Playbooks

Stick Nod Vertical

Shotgun·Wing Tight·13

Stick Stick Concept Pass Play

Play diagram for Stick Nod Vertical from Shotgun Wing Tight in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetWing Tight

Personnel

131 RB · 3 TE · 1 WR

In 5 playbooks

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Breakdown

Stick Nod Vertical lines up out of Shotgun Wing Tight with two receivers split wide left and a tight bunch of three eligible targets to the right. The backside receiver runs a quick out and up while the inside receiver on that side climbs vertically up the seam, and to the right the outside receiver stems into a nod (stick) route to sit down in the short zone while the slot defender runs a vertical seam and the tight end works an out and stick combo underneath. This is a classic Stick concept married with vertical stretches on both sides, giving it answers against both man and zone coverage, and the primary read progression starts with the stick route in the flat, works to the nod sitting down against zone, then climbs to the vertical seam shots on either side if the underneath defenders bite.

Defensive Reads

Read the safety alignment before the snap since a single high safety usually means Cover 3 or Cover 1, both of which are vulnerable to the seam verticals on this play. Watch the corner depth on the stick side because press man alignment signals man coverage, which means the nod route needs to win off the release rather than sit down. Post snap, key the underneath linebackers and their zone drops since a hard flat drop by the curl to flat defender opens up the stick route immediately. Look for a user controlled lurk defender sitting in the middle of the field, since a smart user will jump the stick or nod route and bait the quarterback into a turnover. This play struggles against a two high shell with disciplined zone drops such as Cover 2 or Cover 4, since the seam verticals get squeezed and the underinch routes have nowhere to sit.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into showing blitz or zone drop before the snap, since this play thrives when you can identify a soft underneath zone.

Target the stick route first against zone coverage because it settles in the void created by Cover 3 or Cover 4 flat defenders sinking too deep.

Against man coverage, work the vertical seam routes immediately since the nod and out routes can get picked off by physical corners jamming at the line.

Pair this play with Mesh Spot in your call sheet since both attack the same underneath zones but stress different horizontal areas, forcing the defense to guess.

Best used on second and medium or third and short to medium since the stick concept gives you a safe high percentage completion while still keeping the vertical shot alive over the top.