Playbooks
Y Off Trips Pats
At a Glance
Overview
Y Off Trips Pats is one of the deepest sets in the Shotgun formation family, pairing a trips bunch look to one side with a Y receiver offset in the backfield next to the quarterback. That offset alignment is the whole point: it gives you a second release point that defenses have to declare on before the snap. If the defense walks a linebacker out to cover the Y off, you know you are looking at man or a matched zone with reduced box numbers, which opens up HB Power and Inside Zone. If the defense leaves the Y off uncovered and stays in a two-high shell, you have a free release into the flat or a wheel with no immediate contact.
What separates this set from standard trips sets in Shotgun is the sheer volume of concepts stacked on the same alignment. You get pure dropback route combos (Jets Crosses, Pats Cross, Whip Dig, Deep Slot Curl), play-action off the same shell (PA Jets Fork, PA Pats Cross, PA Copo Cross Dig), a legitimate run game (HB Power, Inside Zone, 5 6 Trap, HB Mid Draw), screens both directions (Pats HB Screen, WR Screen), and even empty variations (Mtn Empty Dbl Unders, Mtn Empty HB Sluggo, Mtn Empty Smash Y-post) that let you go from a run threat to five-out without changing sets. Very few sets in the game let you run power football and empty smash concepts out of the same base look.
The matchup advantage comes from how the trips side compresses coverage. Three receivers to one side forces the defense to either roll extra help or play a bracket, which leaves the single receiver on the backside isolated for X Curl, Slot Out, or Pats Y Out. Meanwhile the Y off is almost always covered by a linebacker or safety in man, and route concepts like Y-option Wheel, TE Whip, and Pats Drag Wheel are built specifically to punish that assignment. Motioning the Y off across the formation before the snap gives you a clean man versus zone read without burning a timeout or an audible.
Strengths
- Pre-snap man/zone identification is nearly automatic by motioning the Y off across the formation and reading whether a defender travels with him.
- Mesh concepts (Wheel Mesh, Mesh Y Out, Pats Cross, Jets Crosses) are elite man beaters, and the trips side traffic creates natural rubs that break down press coverage and Cover 1 robber looks.
- Zone beaters are stacked: Whip Dig, Deep Slot Curl, X Curl, and Mtn Empty Dbl Unders all sit routes in the soft spots of Cover 3 and Cover 4, and you can hot route the Y off to a curl or drag to fill the middle hole.
- Run/pass balance out of a single look with HB Power, Inside Zone, 5 6 Trap, and HB Mid Draw living behind the same alignment as your deep concepts, which makes play-action (PA Jets Fork, PA Pats Cross, PA Copo Cross Dig) genuinely believable.
- The empty variations let you convert to five-out without switching sets, so opponents committing an extra box defender against the run get punished immediately by Mtn Empty HB Sluggo or Mtn Empty Smash Y-post.
Weaknesses
- Interior pressure is a real problem because the Y off frequently releases instead of chipping, leaving five blockers against A-gap and B-gap nano blitz overloads. You need to manually block the Y off or slide protection.
- The trips side concentration means a user-controlled defender parked over the middle can sit on mesh and crossing routes, and heavy traffic slows your receivers into contested catch situations.
- Backside isolation cuts both ways: if the opponent rolls a corner and safety to bracket the single receiver, plays like X Curl and Slot Out die and you are forced back into the crowded trips side.
- Play-action concepts hold the ball a long time and are extremely vulnerable to edge pressure once opponents recognize the tendency, especially with the offset back not accounting for the free rusher.
- Screens out of this look (Pats HB Screen, WR Screen) get shut down fast against defenses that spam outside blitzes or user a flat defender, since the trips alignment tips the screen direction.
Usage Tips
Open drives by motioning the Y off and cataloging the reaction. Once you know whether the opponent runs man or matched zone, you can pick between mesh concepts and sit-route concepts for the rest of the series with confidence.
On second and medium, alternate HB Power and Inside Zone with PA Pats Cross or PA Copo Cross Dig from the identical alignment. The run threat pulls linebackers forward and opens the deep crossers behind them.
Against single high, hot route the trips inside receiver on a slot streak or use Mtn Empty Smash Y-post to attack the seam between the single high safety and the closing corner.
Against two high, work the intermediate: Whip Dig and Deep Slot Curl attack the void underneath split safeties, and you can hot route the Y off to a flat to give yourself a clean checkdown against zone drops.
On third down with pressure expected, keep the Y off in to block or run Scat with a quick sit route as your first read. Do not call play-action into obvious blitz down and distance without adjusting protection.
