trips offense playbook

• Trips Formation Football (4 Best Plays Out of Trips)

By Coach Martin | Football Offense

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The Trips formation is one of the most popular formations in football.

A lot of teams use it in the modern game because it allows offenses to both spread the field and create confusion + chaos.

Below I'll explain what trips formation is, why it's so popular, and then we'll break down 4 of the best plays to run out of Trips formation.

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What is Trips Formation?

Trips Formation has 3 wide receivers stacked on the same side of the field.

This can cause a lot of confusion for the opposition team.

Offenses can run it out of the  shotgun formation or with the quarterback under center -- though most teams prefer to run it out of shotgun today.

In addition, most offenses will also have another wide receiver lined up to the opposite side of the formation all by himself. Doing so forces the defense to put at least one cornerback to that side of the field.

Why Trips Formation Works

Trips Formation is great at creating mismatches.

First, it forces the defense to either go with the Nickel formation , with five defensive backs on the field; or have a linebacker cover a receiver.

Next, it forces the defense to either:

1. Put four of those players to the side of the field with Trips -- which leaves the other receiver one-on-one.

2. Or put a safety over top of the lone receiver -- which puts all three receivers on the Trips side to be one-on-one.

And Trips can get even more confusing...

Well-designed plays have the receivers on the Trips side running in different directions, which forces the defenders to sometimes cross in front of each other.

It's easy for defenders to lose their man against Trips or to even bump into each other, creating plenty of open spaces for receivers.

Best Trips Formation Plays

Play #1: smash.

Smash is a play in which the two inside receivers will attack the deep part of the field, while the two outside receivers will run short routes.

This is a great play as it attacks the defense on multiple levels, and creates different looks on each side of the field.

Against zone, Smash usually sees the outside receivers having only one defender on them, with the safeties helping out on the deep routes.

This means that the outside receivers will have a lot of open space if they can shake that first defender.

On this play, the lone receiver on the left and the outside receiver on the right will run inside Hitch routes . The H will run a Deep Post toward the middle of the field, while the Z will run a Deep Corner toward the near sideline.

Play #2: Box

Box is a play that looks to cause confusion in the middle of the field.

By running three out of the four routes toward the middle, there will be many defenders running in front of each other and to the same place on the field.

It's easy for receivers to get lost among all these bodies, and then come out wide open as a result.

By having the two outside routes attack the deep area of the field, it leaves a lot of room for the underneath routes to run after the catch.

The X will run a Deep Post toward the middle of the field, while the Y will run a Go route down the right sideline. 

The H will run a Shallow Drag from right to left, with the Z running a Dig/In route about 10 yards downfield.

Play #3: Skinny Post Attack

The Skinny Post Attack is great at attacking the defense at three different depths on the Trips side of the field -- all toward the middle of the field.

This often causes defenders to have to make a choice as to which receiver to cover -- especially the safeties .

Since the X on the outside will run a Deep Fade down the left sideline, he's often matched up one-on-one and could find himself free deep.

The X will run that Deep Fade down the left sideline.

On the Trips side, the H will run a Skinny Post , the Z will run a Deep Hitch, and the Y will run a Deep Post.

Play #4: Scissors

Scissors if the perfect example of how the Trips formation can use routes that cross each other to cause confusion.

In this play, the two receivers to the right in Trips will run mirroring routes that will cross each other at some point.

This will hopefully cause defenders to either run into each other, stumble trying to avoid each other, or just plain lose their coverage man.

Meanwhile, the two other receivers will run clear-out routes to take advantage of what should be a lot of free space.

The Y will run a Deep Post while the Z will run a Deep Corner .

The H will run a Shallow Drag while the X will run a straight Go route.

Many teams in today's game use the Trips formation, in some form, because of the many advantages it has.

While most offenses that use Trips will do so out of shotgun, it is a formation quarterbacks can use under center, too.

It causes a lot of confusion among the defense and creates great mismatches at just about every level.

What's more, it also helps to isolate one great receiver on your team, allowing him to often match up one-on-one against a defender.

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Defending The Trips Formation

The top-tier teams in our conference all run versions of the spread offense. We utilize the 33 Stack defense and our coaching staff works hard on adjusting blitz concepts so as not to compromise our secondary coverages. Our “Buster” scheme, as we dubbed it, has been an integral part in defending against our spread opponents.

The Master Of Disguise One of the more popular spread-formation looks our opponents use is the Trips or 3-by-1 set. By having three receivers on one side — a wide receiver (WR) and two slot receivers, or, a WR off the line of scrimmage (LOS) with a slot receiver and a tight end — and a WR on the weak side, the offense creates an unbalanced-spread look, which challenges the defense to match up. When this occurs, the defense must account for three receivers on the strong side and the backside receiver, plus stopping the run.  

The offense’s goal is to create misdirections to befuddle the defense. So, to counter this, your defense needs to disguise what it wants to accomplish — disguise a blitz or disguise the coverage.

The use of disguise in our Buster series  is the solution to getting maximum coverage on the strong side, while preventing weak-side vulnerability — all the while serving a heavy dose of the blitz. Buster creates confusion and misreads by the QB. This leads to sacks, interceptions, fumbles, incompletions or stuffing runs.

Beating The Offense With ‘Buster’

Buster is an audible call out of our regular defense. The Buster audible series may appear complicated at first. When coaches break it down, however, it is easily taught. Our players have come to enjoy the problems Buster creates for opposing offenses. And, the “big play” opportunities for every defender on the field play an important role in the players learning their assignments.

One method we use is to “flop” our ends, spurs and outside linebackers (LB) in our 33 Stack defense. Aligned to the strong side are the defensive end (E in the diagrams), Sam Linebacker (SLB), and the Archer LB (a spur). Aligned on the weak side are the speed-end rusher (R), Will LB (WLB) and Lance (another spur).

These movements now create a Cover 2 shell look for the QB’s read as he is in cadence.

The Archer stems, aligning with the No. 3 (inside slot) receiver. The Archer’s outside leg splits the No. 3 WR’s body.

The timing of the movement from what Diagram 1 shows to the look of Diagram 2 is determined by your coaches during game planning. From watching the opponent, here is a good rule of thumb: the moving defenders should watch the center.

Centers tend to look through their legs to get an accurate reference point of snapping the ball to the QB.  Centers look up prior to snapping the ball. Between the initial QB cadence and the snap, the QB is seeing the defense shift into a Cover 2.

Defending Adjustments After you stuff the basic trips formation a few times, the offense typically smartens up and adds some adjustments to its look.

The speed option to the weak side is a popular running play for spread offenses and it is addressed within the Buster audible.  

If the defense makes the “strength” call when the offense lines up in a 2-by-2 set, and when the offense motions to trips, the potential for confusion exists. To follow suit and audible to Buster would mean a wholesale shift of personnel from one side of the field to the other. To avoid such confusion, go with Buster Opp (see below).

At the snap, E takes an initial step toward to offensive tackle. He then backs off into flat coverage. The Archer LB has taken his outside pass rush with the SLB blitzing the B-gap. The defense is still rushing six, and it becomes a “cat-and-mouse” game with the QB — that’s why the zone blitz is named Minnie.

The “Cincy” audible (see below) out of Buster is a weak-side CB blitz and is a second option for your defense against the offense motioning out of Trips and into a 2-by-2 formation.

While the CB stems, the SLB and Mike LB stem to a 30 look; lining up 3 1/2 yards from the guards. The FS stems to a 1-by-7 look on the strong side. On the snap, the nose tackle (NT) stunts to the weak-side B-gap. The SLB and Mike LB blitz the A-gaps.

A delay blitz by the Mike LB may work best, depending on the direction the center takes. The WLB takes the flat coverage to look for the ‘hot’ route.  The Lance covers the weak-side receiver deep, with the FS jumping the “hot” route by the strong-side slot or wide out.

For the empty formation (3-by-2 look with only the QB in the backfield), make a minor tweak.  

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Here is a link which provides video of Buster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsmh6gRCbKQ

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Trips Formation Football

Football formations play a crucial role in the success of an offense. One such formation that has gained significant popularity is the Trips formation. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the intricacies of the Trips formation, its advantages, and some of the best plays to run out of it. Whether you are a coach or a player looking to understand this formation better, this article will provide you with valuable insights and strategies to excel on the field.

Understanding the Trips Formation

Why the trips formation works, key elements of the trips formation, trips formation plays, 3. skinny post attack, 4. scissors.

The Trips formation is characterized by three wide receivers lining up on the same side of the field. This offensive strategy, initially popularized by Joe Gibbs and the Washington Redskins, aims to create confusion and exploit defensive weaknesses.

The Trips formation proves effective due to its ability to create mismatches and flood the defense on one side of the field. By aligning three receivers in a clustered formation, the offense puts pressure on the defense to make challenging decisions. This formation forces the defense to either commit additional defenders to the Trips side, leaving other receivers in one-on-one matchups, or cover the Trips side with fewer defenders, creating opportunities for open spaces.

