Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Fake Screen Wheel is a play-action screen fake out of Shotgun Y Off Trips that dresses up a wheel route concept behind a fake HB screen. The diagram shows the trips side receiver closest to the formation running a quick out and settling as a shallow flat check, the middle trips receiver breaking outside then vertically up the numbers on a wheel route, and the backside single receiver running a straight vertical seam up the far sideline. The HB and OL sell run action or a screen look up front while the QB looks off the fake before working his eyes back to the wheel route as the primary read, with the backside vertical as a home run alert if the safety bites on the play action.
Defensive Reads
This play is designed to beat man coverage and aggressive zone teams that key hard on backfield action, since the wheel route works vertically once the underneath defender bites on the fake screen. Watch for a linebacker or slot corner sitting on the running back's release, if he stays home and does not flow toward the fake, the wheel window gets tight and you should reset to the backside vertical seam. Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells with a deep half safety rolled to the trips side will jump the wheel route late, so identify pre-snap whether the safety is shaded toward the three receiver bunch. A disciplined Mike linebacker or a lurking underneath zone defender who reads the QB's eyes can undercut the wheel route for a big hit, so time the throw before that defender flattens his drop. Against Cover 0 or man pressure with no safety help over the top, the backside vertical becomes the easiest answer since there is no deep safety to help on either route.
Usage Tips
Use this play when the defense has shown aggressive screen or run support tendencies on tape so the fake screen action actually holds linebackers and slot defenders for a beat. Check the safety depth before the snap, if you see a single high safety cheating toward the trips side the backside vertical becomes your first read instead of the wheel. Hot route the flat runner to a quick hitch or hold him in as an extra blocker versus teams that bring a nano blitz off the edge, since the wheel route needs time to develop up the sideline. Best called on second and medium to third and long when defenders are keying run or screen and are more likely to jump the fake, giving the wheel runner a clean release outside. Pair this with HB Slip Screen or Deep Stick from the same Y Off Trips set earlier in a series so the defense over commits to short screen concepts, then punish that tendency with this play action shot.
