Playbooks
At a Glance
In 2 playbooks
Overview
Wing Trips WK is a Shotgun set that stacks three receivers to one side with the tight end aligned as a wing off the tackle, creating an unbalanced look that forces the defense to declare its strength before the snap. Unlike standard Shotgun Trips or Trey sets where the number three receiver is split wide, the wing alignment keeps a blocker attached to the formation, which is why this set carries such a deep run game menu: Inside Zone Split, Power Read, Counter Bash, GT Counter Bash, Buck Sweep, Counter Y, and Wide Trap all pull from a compressed surface while the trips side pulls a defender out of the box. That combination of attached blocker plus three-receiver overload is the entire identity of this set.
The 11 personnel grouping means you are on the field with your best tight end and your primary slot receiver at the same time, so nickel defenses have to pick their poison. If the opponent stays in base to handle the wing and the run game, your third receiver is matched on a linebacker or a safety in the slot. If they go nickel or dime, the Counter Bash and Power Read looks attack a lighter box with a numbers advantage. Either answer gives you leverage, and the 3DRB and Gadget tags mean you will typically have a receiving back on the field for Mtn HB Slip Screen, HB Slip Screen, and the option concepts.
Through the air, the set gives you full spread and West Coast coverage. Four Verticals, Quads Drive, Quads Cross Y Delay, and Quads Sprint Spot flood zones from a single side, while Stick, Z Spot, Slot Cross, and Switch Curl attack man coverage with quick separation. The play action package (PA Inverted Veer, PA Power Y Pop, PA Read, PA Y Wheel) sells the heavy run identity and gets linebackers to bite, opening the Y Pop and Y Wheel behind them. RPO Alert Out and Y Lead Read Option let you read a single defender post-snap instead of guessing pre-snap.
Strengths
- The trips overload plus attached wing creates a run and pass conflict on the edge defender, which is exactly what Power Read, Counter Bash, and GT Counter Bash are built to punish
- Quads Sprint Spot, Z Spot, and Stick give you a three level flood against Cover 3 and Cover 4, with the flat route sitting outside the curl to flat defender's leverage
- Four Verticals from a trips set bends the seams into the vacated deep middle against single high, and you can hot route the inside vertical to a corner or drag to shred Cover 1
- Man beaters are everywhere: Slot Cross, Quads Drive, Quads Cross Y Delay, and Switch Comeback all create natural rubs off the stack, and defenders in man coverage get caught in traffic without a physical press setting
- PA Power Y Pop and PA Y Wheel are elite against aggressive users who crash on the run action, and the Y Pop hits the exact window a downhill linebacker vacates
Weaknesses
- The weak side is thin, so overload blitzes and nano pressures from the trips side backside get home fast with only the tackle and wing to account for the extra rusher
- Running Counter Bash and GT Counter Bash into a stacked box gets stuffed when the opponent puts eight in the box and commits the safety, since the pulling scheme is slow developing
- A user controlled safety cheating to the trips side takes away the deep concepts immediately, and Four Verticals dies against a user who reads the formation strength pre-snap
- Screens (HB Slip Screen, Mtn HB Slip Screen) are easy tells out of an unbalanced look, and blitzing opponents blow them up before the blockers release
- The set announces its strength pre-snap, so disciplined players simply shift their line and linebackers to the trips side and force you to run or throw into the short side
Usage Tips
Read the alignment of the defender over your number three receiver first: if a linebacker or safety is covering the slot, go to Slot Cross or Stick immediately for a mismatch, and if the nickel is on, go back to the run game
Use this set on second and medium and third and short, where Power Read, Y Lead Read Option, and RPO Alert Out let you make the defense wrong regardless of the front
Hot route the wing tight end to a flat or drag on any run concept to build your own RPO and give yourself an outlet when the box loads up
Motion the outside trips receiver across the formation to identify man versus zone, then snap it: if a defender follows, run the Switch Comeback or Quads Drive man beaters
Keep the back in to block on Four Verticals and Switch Z Curl when you suspect pressure, since the weak side of this set is the most vulnerable part of the alignment
Alternate between the base and Mtn versions of Inside Zone Split so opponents cannot key on the blocking scheme, and use the play action package after establishing the run