While the basic Trips formation features three wide receivers, there are variations and combinations that can be utilized to maximize its effectiveness. For instance, the “Shotgun, Trips right, slot left” formation indicates that the tight end and two wide receivers would line up on the right side of the field, while two receivers would line up on the left side of the field. The quarterback typically positions himself at least five yards behind the center, ready to execute the play.

To fully unleash the potential of the Trips formation, teams have developed a range of strategic plays. Let’s delve into some of the best plays commonly employed when utilizing the Trips formation.

The Smash play is a versatile concept that provides answers against multiple coverages. In this play, the Trips side features a single wide receiver running a corner route, while the running back executes an arrow route into the flat. Meanwhile, the other receiver on the Trips side runs a deep dig route, and the remaining receiver runs a shallow cross.

The Smash play effectively exploits the defense by creating a high-low read for the quarterback. Against zone coverage, the outside receivers often find themselves in one-on-one matchups, with the safeties focused on deep routes. This play offers ample opportunities for receivers to find open spaces and make significant gains.

The Box play is designed to create confusion and exploit the middle of the field. By sending three out of the four routes toward the middle, the offense forces defenders to navigate through crowded areas. This play aims to create mismatches and open spaces for receivers to exploit after the catch.

In the Box play, the outside receiver runs a deep post route, while the other receiver on the Trips side executes a go route down the sideline. Simultaneously, the inside receiver runs a shallow drag route from right to left, while the remaining receiver runs a dig/in route about ten yards downfield.

The Skinny Post Attack play is particularly effective at attacking the defense at multiple depths on the Trips side of the field. By stretching the defense vertically and horizontally, this play forces defenders to make challenging decisions in coverage assignments.

In the Skinny Post Attack, the outside receiver runs a deep fade route down the left sideline, often creating a one-on-one matchup. On the Trips side, the inside receiver runs a skinny post route, the middle receiver executes a deep hitch route, and the remaining receiver runs a deep post route. This play aims to exploit the open spaces and create confusion within the defense.

The Scissors play exemplifies how the Trips formation can utilize crossing routes to confuse defenders and create open spaces. This play involves two receivers on the Trips side running mirroring routes, crossing each other at certain points. The other two receivers run clear-out routes to take advantage of the free space created by the crossing routes.

In the Scissors play, the receiver closest to the line of scrimmage on the Trips side runs a deep post route, while the other receiver runs a deep corner route. Simultaneously, the receiver closest to the line of scrimmage on the opposite side executes a shallow drag route, and the remaining receiver runs a straight go route. This play aims to exploit the confusion caused by crossing routes and create opportunities for receivers to make big plays.

The Trips formation has revolutionized offensive strategies in football. Its ability to create mismatches, flood the defense, and exploit open spaces has made it a go-to formation for many teams. By utilizing plays like Smash, Box, Skinny Post Attack, and Scissors, teams can maximize the potential of the Trips formation and achieve success on the field.

Remember, the key to success lies in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the defense and adjusting your game plan accordingly. With proper execution and creativity, the Trips formation can become a powerful weapon in your arsenal. So, get on the field, master the Trips formation, and dominate your opponents with strategic precision.

Hello, I'm Elvis Cook, the author of PlayfulFootball.com. As a former football player, I bring a unique perspective and firsthand experience to the content I create. Having played football myself, I have a deep passion and understanding of the game. My personal experiences on the field have shaped my love for football and ignited a desire to share my knowledge and insights with fellow enthusiasts.

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Must Have Trips Passing Concepts in the Spread Offense

Trips is a great formation to get into because it can lead to advantages in the box for the run game and it can clearly define the space that needs to be attacked in the pass game. I personally like trips formation because we tag our quick pass game to our run game on almost every single play, and because of trips we are able to put the ball where we have a numbers advantage.

When we face 2-hi defenses against our trips, I usually aim to attack the flat space in our quick pass game with bubbles, quicks, stick routes etc. because our 3 receivers have 2 immediate threats on defense (CB & OLB). Clearly, these numbers favor us on offense and is space that needs to be exploited.

In this article, I’m going to share a few trips passing concepts that will cause serious confusion for the defense and give you the advantage you need to win through the air.

Trips Passing Concepts

Smash drive concept.

Smash + Drive is a trips passing concept that is a personal favorite because it has answers for multiple coverages.

Typically, the trips are to the field and to the boundary will be a single WR in a nasty split, or an attached TE. The smash concept will be ran to the single WR side. The single receiver will run the corner and the running back will be on an arrow route into the flat. The smash to the boundary can hit successfully against teams that put the nickel to the trips and play cover 2 or 1 to the boundary.

The drive concept comes from the field with the #3 WR running a deep dig at 10 or 12 yards and a shallow cross from the #2 WR.

#1 WR can run a variety of different routes but some of the most common routes are a slant behind the dig or a 5 yard in route.

Here’s a clip of Tulane running the drive smash concept

The QB’s eyes immediately go to the boundary. The CB is pressed to the outside on the #1 WR running the corner (pre-snap read should eliminate the corner route based on leverage), so QB is anticipating the arrow out of the backfield.

With the LB expanding and covering the back into the flat, the QB then progresses to the middle of the field on the drive. The shallow cross comes across nicely under the LB that is getting depth in his drop and the ball is out for a nice completion and gain.

Here’s another example of the concept from Penn State running it with an attached TE

This is a simple read for a QB as the smash concept puts a nice hi/low on the CB to the boundary. Pre-snap read indicates that both routes are available as the nickel is to the field with a 2 high safety look.

The safety is inside on the attached TE which leaves uncapped, or open space for the corner on the break point. This is where the hi/low comes in as the QB will get his eyes on the CB and essentially throw it to where he’s not, or into the open space.

The CB immediately pedals into his zone and stays over the top and outside of the corner, so the QB plants on his 3rd step and throws the ball to the RB into the flat. A simple throw and catch leads to a 6 yard gain for Penn State.

Follow Concept

The follow concept out of trips is usually when one receiver is running a shallow which is “followed” by another receiver running some sort of an angle route behind it.

This concept is a good zone beater and man beater, especially against man defenses that want to “banjo” or switch responsibilities when receivers cross each other off the LOS.

Below is a diagram of how Jackson State ran their follow concept in 2022.

Here’s a clip of Jackson State running this trips passing concept.

In the concept from Jackson State, they use the #3 WR to run vertical at the OLB to threaten him vertically causing him to get depth at the snap of the ball. This movement is intended to occupy him for a split second for the 2nd shallow or angle route coming from the #1 receiver to slice in front of his face.

The #2 WR is running the first shallow cross in the concept and his job is to occupy the ILB by sitting down in the zone forcing the LB to attach to the route. This will occupy the ILB so he cannot expand and threaten the #1 WR who is following the route.

The #1 WR has to let the concept develop off the LOS for a split second with the vertical release by 3, and the shallow cross by 2. This is why he foot fires off the line of scrimmage before breaking in on his route.

The QB’s pre-snap read indicates zone coverage, and he’s anticipating throwing the follow route immediately out of the break. The QB knows the first crosser will occupy the ILB and the vertical will push the OLB just enough for the #1 WR to break underneath it. With great timing on the throw, #1 WR catches the ball immediately out of his break and is able to make a move for a 7 yard gain.

In the next diagram the follow concept comes from North Carolina who runs it differently than Jackson State, but accomplishes the same goal.

I like this follow concept because it’s ran out of a compressed bunch set with cross action off the line of scrimmage from all three receivers.

The movement off the line of scrimmage from the bunch set creates confusion as the defense finds itself out of alignment and exposed for a big gain.

Here’s the clip of North Carolina running the follow concept from a compressed bunch look.

The #2 on the LOS does a great job clearing out the OLB with his wheel route. The outside release on the wheel causes the OLB to widen and get depth.

The #1 immediately crosses underneath the wheel route with the ILB in his sight. His job is the same as before which is to occupy the first inside backer. In this example, the ILB not only attaches to him, but abandons his zone responsibilities and runs with him across the field.

The #3 WR allows the wheel and cross to develop by getting width at the snap of the ball. As the OLB maintains outside leverage because of the release on the wheel, the angle route cuts inside with a massive window for the QB to throw into.

Ultimately the QB is progressing through two routes, the first cross and then the follow. QB’s eyes immediately go to the first cross and he sees the LB attach. He then progresses to the angle follow and it’s a simple throw and catch from there for a huge gain. The QB does have a pre-snap alert to throw the Go route with the single WR, but the CB and Safety help to the boundary would make for a tough throw.

