Playbooks
HB Slip Screen out of Singleback Y Trips Close Wing is a designed screen play meant to bait aggressive pass rushers and blitz-heavy defenses. The offensive line lets the rush flow upfield while the HB slips out to the flat behind a wall of blockers, with the trips side receivers running clear out routes to drag corners and linebackers away from the screen lane. The primary read is simply the HB in the flat, so once the screen is triggered you are looking to get him the ball in space and let blocking convergence do the rest.
Diagnose the front pre-snap, if the defense shows a wide nine or heavy edge rush look this screen has a green light against it. Post-snap, track user controlled defenders who spy or sit in the backfield, since a disciplined spy or a linebacker who reads screen quickly can blow this play up before blockers get set. Zone coverages with linebackers sitting in short curl to flat zones are the biggest natural counter to this play, they can jump the screen lane without needing to diagnose it. Watch for delayed blitzes or contain rushers who stay home on the edge, they take away the alley the HB needs and force you to check down or eat the loss. If the defense is in a two high shell with soft zone linebackers underneath, expect this screen to get sniffed out, save it for looks with aggressive man pressure instead.
Call this play specifically when you see pre-snap indicators of an aggressive four man rush or an overload blitz package coming from the defensive line or edges.
Watch the defensive line alignment before the snap, wide nine ends and stacked linebackers on the same side are a strong signal the defense is pinning its ears back, which is exactly what this screen wants to punish.
Use HB Dive and HB Stretch earlier in a drive to sell the run threat, then dial up HB Slip Screen once the defense starts keying run fits or crashing hard on early downs.
Hot route the trips side receivers into deeper clear out routes if you are facing man coverage so the underneath defenders have no reason to sit near the screen lane.
Best deployed on second and medium or third and short when defenses are more likely to bring pressure, since the timing of the screen depends on the rush overcommitting upfield.