Playbooks
Franchise Playsheet
Max Protect
PlaysheetOffenseOverview
Max Protect is a 30 play situational playsheet built around heavy protection and play action off run looks. The name tells you the intent: this book wants max protect concepts, extra bodies in the pocket, and slow developing shots that only work when the quarterback is not on the ground. Half the playbook (15 plays across 3 sets) lives in Singleback, with Shotgun adding 9 plays across 4 sets, and I Form and Pistol contributing 3 plays each from a single set apiece. That is a run first, play action second structure, and the concept list backs it up: Inside Zone, Outside Zone, Zone Run, Power, Power Run, and Toss all appear alongside Play Action, Mesh, Out, Deep Stick and Man Beater tags.
The personnel spread is where this book separates itself. You get 21 (2 RB, 1 TE, 2 WR), 23 (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR), 12 (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) and 11 (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) on one playsheet, which means you can go from an empty-of-receivers 23 personnel wall to a three wide 11 look without leaving the playbook. The 23 grouping is the rare piece here: very few offensive franchise playsheets carry a 0 WR set, and it turns goal line and short yardage into a genuine run-pass conflict when you pull PA Deep Cross Go or Mtn PA Power Spot behind it.
Choosing Max Protect over a spread heavy book means you are trading route volume for protection and disguise. At 30 plays it is larger than 20% of the game's 42 offensive franchise playsheets, so it is compact but not gutted, and every formation carries enough plays to sell a tendency before you break it. Plays like Deep Stick and Close PA Cross give you the intermediate answers, while the Singleback and I Form run game does the setup work. This is a playbook for a player who wants to win the clock and then hit one deep shot per drive with seven blockers in front of him.
Scheme Fit
Max Protect wants a physical offensive line and at least two big-bodied blocking tight ends to make the 23 and 12 personnel Power Run and Inside Zone calls real, plus a downhill back with good trucking and carrying ratings for the Toss and Outside Zone game. At quarterback you need a passer who is comfortable holding the ball through a play action rollout and can hit intermediate throws off the deep cross, so deep and medium accuracy matter more than raw speed, though light mobility helps on the PA concepts. This is the playbook for a franchise player who wants to control tempo, lean on 21 and 23 personnel, and win with a handful of well-timed max protect shots rather than a high volume spread passing attack.
Playsheet bonuses
- IUnlocks the playsheet
- II+5Deep Route Running, Spectacular CatchWR/TE
- III+5Deep AccuracyQBs+2Throw PowerQBs
- IV+7Pass Block, Pass Block Power, Pass Block FinesseOL
Every play in this playsheet (30 plays)
I Form Close3 plays
Pistol Ace Double Wing3 plays
Shotgun Ace3 plays
Shotgun Y Off Trio Close3 plays
Shotgun Y Off Trips2 plays
Shotgun Y Off Trips Stack1 play
Singleback Deuce Close6 plays
Find plays by concept, not by formation
Search every playbook by tag and personnel grouping, not just Max Protect.
Strengths
- Singleback at 15 plays (50%) across 3 sets gives you a single formation family deep enough to run your entire game plan out of, so you can motion a back or tight end across the formation and still have run, play action and Out concepts available without tipping the call.
- Carrying 21, 23, 12 and 11 personnel on a 30 play sheet means your audible package can flip from 2 RB heavy to 3 WR spacing with a formation sub, forcing the opponent to burn timeouts or accept a personnel mismatch.
- The 23 (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) grouping is a rare look on offensive franchise playsheets and turns Power Run and Inside Zone into genuine short yardage hammers, while Mtn PA Power Spot punishes any defense that commits a safety down.
- Play Action is baked into the concept list rather than bolted on, and because half the book is Singleback with a real Zone Run and Power foundation, your PA Deep Cross Go and Close PA Cross shots are sold by film the defense has already seen.
- Shotgun at 9 plays (30%) across 4 sets is the widest set spread in the book, so your Mesh and Man Beater answers (Deep Stick included) come from four distinct alignments that you can hot route independently instead of one recycled formation.
Weaknesses
- Pistol and I Form each carry only 3 plays from a single set, so once an opponent sees either alignment they can guess from a very small menu and user a defender straight to the concept.
- With 50% of the book in Singleback, a defender who studies your tendencies gets to set his base coverage and blitz shell against one formation family and rarely has to adjust mid game.
- The playbook leans on Play Action and protection heavy dropbacks, which are slow developing by design, and an edge nano blitz or overload look can get home before PA Deep Cross Go or Close PA Cross reaches the second window.
- At 30 plays there is limited quick game, and the concept list is thin on short, snap-and-throw answers, so third and long against pressure often means asking a max protect concept to beat a coverage it was not designed for.
- The 23 (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) and 21 looks give away run down intent, and disciplined opponents will simply stack the box and dare you into your smaller Shotgun package.
Usage Tips
Build your primary audible package out of the three Singleback sets, since 15 of 30 plays live there, and keep one Inside Zone, one Outside Zone and one Play Action shot bound so first and second down calls all come from the same pre-snap picture.
Save the 23 (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) look for third and 1 through third and 3 and goal line, then run Mtn PA Power Spot on the second or third trip once the defense starts crashing the Power Run.
Put your Shotgun package on the audible flip for third and 7 plus, where Deep Stick and the Mesh and Man Beater concepts give you four different sets to attack man coverage without showing the same alignment twice in a drive.
Use I Form and Pistol as tendency breakers rather than base calls, since each has only 3 plays from one set: run Toss or a Zone Run from them early to establish the look, then come back with Close PA Cross in the same game.
Hot route your back or second tight end into a check release on the max protect calls when you read blitz, because PA Deep Cross Go and Close PA Cross both need the extra body to survive an overload before the deep cross clears.
Formations in this playbook
Upgrade to Playbooks Rookie
- Filter every play by tag and concept
- Personnel groupings
- Premium play analysis