It’s important to note that the key to making this play happen is the wheel route by the point man in the bunch look. This player has to understand that his route is ultimately dead from the beginning and he’s sacrificing himself in order to move the OLB just enough for the angle route to open up inside. It doesn’t count as a catch in the box score but this is just as important and his teammates should be giving him props for setting them up for success.

Post Wheel can be ran a few different ways out of trips, but the way Western Kentucky ran their post wheel concept in 2021 really caught my attention. Below is a diagram of how WKU ran post wheel out of their trips formation.

What I like about the way WKU ran their post-wheel is how they used their strength in their screen game to set up the wheel route. In this trips formation set, WKU runs Post from the outside, flashes tunnel screen from the #2 WR with the #3 WR stalking the OLB before releasing on the wheel route.

Here’s the clip of WKU running post wheel

The defense has a man advantage over the trips as they walk LB out to get 4 defenders over the 3 WR’s with Safety help over the top. It appears the the defense might be playing 2-man which leaves a huge mismatch on the #3 WR and the LB.

The outside WR runs his post and the CB absorbs the post route.

The #2 and #3 make it look like they are running one of their successful tunnel screens. #2 flashes out on bubble before replacing #3 down the LOS. This triggers the OLB to get down hill and into the flat to break up what he thinks is a screen pass.

The QB does a great job recognizing the CB running with the post and gets a firm ball out on a wheel.

If you’re familiar Air Raid pass concepts then you may have heard of the China concept out of trips. The #3 will run a corner while #2 and #1 both run 5 yard in routes. It’s a great concept against multiple coverages whether it’s zone or man. Typically this concept is to attack space behind the CB with the corner route, or underneath with horizontal conflict on the OLB with the two 5 yard in routes.

Ohio State’s version of the China concept is using the #2 WR on a double move. He hits the top of his break point at 5 yards like he normally would on his in route, but now he stutters and attacks the open grass in the middle of the field.

Here’s how it’s drawn up:

The QB should be licking his chops before the ball is snapped as he sees the Free Safety outside shade of the #3 WR. This should indicate that he has the green light on the stutter go. The play action holds down the only linebacker in the box long enough and the QB throws a good ball over the middle with pressure in his face.

Here’s a clip of WKU running the China Go concept:

In this look, the defense put numbers to the field with 4 defenders over the 3 WR’s. Looking at this defense It appears they are playing stress coverage / 3 match as the Mike and Free Safety are taking all of #3 vertical. As the #3 runs his corner route, it clears open the middle of the field for the #2 WR to attack open grass.

This is a great concept for defenses that play MOFO without any help from the backside safety.

Double Corner Switch

When I first saw Ohio State run this concept in 2019, I had to watch it at least a dozen times. Every time I played the clip back I just kept thinking how impossible it is for a defense to cover it correctly.

Below is how Ohio State ran their Double Corner Switch concept

The defense is also adding numbers to the trips formation with 4 defenders over the top of 3 WR’s. The QB has a MOFO look pre-snap with plenty of open grass for the taking on the switch vertical by the #1 WR in the trips formation.

Here’s a clip of Ohio State running Double Corner Switch

The Corner route by the #3 WR is a high angle corner whereas the #2 WR runs more of a low angle, or flat corner route.

Regardless of what coverage the defense is in, and how they move their safeties post-snap, the look of MOFO is still the same. The LB’s in the box have no chance of carrying this vertical coming from the wide side of the field by the #1 WR.

The QB initially gets his eyes to the left side of the field and quickly works back to the wide side of the field as he sees the boundary safety roll down after the ball is snapped.

The vertical is able to get on top of the LB’s with his man chasing him in a trail technique. It’s a great ball by the QB, but more importantly great patience to let the WR clear the inside linebackers and get vertical before throwing a strike for a touchdown.

Benefits of Trips Passing Concepts

You can clearly see how operating out of trips can be beneficial to an offense. It opens up a number of options in the run game or pass game. This article touched on just on a few drop back passes, but there are several quick game concepts and screens that can be highly effective out of trips formation.

The other added benefit to operating out of trips formation is how your WR’s will align in the set. Whether it’s bunch, stack, or compressed you can really manipulate a defense and the space you want to attack based on your alignment.

Ultimately, trips formation and trips passing concepts are extremely difficult to defend. Every offense should develop their package of trips passing concepts for a more successful pass game.

Home » Youth Football Trips Formation & More

Youth Football Trips Formation & More

The ability to overload one side or the other with your youth football Trips formation is a powerful tool to use particularly if the opponent’s coaches don’t know how to adjust.   A lot of Pop Warner youth football formations are balanced.

This gives you a threat to both sides so when you start overloading to one side the defense can be outnumbered unless they account for the strong side of the formation. This is the primary reason you should consider this formation if your league allows you to run it.

NFL Coaches On 12 Important Youth Football Formations

It is important to note though that as the offensive coordinator you have to be able to recognize the adjustments to your formation as they show up. The overload advantage can turn into a problem if you do not have an answer back to the weak side. It would be a mistake to assume the defense will not eventually adjust. The good news is you have a weak side run game with your back and even an effective jet sweep.

A Youth Football Trips Formation Forces Adjustments

The FirstDown PlayBook youth football Trips formation is one of our “single width” formations. A single width formation has an extended wide out(s) to only one side. In the case of the Trips formation it is also a 3×1 configuration giving you plenty of offense to the strong side. We favor this formation over a Trips formation look that has extended receivers to both sides for Pop Warner aged players. This way you have the advantage of trips but both of your edges are protected for the run game too.

Get As Fancy As You Want But You Better Have This Play On Your Call Sheet

Once again, that can be a good thing if you know what to look for from the defense as they begin to adjust. You even have a built in sprint out pass game to help your young quarterback as well. We have previously looked at this with more detail in some of our Youth Football Chalk Talks . You can always take advantage of these helpful clinics on FirstDown PlayBook once you become a member.

FirstDown PlayBook offers you 12 different formations just like this youth football Trips formation. You should consider one or two of these for your Pop Warner offense. Tap on any one of the tiles below to visit the article describing that formation . Then get on over to FirstDown PlayBook to get busy coaching your Pop Warner team with the best football playbook available!

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FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYS AND FORMATIONS

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We recommend beginning coaching with a strong set of fundamentals before conquering complex setups. Some of the best football plays are actually quite simple. That’s why our guide provides needed information—from basics to more advanced football formations—for both 5 on 5 and 7 on 7 flag football plays.  

What is a football formation?  At the beginning of all offensive plays, players on the field must create an offensive formation at the line of scrimmage . Football formations give each player a specific location on the line of scrimmage to begin their play. This prevents players from running into each other, crowding on the field, and promotes safety .

Take a look at the offensive flag football plays below. Each circle or O represents an individual player, with the square representing the quarterback. Where each player is located at the start of the play represents an offensive formation. The arrows reflect the plays, or routes, which provide an individualized map for each player in a formation.

BEST FLAG FOOTBALL ROUTES

You want to score some touchdowns, right? Let’s dive into individual routes that will give you enough knowledge and context to create new, slick flag football plays of your own.

NFL FLAG ROUTE TREE

This image showcases six different routes that can be used on offense in flag football.

Let’s walk through each player, from left to right. Note that all routes begin at the hike of the ball by the quarterback .

0 - Hitch: In this hitch route, the player runs straight for seven yards, then quickly pivots backwards for a couple yards. This throws off defenders running backwards to guard the player, and opens them up to a quick pass from the quarterback. 

1 - Slant: During a slant, the player should run forward a couple yards, then cut at a near 45-degree angle forward. This play becomes more effective when combined with 2 - Out (See below).

2 - Out: In an out play, the player should run forward for a designated yardage, five in this case, and then cut on a direct 90-degree angle in either direction.

Offensive football plays pro-tip: The combination of 1-Slant and 2-Out is a classic, effective technique. As the two players cross directions mid-route, their defensive counterparts are often unable to track and follow their designated target. This opens not one, but two players for a quick throw from the quarterback. Your first down awaits!

Offensive football plays safety pro-tip: When combining two football plays that cross each other, like slants and outs, make sure the players communicate who is going to leave their formation first. This prevents any collisions as the players complete their routes.

3 - Post: The player runs forward a designated amount, in this case seven yards, then cuts at a 45-degree angle to the center of the field. This route is reliable for critical yardage gain.

Offensive football plays pro-tip: Having a hard time keeping all the types of routes straight? Easily remember ‘post’ routes by envisioning that you’re running towards the field goal post in the center of the field.

4 - Corner: This player proceeds straight for seven yards, then runs at a 45-degree angle toward the edge of the field. This route is optimal if you need the player to catch the ball and then step out of bounds to stop the clock during a nail-biting game .

5 - Fly: The fly is the easiest route in the book. Run straight—and fast! Give this route to the player who has some serious wheels (and hands) to gain lots of yardage. First down!

Now let’s go over some more complicated routes showcased in the image above and walk through each individual player’s movement.

