Option are best when the defense is in dime or has committed a user to the trips seam, because the edge defender is usually the only unblocked player you have to read.
Block the back on obvious blitz downs when running vertical concepts. Losing the swing checkdown is worth the extra second of protection, and All Hitch already gives you a full hot read package if the pressure still gets home.
