Playbooks

Deep Stick

Shotgun·Y Off Trips·11

Stick Stick Concept Pass Play

Play diagram for Deep Stick from Shotgun Y Off Trips in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetY Off Trips

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 2 playbooks

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Breakdown

Deep Stick is run out of Shotgun Y Off Trips with 11 personnel, aligning three receivers to the trips side and a single receiver plus RB into the boundary. The trips side runs the classic Stick concept underneath (flat, stick/hitch, and a corner route breaking outside) while the backside single receiver clears vertically up the sideline and the middle trips receiver climbs to a deep post, stretching the field high and low. The RB releases into a flat route on the play side for a checkdown, and the play is a full drop back pass with no play-action or screen elements, functioning primarily as a zone beater that also has answers versus man due to the natural picks created by the stacked trips alignment. The primary read progression starts with the corner route to the flat man on the stick concept, then works to the deep post if the safety bites on the underneath routes.

Defensive Reads

Pre snap, identify if the defense shows two high safeties or rolls to one high, since a single high shell tells you the post has a bigger throwing window. Watch the flat defender and the corner route defender simultaneously, this is a natural stick conflict and if either overcommits you have an easy completion. Key the middle linebacker or nickel defender assigned to the RB flat route, if he sinks too deep in zone coverage the checkdown is wide open. User controlled defenders sitting in a lurk position over the deep post are the biggest threat to this concept, if you see a defender shading toward the trips post pre throw, come off it and work the corner or flat instead. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the deep post win against inside leverage corners, but disciplined zone defenses that stay square on the stick routes can force you to check down.

Usage Tips

Use this on second or third and medium when you need a chain mover with a home run shot attached to the deep post.

Check the middle of the field pre snap. If you see a single high safety, target the deep post since the corner route will likely occupy the flat defender.

Against Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells, work the stick to flat progression fast since the corner route may run into a squatting cornerback.

Hot route the backside single receiver into a slant or drag if you are getting no threat from the boundary defender, it opens up a quick throw versus blitz looks.

Pair this call with Deep Stick Out or Bounce Y Stick in the same set so the defense has to respect both the corner breaking route and the flat conflict every snap, keeping linebackers honest on their drops.