6 - Option: In this trick route, the player appears to begin a slant, heading toward the center of the field, but then cuts directly parallel toward the sideline. This is effective for needed short yardage.

7 - Stop and Go: This route is perfect for players who have a need for speed. First, they run straight about seven yards and then stop. Just when the designated defensive guard thinks they’re covered, the player takes off again toward the end zone. Catch that ball and they’re home free.

8 - Post Corner: This route mixes the magic of a post route with—you guessed it—a corner route. This player runs straight for seven yards, then cuts toward the center of the field. Once their guard is still, they break out toward the corner of the field.

9 - Chair: This player runs forward about four yards, then cuts parallel to the side of the field. Instead of stopping like an out route, they shoot straight up the field toward the end zone. These two back-to-back cuts leave defensive guards in the dust.

You can mix and match these routes to create your own custom flag football plays, which can be used in 5 on 5 flag football, 7 on 7 flag football, and even more advanced leagues.

BEST FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYS

Now that you know all the individual routes that make up a flag football play, let’s go over a few of the best flag football plays. Note that the plays shown are set up for 5 on 5, but can easily be adapted to other variations or levels.

Single-Back Criss-Cross -  In this play, two receivers start at the line of scrimmage, equal lengths apart. An additional receiver starts a couple yards behind the quarterback.

Upon the snap , the center and the left receiver perform reverse slants, slightly staggered. This cuts off their respective defensive guards, opening them up for quick yardage. 

The receiver on the right side of the quarterback performs an in route (opposite of an out route), at about 10 yards. It’s recommended to throw to this receiver if a first down is needed or the receiver is wide open.

Lastly, the receiver stacked behind the quarterback runs toward the outside of the field and up the field. Because this receiver is stacked behind the line of scrimmage, it allows more time for the player to get open before they are met by their respective defensive guard.

Trips Right -  Notice that one side of the field has a defensive blindspot? It’s time to break out the triple, or ‘trips,’ formations. Trips plays can be used on either side of the quarterback and are designed to expose defensive weaknesses and cause confusion, making it one of the best youth flag football plays to unleash. 

For this football play, we will stack the three receivers on the right side of the quarterback.

The receiver starting farthest right does a slight slant and then flies up the field, spreading out the defensive line. Meanwhile, the middle receiver performs a corner to further spread out the defense.

The inside receiver and center then do a crossing in and out, twisting up the remaining defensive players. Because of the misdirection of these two players, often one of them will remain open for some short, quick yardage while the defensive line readjusts to the scramble.

Single-Set Right Cross - Are you down by five with only 15 seconds left on the clock? Here’s the perfect football play to score some heavy yardage.

Have two receivers line up to the right of the quarterback, and the last receiver a few yards behind the quarterback. Upon the hike, the two receivers on the right perform a seven yard corner and a seven yard post, respectively. This cross throws off defenders and should leave you with two receivers open over 10 yards deep.

Safety pro-tip: Make sure to designate which player crosses first—you don’t want any team members bumping heads.

The remaining receiver behind the quarterback will start the route in a slant, then break off into a fly at the line of scrimmage. Perfect for a final hail mary!

If none of these routes leave receivers open, the center can release and do a five yard out. This is a quick release, resulting in slightly less yardage, but still a solid backup plan.

5 ON 5 FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYS

Traditional flag football leagues participate in 5 on 5 play. On offense, this typically consists of:

One quarterback: This player is given the ball at the start of the play and aims to throw the ball to an open receiver or the center. Because there are no linemen, you’ll find most 5 on 5 teams use football pass plays.

One center: This player hands the ball to the quarterback at the start of the play. They can then either guard the quarterback to allow more time for the quarterback to throw the ball, or release and run a route, similar to a receiver.

Three receivers: These players run designated routes to open themselves up for a pass from the quarterback.

For each offensive play, the individual players line up on the line of scrimmage . Each player then performs a running route . The combination of each of these routes make up a play. Mixing and matching the nine different route types and field positions allows for hundreds of unique plays. However, it is highly recommended that your team prepare a shortlist of preferred flag football plays ahead of the game. This will allow for quicker decisions in between downs and less confusion on the field. 

Need a little bit of help crafting football excellence? Check out the complete 5 on 5 NFL FLAG Playbook .

7 ON 7 FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYS & FORMATIONS

While most leagues play 5 on 5 flag football, including all NFL FLAG teams, you may encounter a league that plays 7 on 7 flag football. This often includes adult competitive leagues, regional recreation leagues, and co-ed leagues. 

There are several benefits of having 7 on 7 flag football play:

Allows for more players to play at once

Opens up additional possibilities for play formations

Allows mixing of player skill levels

Opportunity for more quarterback running plays

When building out 7 on 7 flag football plays, you can build off of existing 5 on 5 flag football plays, such as those in our NFL FLAG 5 on 5 Playbook .

However, in typical 7 on 7 play, there is an additional offensive player role. Often one of the seven players now plays as a lineman, whose role is to guard the quarterback from getting their flag pulled during the play. 

Safety pro-tip: It is important to note that in all 7 on 7 play the linesman position is a non-violent role. Rules range from league to league, but tackling is never acceptable in this role.

The remaining additional player often plays as a receiver. This allows for there to be a total of four receivers, often split on either side of the quarterback. The two receivers closest to the quarterback are called ‘slot receivers’ and the two further receivers are known as ‘wide receivers.’

7 of 7 flag football often has the same rules as 5 on 5 flag football offensive play, but consult with your league for further rules and information.

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Home / General Coaching Tips / Attacking the Backside of the Trips Formation with Read Routes

Attacking the Backside of the Trips Formation with Read Routes

One of the things that can make life really difficult on defenses is if you can effectively throw to the backside of the Trips formation. Most defenses will put an extra defender over to the Trips side and leave the backside to the Cornerback and the Linebacker to defend the single receiver. This can make it difficult for the offense to find easy completions to the Trips side. The easiest way to get back to easy completions is to use the Running Back to create easy completions to the Boundary. Attacking the Backside of the Trips Formation with Read Routes is actually very simple!

We are big believers in taking what the defense gives us. When we line up in a Trips formation, if they are going to put extra defenders to the Trips side they are giving us the backside of the formation. We then try to make this as easy for our players as possible so they don’t have to spend a lot of time thinking about and drilling these reads and routes. We run two different routes that are entirely based on the position of the backside Cornerback.

The first route we will run is our Look Flare Route. This is the route that we will run if the Cornerback is more than 6 yards from the Line of Scrimmage. Obviously, this can vary with each Cornerback, but we have found that 6 yards is a pretty good general distance to use. On this concept our receiver is going to break right to the heels of the Linebacker on his side of the field.

Related Content: Attacking the Defense with the Trio Formation 

Once he gets even with that linebacker he will stop and square up to the Quarterback. Meanwhile the Running Back is going to be running a Flare route where he replaces the heels of the receivers. This gives the Quarterback a simple read, if the Backside Linebacker widens to the Running Back the Quarterback will throw the look route. If the Linebacker stays put and shuts down the Look route the Quarterback will throw the Flare route to the Running Back.

The second route we use if the Cornerback is closer than 6 yards to the Line of Scrimmage. Here we are just to use a classic Cover 2 beater, the Go and the Out. The only major difference here is that the Out is going to come from the back. Again, this gives the Quarterback a really easy read on the Backside. If the Cornerback drops deep with the receiver running the Go, then the Running Back will be 1 on 1 with the Backside Linebacker. If the Cornerback stays on the line, the Quarterback will deliver a hole shot to the Receiver.

Related Content: Shotgun Wing T Playbook for Youth Football 

The key to teaching these concepts is to get the Quarterback to see when he has an advantage on the Trips Side and when he has an advantage of the Backside. Normally he will be able to tell this based on the Safeties and their alignment. Once he can determine where he has the advantage, it’s just a matter of making a single read and getting the ball to the receiver.

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Giant Freakin Robot

Netflix Raunchy Offensive Comedy Turns Hilarious Pranks Into Actual Story

Posted: June 7, 2024 | Last updated: June 8, 2024

By now, you’re likely familiar with the comedic style of Eric Andre, as his self-titled television talk show has made the rounds across social media for being wacky, off-the-wall, and completely unhinged. In 2021, Andre managed to take his trademark blend of pranks and chaos into the streets, to create a Netflix original film titled Bad Trip. Bad Trip is available to watch on the streamer today, if you’re looking for a hilarious blend of gross-out humor and practical effects.

Typical Eric Andre Behavior

If you’re a fan of Eric Andre’s work, you might be wondering how a man who built his career off dumping cereal and ranch dressing over his head on a New York subway managed to stitch his nonsense into a cohesive movie. Andre wrote Bad Trip alongside his frequent behind-the-scenes collaborators Andrew Barchilon and Kitao Sakurai. Sakurai also serves as the director of the film, which makes perfect sense as he’s helmed each episode of The Eric Andre Show thus far.

