Playbooks

Stick

Shotgun·Y Off Trips·11
StickStick ConceptPass Play
Play diagram for Stick from Shotgun Y Off Trips in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 4 playbooks

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Breakdown

Stick out of Shotgun Y Off Trips lines up with a trips bunch to one side and an isolated X to the backside. The backside X runs a corner route on an outside release while the trips side shows a flat route from the outermost man, a stick (hitch/settle) route from the middle receiver, and a vertical seam or wheel from the innermost receiver breaking to the sideline underneath. The running back releases into a checkdown or blocks while the line pass protects in a standard drop back scheme, making this a classic Stick concept built to attack zone coverage by stretching underneath defenders horizontally and vertically at once. The primary read starts with the flat and stick combo on the trips side, working from the stick route to the flat, then peeking backside to the isolated corner route if the defense overloads the trips side.

Defensive Reads

Check the flat defender and curl to flat zone defender presnap, since Stick lives or dies on whether these defenders sit or widen after the snap Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if the middle linebacker or nickel drops too deep on the stick route the quick game window opens immediately Beware cover 3 sky or cloud rotations that funnel a safety down into the flat, this can jump the flat route and force the quarterback to work back to the stick runner or the backside corner route Identify man coverage with a slot corner pressed on the stick runner, this is where you hot route to a speed out or slant to counter the leverage Watch for a nano blitz or user blitz off the edge on the backside X side, since the corner route takes longer to develop and leaves the quarterback exposed if protection is not set correctly

Usage Tips

Presnap identify whether the defense shows two high safeties or a single high shell, since Stick punishes zone defenses that leave the flat and stick area soft

If you see man coverage with no help over the trips side, hot route the stick runner into a quick out or slide the flat route into a wheel to create separation against man leverage

Use this play on early downs or in third and short situations because the stick and flat combo gives a fast, high percentage completion window against zone blitzes and cover 3

Combine Stick with Four Verticals or Deep Stick from the same set to keep the defense honest, since both plays start with a similar trips look and force linebackers to respect the vertical stress before you come back to the quick game

Against cover 2 look to hit the seam or corner route on the backside X since the flat defender will widen and the stick runner will occupy the underneath zone defender

Other Plays in Y Off Trips