Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Salem out of Singleback Y Trips is a play-action sail concept that floods one side of the field while stressing the backside with a deep dig. The trips side runs a flood combo with a corner route from the outside receiver, an out breaking route from the middle slot, and a flat route from the inside slot, stacking three levels underneath the sideline. The backside single receiver runs a deep dig that settles across the middle, giving you a true sail concept to the trips side and a crosser to hit if the flood gets taken away, with the primary read starting on the corner route and working down to the flat.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify safety alignment and cornerback depth on the trips side since a two high shell with soft corners invites the flood concept while a single high safety with press corners signals man coverage that favors the backside dig. Post-snap, key the flat defender and underneath zone linebacker drops since a fast flat drop can jump the shortest route and force you to climb the ladder to the out or corner. Watch for a user controlled defender sitting in the intermediate throwing lane on the trips side, as that lurk threat is designed to bait the out route throw and jump the window. This play struggles against heavy underneath zone coverage like Cover 3 Sky or Cover 4 buzz looks that get extra defenders into the flood zone, so avoid calling it into a defense that is stacking that side. Blitz packages that bring pressure off the backside edge can disrupt the play-action timing before the dig route develops, so check protection or hot route the running back to chip if you see an overload look pre-snap.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a shift to identify if the defense is playing man or zone before the snap since this play punishes zone defenses that cannot cover all three flood levels. Against zone shells, work the high to low read from corner to out to flat and let the ball placement dictate which window is open. Against man coverage, lean on the backside dig since it crosses the field away from trail technique and creates natural separation off the play-action fake. Call this on early downs in the Y Trips set to keep the defense honest against the run action, then sequence into HB Power O or PA Power O later in the series once the defense starts cheating up on the flood side. Pair this with Curls or Y-Seam Curl in your play-calling script so the defense cannot sit on the sail concept every time you show trips.