A Road Trip Full Of Pranks

Bad Trip stars Eric Andre in the leading role, alongside Lil Rel Howery, Tiffany Haddish, and Michaela Conlin. Outside of these core performers, the rest of the “cast” mostly consists of real strangers from across the United States caught on hidden cameras. Through the narrative device of a traditional road trip comedy, Andre, Howery, and Haddish prank people with elaborate set-pieces including massive car accidents, bar fights, and one particularly NSFW stunt which nearly got the cast stabbed by an impassioned passer-by.

Bad Trip Starts With A Florida Man

The narrative of Bad Trip centers on Andre’s Chris, an underachieving Florida man who works at a car wash. After encountering his old high school crush, he becomes obsessed with professing his love to her, even going so far as enlisting his best friend Bud (Lil Rel Howery) to travel to New York City when he learns that she’s opening an art gallery there. To make their trip, the duo borrows a car from Bud’s sister, Trina (Tiffany Haddish), who is incarcerated for a string of robberies and assaults.

Taking A Page From The Borat Playbook

As Bud and Chris take the car and flee the state, Trina stages an elaborate escape from prison, only to vow revenge upon her brother and Chris after she discovers that her car has been stolen. The plot of Bad Trip is very bare bones, and mostly exists only to stitch each individual prank into a single story, much in the vein of films like Bad Grandpa, The Dictator, and Borat. Borat‘s Sacha Baron Cohen even served as a consultant on the project, helping Eric Andre to craft an unshakable performance after catching an early cut of the movie.

Not A Family-Friendly Movie

At the end of the day, Bad Trip isn’t winning any Oscars, but it is a fun, raunchy, prank-heavy feature choc full of surprising twists and turns. If you’re a fan of The Eric Andre Show, you’ll probably love it, though I certainly wouldn’t throw it on during a family-friendly event. For those who haven’t yet had the chance to catch it, or those due for a rewatch, Eric Andre’s Bad Trip is available to stream on Netflix today.

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Vladimir Putin repeats warning he could send weapons to adversaries of the West

Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin also says he does not see the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine - but adds he could not rule out a change to it.

Friday 7 June 2024 17:15, UK

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• Russia economically strong despite 'illegitimate sanctions'
• Ukraine has right to strike targets in Russia - NATO chief
• Russian vessels to make port in Cuba in 'hopes of invoking memory of missile crisis'
• Biden to discuss $225m package with Zelenskyy in France
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• Big picture:  Everything you need to know about the war right now
• Your questions answered: Are there any signs of an underground resistance in Russia?

Thank you for reading.

We will be back soon with more updates from the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has said he does not see the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine - but added he could not rule out a change to the doctrine.

"We have a nuclear doctrine which states that the use of nuclear arms is possible in an exceptional case, when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is threatened," he told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"But the doctrine can be changed.

"The same applies to nuclear tests. We will carry out tests if needed, but so far there is no such need."

Russia could send weapons to adversaries of the West, Vladimir Putin has warned for a second time.

The Russian president repeated the warning from earlier this week during the St Petersburg Economic Forum.

He did not say what countries or entities he was referring to, and he stressed that Moscow is not doing it currently.

"If they supply (weapons) to the combat zone and call for using these weapons against our territory, why don't we have the right to do the same?" he told the crowds. 

"But I'm not ready to say that we will be doing it tomorrow, either."

On Wednesday, Putin told international journalists that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

He also reaffirmed Moscow's readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

Joe Biden has apologised to Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the recent delay in approving new US aid for Ukraine.

Last month, following months of political disagreements, the Senate passed $95bn (£76.2bn) in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan .

"I apologise for those weeks of not knowing," the US president said.

"Some of our very conservative members [of Congress] were holding it up. 

"But we got it done, finally. We're still in - completely, totally." 

The Ukrainian president thanked his counterpart for American assistance.  

"It's very important that you stay with us," he said. 

"It's very important that in this unity, the United States of America, all American people stay with Ukraine, like it was during World War Two - how the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe." 

The two men were speaking in Paris, the day after D-Day commemorations in Normandy.

Russia needs to boost its use of non-Western currencies, Vladimir Putin said as he addressed the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He also said his country needs to reduce imports while calling for a major expansion of its domestic financial markets.

Trade with Asia is soaring, he told delegates, adding that almost two fifths of Russian external trade is now in roubles.

The share conducted in US dollars, euros and other Western currencies has declined.

Russia will try to boost the share of settlements conducted in the currencies of BRICS countries - which include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Mr Putin said.

"Last year, the share of payments for Russian exports in the so–called 'toxic' currencies of unfriendly states halved, while the share of the rouble in export and import transactions is growing - it is approaching 40% today," the president said.

Russia has referred to nations that imposed sanctions on it as "unfriendly".

 The session begins with an address by the Russian president. 

Vladimir Putin says there is a race among world powers to establish sovereignty. 

He speaks of the need for countries to both establish partnerships and also to look internally to tackle challenges presented by the current global economic landscape. 

Despite all the "obstacles and illegitimate sanctions", Russia remains one of the world's economic leaders, he says. 

He adds that "friendly countries" - those that have not joined sanctions against Moscow - account for three quarters of Russia's mutual trade turnover, and praises them for that. 

Countries including India and China have strengthened economic ties since Mr Putin launched his war in Ukraine. 

Vladimir Putin has taken to the stage in St Petersburg to address the International Economic Forum there.

He's joined by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwais and Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora. 

Chairing the session is Sergey Karaganov - a Russian political scientist. 

We'll bring you any key lines here in this live blog. 

A T-shirt is on sale at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum printed with a phrase attributed to Vladimir Putin, Sky News has discovered. 

"If a fight is inevitable, throw the first punch," it says.

The Russian president reportedly said it in 2015.

He apparently explained that it was something he had learned while growing up on the streets of Leningrad - a former name of St Petersburg. 

The Russian defence ministry has accused Ukraine of injuring 20 people, including children, in a missile attack on the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, using US-supplied ATACMS missiles.

Four of five missiles were shot down by air defence systems, the ministry said in a statement.

However, one of the missiles damaged two residential apartment blocks, it added, claiming it was deliberate.

Sky News is unable to verify the allegations.

There has been no immediate comment from Ukraine. 

The European Commission supports starting EU accession talks with Ukraine, the country's prime minister has said.

Denys Shmyhal said the commission had confirmed in a report that Kyiv had fulfilled the remaining steps required to start negotiations. 

"Now we expect our European partners to take the next step - to start negotiations on European Union membership this month," Mr Shmyhal said on Telegram. 

Earlier (7.43am post) we reported that the commission was reportedly ready to recommend that accession talks get underway.

It is part of an attempt to signal support for Kyiv before Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU next month, the Financial Times reported.

The EU announced earlier this year that it was sending an additional £42bn in aid to Ukraine - but only after  weeks of resistance from Hungary , which reportedly has concerns about minority rights in Ukraine. 

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Moscow Throws Putin Fanboy Scott Ritter Under the Bus

The former U.N. weapons inspector turned sex offender says he was pulled off a plane heading to Russia.

Allison Quinn

News Editor

David McNew/Getty Images

Former U.N. weapons inspector turned sex offender Scott Ritter has made a name for himself parroting Kremlin propaganda about the war against Ukraine.

But if he was hoping Moscow would back him up after he says he was barred from traveling to Russia because Washington is “afraid” of him appearing at a St. Petersburg economic forum, he was apparently sadly mistaken.

While Ritter and his supporters—including Russian media—have played up the notion that his passport was seized because he has the U.S. administration shaking in their boots, the Kremlin did not share in this hysteria.

Asked about the scandal Tuesday, Vladimir Putin ’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down Ritter’s claims. He told reporters the “details” about the situation were not clear and that there was nothing unusual about a former intelligence officer facing certain travel restrictions.

“This is practiced in almost all countries in relation to former intelligence officers,” he said.

He added, however, that if Ritter truly was thrown off the flight to stop him speaking in Russia then it was part of a “frenzied campaign to prevent U.S. citizens from establishing at least some contacts with Russia.”

Ritter famously visited Chechnya in January and delivered a pep talk in broken Russian to thousands of troops who’ve been waging war in Ukraine, so he’s already had plenty of “contacts” apparently even with Russian leaders sanctioned by the West.

The State Department has declined to comment on the “status” of Ritter’s passport. Ritter, who was convicted in an underage online sex sting in 2011, told Kremlin-controlled media on Monday that he was pulled off a flight on his way to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, where he was slated to speak.

“They took my passport. When asked why, they said ‘orders of the State Department,’” he told RT, later claiming that the real “purpose” of the move was to deprive Russia of his presence.

