Playbooks
Franchise Playsheet
Old School Football
PlaysheetOffenseOverview
Old School Football is a 33 play situational playsheet built around heavy personnel and downhill running. Nearly three quarters of the book lives in two back looks: I Form gets 12 plays out of a single set (36%) and Strong I gets another 12 spread across two sets (36%), with Singleback contributing the remaining 9 plays (27%) from one set. That is not a spread book with a run package bolted on, it is a run-first playsheet with just enough pass concepts (Bench, In, Crosser, Curl) to punish defenses that crowd the box.
The concept list tells you exactly how it wants to win: Duo, Power Run, Iso, Dive, Outside Zone and Misdirection. You are attacking the same interior gaps from 21, 22 and 23 personnel, then using Misdirection and Outside Zone to get the front flowing the wrong way. 26 Duo out of I Form is the tone setter, 0 1 Trap gives you an interior trap with pulling action, and FB Dive out of Strong I is your short yardage and clock kill call. Because 23 personnel (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) is on the menu, you have a genuine no receiver goal line and four minute package that most 42 playsheet library offenses cannot match.
Choosing Old School Football over a spread or balanced book gets you formation continuity. With only three formations and four sets, everything you run comes off the same two back shells, so your run action, play action and Curl/Crosser pass concepts all start with identical pre-snap pictures. The tradeoff is variety, but the payoff is that an opponent watching I Form line up cannot tell Duo from Iso from a Bench concept until the snap.
Scheme Fit
Old School Football wants a power back with good trucking and carrying ratings, a blocking fullback, and interior linemen with high run block power for Duo, Iso and Trap. You need at least one tight end who can block in line to make 22 and 23 personnel worth using, and a quarterback who is accurate on short and intermediate throws (Bench, In, Curl) rather than a deep ball or mobile specialist. This is a playsheet for the franchise player who wants to control tempo, grind clock, and win games in the fourth quarter with heavy sets rather than out scheme opponents from the gun.
Playsheet bonuses
- IUnlocks the playsheet
- II+3Run Block, Run Block Finesse, Run Block Powerall OL
- III+3Play Action, Throw AccuracyQBs
- IV+5Acceleration, Agilityall HB/FB
Every play in this playsheet (33 plays)
I Form Pro12 plays
Singleback Ace Overload9 plays
Strong I Jumbo6 plays
Strong I Tight6 plays
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Strengths
- Two back concentration: 24 of 33 plays come from I Form and Strong I, which means your run fits, FB lead blocks and play action all originate from the same backfield picture and force the defense to guess between Duo, Iso and Dive on every snap.
- Strong I across two sets gives you legitimate strong side and flipped looks without leaving the formation, so you can shift the line, motion the fullback and run Power Run to either side while keeping the same audible page.
- 23 personnel (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) support means you can build a true short yardage and four minute audible set around FB Dive and Power Run, a package that 11 personnel heavy playsheets simply do not carry.
- Misdirection and Outside Zone in the same book as Duo and Trap lets you punish over pursuing user linebackers: run Duo three times, then hit the same front with Misdirection and the flow is already wrong.
- The Singleback set (9 plays, 11 personnel) is the pressure release, giving you Bench, In, Crosser and Curl with three receivers so you are not forced to throw out of heavy sets on third and long.
Weaknesses
- Only three formations and four sets total, so a repeat opponent learns your entire pre snap library quickly and can set their front and man coverage matchups before you finish motioning.
- No gun or empty formations listed, which means no quick screen game, no bunch nano protection answers and no easy escape when a defense brings interior pressure at your five man protections out of I Form.
- Pass concepts are limited to Bench, In, Crosser and Curl, all intermediate to short. There are no listed deep shot or vertical concepts, so a defense can play squat coverage and dare you to throw past the sticks.
- Nine of 33 plays come from Singleback, so obvious third and long situations funnel you into one set and give defenses a clear tell to dial up blitz looks.
- Heavy personnel on the field limits your ability to spread out a Cover 3 shell, and quick substitution defenses will bring in run stoppers as soon as they see 21, 22 or 23 personnel.
Usage Tips
Build your base audible page around the single I Form set and run Duo, Iso and Dive from it on first and second down, then use the same look for play action off 26 Duo once the linebackers start crashing.
Put both Strong I sets on your second audible page for second and short through fourth and goal, with FB Dive and Power Run as your automatic calls inside the five and in four minute situations.
Reach for the Singleback set on third and six plus, but mix Bench with In and Crosser rather than leaning on Curl every time, because one set on third down is already predictable enough.
Hot route the tight end or fullback on a quick out from I Form when you get a stacked box, since your protections are thin and you need a fast answer instead of trying to win with a five step drop.
Call Outside Zone and Misdirection immediately after two straight interior runs from the same set, while the defensive line is still keying the A and B gaps.
Formations in this playbook
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