Playbooks
Playbook
Henry Special
OtherOverview
The Henry Special playbook is a specialty book that pairs a Shotgun passing base with a pocket of heavy, downhill run formations. Of its 165 plays, 105 (64%) come from Shotgun across 11 sets, so most of your snaps will come from the gun with 11 personnel spread concepts like Double Slant, Hitch, Slant, Drag, Crosser, Flat, Post and Spot, plus dedicated Cover 3 Beater looks. The remaining third is where the book gets its identity: Near accounts for 24 plays (15%) across 3 sets, and Singleback, Goal Line Offense, I Form and Strong I add another 33 plays built around 12, 21 and 23 personnel for dives, traps and short yardage power.
The standout is Near, a formation that appears in only 9 of the game's 236 playbooks. Very few opponents will have practiced against it, and runs like 0 1 Trap and Cheat HB Dive Wk, along with FB Dive, give you inside run game answers that most Shotgun heavy books cannot call. Goal Line Offense and Strong I extend that power menu into the red zone, while the Hail Mary sets (3 plays across 2 sets) cover end of half desperation.
At 165 plays, the Henry Special is the smallest of the game's 3 specialty playbooks, so it is not a book for players who want a huge menu. What you get instead is a focused game plan: spread the defense out of Shotgun with quick game and play action, then punish light boxes with a rare Near look and heavy personnel runs. Choose it if you want a Shotgun passing attack that can still line up and run between the tackles without switching books.
Scheme Fit
The Henry Special wants an accurate short and intermediate passer who can win quickly from Shotgun on slants, drags and hitches, paired with a powerful downhill running back and a fullback who can lead block and handle FB Dive carries. Big bodied tight ends and a physical offensive line are key for Near, Strong I and Goal Line Offense, since those formations rely on 12, 21 and 23 personnel to win at the point of attack. It suits the player who wants a spread passing base but refuses to give up a true power run game on short yardage downs.
Example Plays from this Playbook
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Strengths
- Near is in only 9 of 236 playbooks, so its 24 plays across 3 sets give you run looks like 0 1 Trap that most opponents have never had to diagnose or scheme against.
- With 64% of plays in Shotgun across 11 sets, you can build an entire audible package out of the gun and still show enough set variety to avoid predictable alignments.
- The concept list pairs man beaters (Double Slant, Slant, Crosser, Drag) with dedicated Cover 3 Beater, Post, Spot and Hitch concepts, letting you hot route or audible to the right answer after reading the pre snap shell.
- Heavy personnel (21, 12 and 23) across Near, I Form, Strong I and Goal Line Offense lets you force defensive formation subs, then attack light boxes with FB Dive and Cheat HB Dive Wk in short yardage.
- Play action, motion and block and release tags let you hold linebackers and pick up blitz help from backs and tight ends before they leak into the flat.
Weaknesses
- At 165 plays, this is the smallest of the game's 3 specialty playbooks, so opponents who study your tendencies will see repeats faster than they would against a full team book.
- Singleback has just 12 plays in a single set, leaving a thin middle ground between the spread Shotgun menu and the heavy run formations.
- I Form and Strong I carry only 6 plays each in one set, so the traditional under center power game is shallow and easy to key on once a defense sees the personnel come on.
- The heavy formations are clearly run first, which lets a defense load the box against 23 personnel and trust its secondary, since the book's passing depth lives almost entirely in Shotgun.
- No empty or bunch specific formations appear in the spread, so you lack dedicated stack and bunch alignments to beat press man and must lean on crossers, drags and slants for man coverage.
Usage Tips
Build your base audible package around Shotgun, pairing a Double Slant or Slant man beater with a Cover 3 Beater concept so you can flip between them on 1st and 10 or 2nd and medium after reading the safety rotation.
On 2nd and short or 3rd and 1 to 3, sub into Near and call 0 1 Trap or Cheat HB Dive Wk; defenders rarely see this formation, so linebackers often fill the wrong gap.
Use Goal Line Offense and Strong I inside the 5 and on 4th and inches, where FB Dive lets you hit the A gap quickly before a nano blitz can get home.
After establishing Near and I Form runs on early downs, call the play action and block and release concepts from the same heavy personnel to hit the flat or post behind linebackers crashing downhill.
Keep a Hail Mary set in your final drive plan and use Goal Post only with the clock nearly gone, since the book offers just 3 plays in that formation.
Formations in this playbook
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