“They stuck it to the Russians,” he claimed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that there’s nothing Moscow can do to help Ritter.

“He’s not a Russian citizen,” he said.

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Inside the White House preparations for a Russian invasion

A ‘Tiger Team’ of administration officials has spent the past several months preparing a clear series of responses, gaming out scenarios from cyberattacks and limited intervention to an invasion of Ukraine

As fears grow of potential Russian aggression against Ukraine, a “Tiger Team” led by the White House is quietly gaming out how the United States would respond to a range of jarring scenarios, from a limited show of force to a full-scale, mass-casualty invasion.

The White House team has staged two multi-hour tabletop exercises — including one with Cabinet officials — to bring the scenarios to life and assembled a playbook that outlines an array of swift potential responses, starting with Day One and extending through the first two weeks of an envisioned Russian invasion.

The effort, senior administration officials said, has not only helped them anticipate possible complications, but has also prompted them to take actions ahead of time, such as exposing Russian information warfare before it’s carried out to blunt its propaganda power.

“Our hope is still that there’s a diplomatic path to avoiding all of this so we never have to use the playbook,” said Jonathan Finer, deputy national security adviser to President Biden. “But this is all about making sure we are ready to go if and when we have to be.”

The “Tiger Team” — a term referring to a diverse group of experts who are tackling a specific problem and that suggests alertness and a readiness to pounce — was created after National Security Council officials last October detected troubling signs of a massive Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border.

NSC officials readily admit they may be unable to precisely anticipate the moves of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military leaders. But the exercise and robust planning is still worth it, they said.

“The reality is that what the Russians may end up doing is not likely to be a 100 percent match for any of these scenarios,” Finer said. “But the goal is for them to be a close enough facsimile of what they end up doing that the plans are useful in terms of reducing the amount of time we need in order to respond effectively. That’s really the whole goal.”

Vladimir Putin leaves door to diplomacy open in Ukraine tensions

The potential Russian assault on Ukraine is the biggest foreign policy crisis facing the administration since its messy pullout from Afghanistan last year, when the rapid collapse of the government in Kabul caught U.S. officials flat-footed. A suicide attack at the Kabul airport gates killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans.

The stakes are especially high now. Following the rocky Afghanistan withdrawal, the administration faces added pressure to avoid a similarly damaging outcome from a Russian invasion, which could abruptly throw Ukraine into weeks of unpredictable chaos and bloodshed.

A number of administration officials are veterans of the 2014 Russian invasion and annexation of Crimea and its push to fuel a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine. The Biden team has been able to take lessons from that experience as well as from watching Putin consolidate his power since then.

This time, “it’s remarkable how much warning Washington has been able to give,” said Andrea Kendall-Taylor, a former CIA Russia analyst who is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. “They are far more prepared this time around.”

In 2014, the U.S. investment in intelligence collection on Russia had dwindled following the end of the Cold War and America’s focus on counterterrorism. When Russia invaded Crimea, Kendall-Taylor said, “we were caught flat-footed and unprepared.”

Global markets sink amid escalating fears of invasion of Ukraine

The administration is now working on a two-track push for diplomacy and deterrence, including the information wars unfolding in public. And behind the scenes is the Tiger Team’s private planning and strategizing — which has not been previously reported — to ensure that not just the White House, but all the agencies that would need to respond to an outbreak of hostilities are primed and ready to go.

The Tiger Team was officially born in November, when national security adviser Jake Sullivan asked Alex Bick, the NSC director for strategic planning, to lead a planning effort across multiple agencies. Bick has brought in the Departments of Defense, State, Energy, Treasury and Homeland Security, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development to look at a possible humanitarian crisis.

The intelligence community is also involved, gaming out various courses of action the Russians might pursue and the risks and advantages of each, officials said. They range from a limited assault that captures only a portion of Ukraine to a full-scale invasion that seeks to replace the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and occupy much or all of the country.

“You don’t have to know what they’re going to do,” said an NSC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s internal process. “You choose a series of plausible scenarios and plan against them, on the assumption that any of them might happen.”

The playbook itself goes far beyond battlefield scenarios, looking at questions like how to address Ukrainian refugees who might stream into Poland and Romania, how to secure the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, exactly what sort of sanctions to impose on Moscow, and how to fight back against a sophisticated cyberattack.

The playbook — which synthesizes nearly three dozen papers and intelligence assessments commissioned by the team from various agencies — has been distributed to the various officials, including military and civilian leaders at the Pentagon.

The playbook also considers “second order” consequences, such as Russian retaliation for any penalties. Officials have been putting in place measures, for instance, to ensure that Western Europe has supplies of natural gas should Russia seek to shut off energy flows, while the State Department and USAID have coordinated with partners on steps to alleviate the humanitarian impact of a major invasion.

“As a general matter, you plan against the worst-case scenario and then you calibrate down,” the NSC official said. “Better to do it that way than to plan for an intermediate scenario and get caught flat-footed.”

Military buildup becomes part of scenery in Russian borderland

While the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal hurt U.S. relations with its Western allies, Russia’s bellicose moves have arguably brought them closer, in the face of a common threat. Administration officials say that this time they have gone out of their way to provide intelligence to other countries.

“We shared a ton of information to make sure that everybody was getting on the same page about what we saw coming,” Finer said.

Bick and his team also looked at “black swan” events — highly unlikely but of severe impact if it happens — that might complicate the administration’s ability to respond. Officials would not share examples but, in general, such events might include a highly transmissible new strain of the coronavirus or a major energy crisis arising independently of the situation in Ukraine.

They looked at a “couple dozen different” black swan events “on the spectrum of probability and impact,” the NSC official said. “It’s high probability, high impact that you focus the most attention on. But anything which has a high impact, and the probability is low, requires attention nonetheless.”

This planning has been underway even as other agencies push ahead with their own preparations. The Treasury Department has crafted potential sanctions packages and the Pentagon has planned for additional troop deployments at the same time the White House was finalizing its playbook.

Among the Tiger Team’s top concerns is a Russian effort to promote the false narrative that it is Ukraine, aided by the West, that is preparing to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine, and that Russia is the victim.

In recent weeks, the U.S. government has declassified intelligence about such efforts, including a potential “false flag” plot in which Moscow would stage an explosion that kills ethnic Russians in Ukraine or in Russia itself, and then blame it on Kyiv as a possible pretext for an invasion.

U.S. officials believe such disinformation is a key part of Russia’s strategy. A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, to discuss the issue said it “has informed the administration’s strategy to expose in near real-time Moscow’s planning of information operations, such as the recent disclosure of the false-flag video.” The United States has accused the Kremlin of planning to create a video of a fabricated attack.

When Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, the United States and Europe had no sanctions packages ready to go. With the exception of human rights penalties, the United States had never even contemplated sanctions on Russia, said Daniel Fried, who was then the State Department’s coordinator for sanctions policy.

“We didn’t have the same resources in Europe or muscle memory of addressing Russian aggression,” the NSC official said. “We’ve come a long way since then.”

The administration has now crafted potential sanctions on Russian banks and a set of export controls, which it plans to impose should Moscow move into Ukraine. In a phone call Saturday, Biden warned Putin of “swift and severe costs” in that eventuality.

In December, the Tiger Team held two virtual tabletop exercises to road-test various scenarios and responses. The first brought together deputy secretaries and the second involved Cabinet officials. Biden has reviewed the playbook and was briefed on the results, officials said.

“It’s one thing to consider each of these problems — energy, sanctions, military posture — in isolation. It’s quite another to put them all together and execute a plan on all of them,” the NSC official said. “What I saw over the course of this planning exercise was, including at the most senior levels, lightbulbs go on about the way the pieces fit together.”

My mom was a Russian mail-order bride. Here's what it was like growing up.

• Katya Suvorova's mom became a mail-order bride to escape post-Soviet Russia in the 1990s.
• Mail-order bride arrangements often gave men control, leading to exploitative relationships, she said.
• She now uses TikTok to share her story.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 31-year-old Katya Suvorova. Born in Moscow, she is the daughter of a Russian mail-order bride and now lives in Seattle. The following, detailing her upbringing and how she has come to terms with it, has been edited for length and clarity.

My parents got married in 1992, and I was born in Moscow in 1993. They divorced shortly afterward.

In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, everybody was trying to leave Russia.

My mom decided to become a mail-order bride to find a better life in the West.

I was three years old, and we lived in Moscow. Some of the information I have is a bit vague, but my mom was somehow involved with the mafia, so it was particularly difficult for her to obtain a marriage visa.

She told an American guy she was talking to, "Hey, I know we can't get a marriage visa, but we've got to get out."

She got my biological dad to sign a permission slip allowing me to leave the country under the guise that it was just for a short-term trip.

We fled to Mexico, and the American guy helped us cross the border illegally.

And so we wound up in a new life in California.

