Playbooks
Deep Choice out of Shotgun Wide Trips 10 personnel is a pass play built around an option route from the trips side, paired with a deep vertical shot on the backside to stretch the defense both horizontally and vertically. The choice route reads the defender in real time (sitting, breaking out, or breaking in) making it a natural man beater, while the deep route on the opposite side punishes single high shells that commit extra help to the trips. Primary progression starts with the backside deep shot against single coverage, then works to the choice route as the option receiver settles into open grass versus zone drops.
Identify single high safety alignment before the snap, since this tells you the backside deep route has one on one coverage and should be your first read. Watch linebacker depth at the snap, shallow drops mean the choice route will have room to settle into a soft zone window underneath. Beware Cover 3 with a hard flat defender, since a disciplined user controlled corner can jump the choice route if he anticipates the out break. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the deep route, but pattern matching zone schemes with two deep safeties can bracket the backside receiver and force you to check down. Look for disguised zone blitzes that drop a defensive lineman into the shallow zone, since this can jump the choice route's inside breaking angle and lead to a tipped pass.
Pre-snap, check the safety alignment before choosing your first read since a two high shell tells you to work the choice route immediately rather than forcing the backside shot.
Use the choice route as your man beater against Cover 1 and Cover 3, since the receiver can break away from a trailing corner or find the seam between underneath zone defenders.
Hot route the backside receiver into a comeback or hitch if you see aggressive press man, giving yourself a quicker outlet against blitz-heavy fronts.
Best called on second and long or third and medium, since the option route gives you a built in checkdown if the deep shot is covered.
Pair this play with All Hitch or Wheel Curls earlier in a series to condition the defense into sitting on shorter routes, then hit Deep Choice for the explosive play once safeties creep up.