The industry yields all the power and information to the men

The brokerage companies that marketed mail-order brides gave all control to the men.

You would pay to be included in catalogs along with your address and phone number.

Prospective customers could access all the addresses, numbers, and everything else.

The men would pay the company if they found a match, or they could just pay for access to the catalog.

@sincerelysuvorova Omg ya’ll are gonna come at me for this!! #mailorderbride #datingadvice #dating #relationships ♬ original sound - katya suvorova

Deciding to marry a stranger and pay for a marriage visa is like purchasing someone. The men usually don't know these women or have only met them a handful of times.

The men then bring them here, to places like America, which is what the women want. It's convoluted and complicated.

I often get asked whether I think this is right, and honestly, I don't know.

It's scary and also feels like it's fetishizing Eastern European women. I observed that with my mom and her partners throughout the years.

A turbulent childhood

My mom quickly left the American man who first brought us into the country.

After that, my life was a string of stepdads. My mom has had three marriages here and a few long-term relationships.

Related stories

Having a child didn't hold my mom back from finding a husband.

Women like my mom are desperate to help themselves and their kids, and these men want to feel powerful; they want helpless women.

I've noticed a pattern I didn't know existed until I started making TikToks about my story . Other women whose mothers were mail-order brides have started reaching out, and there's a common thread of abuse involving the children.

A lot of people who have messaged me have said they were sexually assaulted and abused by their stepfathers.

Men attracted to young women who keep silent are also likely to be attracted to the women's kids. That makes sense because it's all the same traits. Their victims are quiet, do as they're told, and are helpless.

Language also plays a huge role in this. The women often don't speak English well, and the children don't know how to advocate for themselves.

It makes me scared for women with children who are in such situations today. You have to question the men's ulterior motives.

Women and children bear the brunt of instability in their home countries

With ongoing conflicts, women and children are the ones impacted most and trying to leave their countries. In Ukraine, Russia, and Gaza, people are trying to get out.

Women always do what they need to do to protect their families.

I wish there were more resources. Instead of just having background checks for prospective "buyers" or husbands, maybe access to international lawyers would help.

There needs to be more resources because when you come here as a foreigner and don't know the language, you're so isolated.

We're so detached from our culture and our family. The guy controls everything we do, including when we talk to our families and our friends. The community aspect is so important.

Everybody I talk to who grew up under similar circumstances seems to have a mental health issue.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) often stems from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have severe OCD, including really bad looping thoughts. And a lot of people I know who shared similar upbringings also have OCD.

Seeking help and moving forward

I've been in therapy for seven years now. I've done a lot of EMDR , which is a type of therapy where your eyes follow a light bar as you process your most traumatic memories. It's like exposure therapy.

It helps you become desensitized to your memories. So, I can talk about my turbulent upbringing without being triggered at all.

Having a healthy relationship, TikTok, writing my memoir, EMDR, and therapy have helped me be introspective and not live the same crazy life as my mom.

@sincerelysuvorova ♬ original sound - katya suvorova

I love my mom so much. And I recognize everything that she's done for me.

But as soon as I left home when I was 18, I knew I could never go back.

I live a boring life in Seattle now, and I haven't talked to my mom in seven years.

She was brave in a lot of ways. When I broke up with her, I think she was a little bit proud of me because she knew she was messed up.

She knew that I wanted a better life, and so she thought, "My kid is doing what I could never do to have it; my kid is making hard decisions."

Despite everything, I'm so glad I'm here, even through my unstable childhood. There are just so many more opportunities I have here.

Watch: How the last artificial flower factory in New York City survived a century

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Igor chernyshov scouting report: 2024 nhl draft #21.

• June 6, 2024

Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2024 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr  and  Frederik Frandson  on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new  headquarters for everything “NHL Draft” ! Today we bring you our Igor Chernyshov Scouting Report.

Igor Chernyshov spent his draft year splitting time playing for Dynamo Moscow in the KHL and playing for their MHL team, in the Under-20 Russian League. The 18-year-old forward struggled to get ice time playing against men and his numbers were a little light as a result. He scored just three goals and an assist for four points in 34 games. He was also held pointless in the KHL playoffs. However, Chernyshov showed his talent playing at the Under-20 level. He scored 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 22 games. He is signed with Dynamo Moscow through the end of the 2024-25 season according to EliteProspects .

Chernyshov made his KHL debut in 2022-23. He played five games and scored his first goal in the league. He also played 38 games at the MHL level, scoring a point per game with 18 goals and 20 assists. At the Under-18 level, he played for the Russian National Team. Unfortunately, international games have been limited due to the IIHF banning Russia from events due to the war in Ukraine.

Chernyshov has always been playing ahead of his age group, helping Dynamo Moscow to second and third in the Under-17 and Under-18 leagues in 2021-22.

Igor Chernyshov 2024 NHL Draft Scouting Report

Left Wing — shoots Right Born November 30th, 2005 — Penza, Russia Height 6’2″ — Weight 196 lbs [188 cm/89 kg]

Chernyshov is a strong skater for his size. He has a low centre of gravity, and a powerful stride. He has a good first step and very good acceleration. His top-end speed is also very good. Chernyshov can keep up with the play and stretch the defence. His edgework and agility are also very strong. He is able to weave in and out of traffic, both with and without the puck. This allows Chernyshov to find open ice and get away from defenders.

Chernyshov has good balance and is strong on his skates. It is tough to knock him off the puck. As a result he is able to drive the net and control the puck down low in the dirty areas of the ice. He is able to win battles on the boards and in front of the net. As he continues to add muscle to his frame, these areas of his game should improve.

Offensive Game

Chernyshov has the skills to be a power forward. He is willing to drive the net and play in the dirty areas of the ice. His soft hands allow him to deke defenders. They also help him to score goals in tight, beating goalies, pouncing on rebounds and getting deflections. From further out he has a strong wrist shot and a quick release that can fool goalies. Chernyshov knows how to get open without the puck. Finding open ice and being ready to take a pass and one time the puck on the net.

While his playmaking can improve, it isn’t a weakness at this point. His ability to control the puck down low and win battles on the boards helps his team to maintain possession. By increasing offensive zone time, he helps his team to create more scoring chances. Chernyshov combines his good skating with excellent stickhandling and this allows him to carry the puck through the neutral zone and create effective zone entries. His vision and passing skills are good, but he’s not the most creative forward in this area. He settles for the quick short passes to keep the puck moving and maintain possession. Chernyshov is not afraid to use his body and play physical at both ends of the ice.

Defensive Game

Chernyshov has an advanced defensive game for a teenager. He reads the play extremely well and is often in the right position to break up plays and create turnovers. The young forward is not afraid to use his size to help the defence down low and defend against the cycle game. Once a turnover is created, Chernyshov is quick to move the puck up the ice and transition to offence. He is also good at using his stick to cut down passing lanes. He is not afraid to block shots as well.

Projection and Comparison

Igor Chernyshov is signed with Dynamo Moscow for at least one more season. As with many Russian players, due to political factors and the lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL, there can be questions of when he will come over. In this case, a year or two in the KHL could be beneficial, especially if Chernyshov is able to continue to get stronger and earn more ice time. He could be two or three years away from being NHL ready and may also need some AHL time.

Overall, he has the package of speed, size, power, and defensive game that NHL scouts, GMs, and coaches love. As with many teenagers, he needs to continue to round out his game and keep improving, but if he reaches his potential, he would be a valuable top six forward capable of playing in all situations. Chernyshov’s game is reminiscent of Brady Tkachuk . This is a stylistic comparison only though and not one based on skill or ability.

The following is a compilation of some of the highlight packages and features of  Igor Chernyshov that are available on YouTube and Twitter.

🚨 Igor Chernyshov #2024NHLDraft 1-0 Russia U20 #LigaStavokCup pic.twitter.com/J74j8yG4iz — Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) November 4, 2023

Two minutes of Igor Chernyshov creating rush offence through anticipation, silky hands, abusing a speed advantage, working give-and-gos, smart delays, and winning body positioning. Chernyshov is one of the best rush creators in the #2024NHLDraft . pic.twitter.com/THqw6SR0oU — Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) May 20, 2024

Ivan Demidov is the big name out of Russia this year, but don't sleep on Igor Chernyshov. A 6-2 finisher who saw KHL action at 16. He's got juice. pic.twitter.com/nNH9u3mLmE — Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) August 14, 2023

Igor Chernyshov #2024nhldraft has 14 PTS in his last 4 GAMES in the MHL! Hence the more time spent in the KHL. Here we see him toying with the junior Russian league opposition. #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/7jk078BTua — NHL Draft Prospects (@NHLDraftPros) February 6, 2024

Check back later for our latest 2024 NHL Draft Article.

Main photo by: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

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As Veteran Forward Retires, Let’s Analyze His Impact With the Dallas Stars

Joe Pavelski‘s impact on the Dallas Stars has been apparent over the last five seasons, as the team has established itself as a contender. Dallas

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Putin and Xi’s evolving disinformation playbooks pose new threats

Jessica Brandt

The  TechCrunch Global Affairs Project  examines the increasingly intertwined relationship between the tech sector and global politics.

As the information domain becomes an increasingly active and consequential realm of state competition, two countries have gone all in. Both China and Russia have developed sophisticated information strategies to advance their geopolitical interests, and their playbooks are evolving. No longer primarily relying on proxy troll farms to generate large quantities of polarizing content, the Kremlin has turned to military intelligence assets to carry out more targeted information operations designed to circumvent platform-detection mechanisms. And motivated by concern that it might be blamed for a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than five million people worldwide, Beijing has become considerably less risk-averse in its use of “ wolf warrior ” diplomats to push conspiracy theories online. To sustain its vision of a free and open internet, Washington must develop a strategy to push back.

Moscow’s information manipulation playbook is evolving

Russia, a declining power by many measures, seeks to compensate for its relative weakness through asymmetric means, by disrupting the institutions, alliances and domestic politics of its neighbors and geopolitical competitors in the near term. With little to lose and much to gain from public awareness of its activities, the Kremlin is not particularly sensitive to attribution or concerned about repercussions . And so, in order to keep the transatlantic community distracted, divided and unable to carry out a confident, coordinated foreign policy that could be detrimental to its interests, the Kremlin uses disinformation to stoke chaos and promote disorder.

Second, the Kremlin‘s disinformers recognize that they do not need to perpetuate an operation at scale in order to create the impression that they or others have, and that the impression alone is enough to sow doubt about the legitimacy of election results and exacerbate partisan discord. Moscow can thus leverage widespread concern about the potential for manipulation, particularly in an election context, to achieve its goals by claiming that manipulation has happened — even in the absence of a successful operation.

Beijing is taking a page from Moscow’s playbook — and writing some of its own plays

China, meanwhile, is a rising power with little to gain and much to lose from public awareness of its interference activities. Unlike Russia, it prefers a stable international order, but one that is more conducive to its interests than the current U.S.-led framework. As a result, its activities in the information domain are primarily geared toward promoting China’s image as a responsible global superpower and stifling criticism that would tarnish its prestige, while denting the appeal of democracy by casting the United States and its partners as ineffective and hypocritical.

For Beijing, pursuing these interests has entailed a three-pronged strategy of piggybacking on the propaganda networks of other strongmen, manufacturing the appearance of popular support and co-opting conversations on its rights record. Lacking an influencer network of its own, China regularly relies on the constellation of alternative thinkers , many of them Western, that are a fixture of Russian propaganda. Highlighting the difficulty of generating support for pro-China positions on a platform Beijing has banned at home, China’s wolf warrior diplomats regularly engage with false personas on Twitter. And in order to push back on criticisms of its rights record, it attempts to co-opt discussions on the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang using hashtag campaigns and slick videos .

Autocrats align — but only sometimes

Despite important differences in their long-term goals, Moscow and Beijing share multiple immediate objectives: denting the global prestige of democracy, weakening multilateral institutions and undermining democratic alliances. As a result, the two countries deploy several of the same tactics.

Both use “whataboutism” to paint the United States as hypocritical, particularly on issues of race. Both use clickbait content to generate large followings on Twitter, recognizing that an audience is a strategic asset. Both regularly traffic in multiple, often conflicting, conspiracy theories to cast doubt on official accounts of political events, evade blame for their activities and create the impression that there is no such thing as objective reality. Both operate extensive propaganda apparatuses that spread their preferred narratives.

They also deploy many of the same narratives. Both countries have worked to diminish confidence in the safety record of certain Western COVID-19 vaccines and portray the United States and its allies as ineffective. That said, Russia is primarily focused on pushing divisive content that deepens polarization and diminishes trust in institutions and elites, all while pushing back on what it characterizes as anti-Russian bias in established media. China, for its part, is primarily interested in highlighting the benefits of its governance model, while painting critiques of its rights abuses as hypocritical. Kremlin state media almost never cover Russian domestic politics. Moscow’s goal is to drive audiences away from the political West, not pull them toward Russia. For China, the opposite is true.

Much has been made about the state of cooperation between Russia and China in various domains of their respective competitions with the United States. Evidence suggests there is very little formal coordination of their information activities beyond largely symbolic agreements to distribute one another’s content. That is not entirely a surprise. Beijing doesn’t need to formally cooperate with Moscow in order to amplify Kremlin-promoted narratives or to emulate other successful elements of the Kremlin’s information strategy.

What’s to come

Both Russian and Chinese information strategies are evolving . Russia’s disinformation activities are becoming more targeted and harder to detect, while China is taking a more assertive, less subtle approach than before. For Russia, these changes appear to be driven by growing awareness of its activities since 2016, which simultaneously prompted the implementation of new platform policies and detection mechanisms and ushered in an era of partisan debates over election legitimacy that reverberate today. For China, changes to its information strategy seem to be primarily motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global crisis of unique salience to its geopolitical standing that will continue to create opportunities for Beijing to test new approaches.

Recognizing these consequential changes to the way Russia and China approach the information domain, the United States needs a playbook of its own. A robust strategy would include harnessing truthful information to highlight the failures of repressive rule, deploying American cyber capabilities to prevent or impose costs on those who would conduct destabilizing disinformation campaigns and implementing legislation that would make platform transparency, particularly with trusted researchers, the norm. Finally, because it is good for democratic societies and creates challenges for their authoritarian competitors, the United States should more forcefully defend freedom of information worldwide.

In the consequential contest between democratic and authoritarian societies, autocrats have seized the initiative. This collection of measures represents a starting point for bold and responsible action to ensure that the United States regains it. To succeed, the U.S. and its democratic partners must act quickly.

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US and Russia need to reestablish Cold War playbook to avert nuclear escalation, senior general says

U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Germany, Dec. 14, 2023, to discuss ongoing U.S. and international military support to aid the Ukrainian. Cavoli on Monday called for reestablishment of Cold War communication methods with Russia. (Susanne Goebel/U.S. European Command)

STUTTGART, Germany — The United States needs to revive the lines of communication with Moscow that helped both countries avoid nuclear conflict during the Cold War, the top American general in Europe said this week.

“We could read each other’s signals. We knew how to send signals to each other… almost all of that is gone now,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, said Monday.

Cavoli, speaking during an event at Georgetown University timed to NATO’s 75th anniversary, rattled off numerous upgrades to the alliance as it adapts to counter Russia. The number of NATO troops available to Cavoli in a crisis has surged by some 700% over the past year, he said.

But the transformation in combat readiness doesn’t appear to have been matched at the strategic level when it comes to ensuring that the nuclear powers don’t misread each other’s intentions.

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, nuclear saber-rattling rhetoric from the Kremlin has become almost routine and arguably more provocative than during the Cold War.

Cavoli, a fluent Russian speaker and foreign area officer by training, said efforts are underway at his NATO headquarters to update some of the old practices for modern times. But there are complications.

“First of all, we’re trying to reestablish it during a hot war that’s being waged” by Russia against Ukraine, he said.

And unlike the Cold War, China’s greater clout makes it a factor when it comes to managing the escalation of tensions, he said.

“There are no longer just two principal parties to determine this question,” Cavoli said. “There’s China in the background and how all this is going to interact on a three-way basis will be a very important question.”

During the Cold War, Cavoli said there was a “very fine and mutually understood vocabulary” between the West and the Soviet Union.

“We knew how to communicate verbally and nonverbally about our intentions in a way that gave predictability to the other side, comprehension to the other side,” Cavoli said. “And this was one of the principal things that we used to manage escalation and to achieve deterrence without significant risk.”

Other factors from the past that were effective included various nuclear treaties, agreements and onsite inspections that helped keep communication lines open, he said.

“We fell out of the habit of using these mechanisms to signal and… we collectively have walked away from many of the arrangements and the treaties that previously gave us the ability to do this,” he said.

Any push to improve how the United States and NATO communicate with Moscow could be challenged by the alliance’s ongoing efforts to bolster its eastern flank with Russia.

The Kremlin in recent years has ramped up its criticisms of NATO and the increasing number of alliance forces positioned in places such as the Baltic states and Poland, which it has characterized as a threat.

Allies have argued that those moves are defensive and only came in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

“How do we go ahead doing all of this and reestablishing our collective defense capability without being threatening and accidentally having the effect we don’t want?” Cavoli asked. “I think the first step is to describe ourselves openly as what we are — a defensive alliance.”

previous coverage

• NATO chief talks up alliance role in advancing US interests at think tank favored by Trump
• ‘Completely reorganized’ military headquarters will bolster mobilization, NATO commander says
• NATO strikes $1.2 billion deal to restock allies’ ammunition supplies

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