Playbooks
Franchise Playsheet
QB Runs
PlaysheetOffenseOverview
QB Runs is a situational franchise playsheet built around the quarterback as a primary ball carrier. At 30 plays it is larger than most of the game's 42 offensive franchise playsheets, so it has enough volume to carry full drives instead of just sprinkling in the occasional scramble concept. It is overwhelmingly a Shotgun sheet: 24 of its 30 plays (80%) come from Shotgun across 5 sets, with the remaining 6 plays (20%) from a single Singleback set. Buck Sweep Read Opt represents the gun side of the sheet, a read concept that makes the backside end or scraping linebacker choose between the back and the quarterback. 26 Duo represents the Singleback side, a downhill changeup that gets the offense out of the gun.
The personnel range is what separates this sheet from a generic spread package. It shows 11 and 20 personnel for lighter, wider looks, 12 and 13 for tight end heavy fronts, and even 23 personnel (2 RB, 3 TE, 0 WR) for a full power look. That lets you run the same quarterback driven run game against nickel shells and heavy base fronts alike. The concept list shows the quarterback threat is not purely on the ground. Stick, Shallow Cross, Drag, Crosser, Post, Corner, Wheel and Fade are layered into the sheet so linebackers who fly downhill to the mesh point get punished behind them.
Pick QB Runs when your quarterback's legs are the best weapon on the roster and you want a dedicated call sheet that forces the defense to account for an extra runner on every snap. Its value over a balanced book is concentration. Nearly every look starts from the gun, where the quarterback already has depth and vision to read the edge. Motion and multiple personnel groupings are there to disguise intent, and the handful of Singleback downhill calls give you a pressure release valve when defenses cheat against the edge.
Scheme Fit
QB Runs wants a fast, elusive quarterback with strong carrying and throw on the run ability, backed by a line that can reach and pull on the perimeter and tight ends who can seal the edge in 12, 13 and 23 personnel. A shifty back who threatens the give on read concepts and quick receivers who win on Stick, Drag and Shallow Cross routes round out the roster. It suits players who like to attack pre snap by reading the edge and prefer making defenses defend eleven gaps over dropping back and slinging it.
Playsheet bonuses
- IUnlocks the playsheet
- II+7Run Block, Run Block Finesse, Run Block Powerall OL
- III+7Break Tackle, InjuryQBs
- IV+10CarryQBs
Every play in this playsheet (30 plays)
Singleback Wing Tight6 plays
Shotgun Heavy Panther3 plays
Shotgun Split Slot Offset3 plays
Shotgun Empty Ace6 plays
Shotgun Wing Slot Wk9 plays
Shotgun Spread Y-Flex3 plays
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Strengths
- The 80% Shotgun concentration keeps the quarterback at depth on almost every snap, so read concepts like Buck Sweep Read Opt give him time to see the unblocked defender and pull or give without an extra drop.
- Five Shotgun sets spanning 11, 12, 13, 20 and 23 personnel let you run gun quarterback reads against both nickel and heavy base fronts, forcing the defense to sub without being able to predict the run or pass tell from personnel alone.
- Stick, Shallow Cross, Drag and Crosser concepts off the same gun looks attack the exact zones vacated by linebackers who trigger on the quarterback run, making user controlled defenders pay for crashing the mesh.
- Motion concepts in the sheet let you shift numbers pre snap to widen the edge or reveal man versus zone before you decide whether to keep the ball on the perimeter.
- The Singleback set with 26 Duo gives a genuine downhill counterpunch, so defenses that load the edge with contain or spy assignments against your Shotgun reads get gashed between the tackles.
Weaknesses
- With 24 of 30 plays in Shotgun, a smart opponent can load QB contain and a spy the moment the gun comes out, knowing the sheet rarely shows him anything else.
- Singleback is only 6 plays in a single set, so when you line up under center the defense can narrow the call to a small menu and sit on Duo style downhill runs.
- There is no Pistol, I Formation, goal line or other under center look beyond that one Singleback set, which limits your short yardage and heavy downhill identity outside of gun based power personnel.
- The passing concepts exist to complement the quarterback run threat, so in obvious passing downs like 3rd and long the sheet lacks the dropback volume of a pass first book and a two high shell can sit on the underneath crossers.
- Leaning on designed quarterback carries exposes your passer to more hits, so fatigue and injury risk over a franchise season are higher than with a book that uses the back as the primary runner.
Usage Tips
On 1st and 10, build your base audible package around Shotgun reads like Buck Sweep Read Opt, and read the backside end: if he squeezes the back, pull it and bounce to the perimeter.
On 2nd and short or when the defense adds contain to both edges, audible to the Singleback set and call 26 Duo to punish lighter boxes playing the quarterback run.
On 3rd and medium, stay in Shotgun 11 or 12 personnel and pick Stick or Shallow Cross looks, then hot route an inside receiver to a slant if the linebacker triggers early on the quarterback.
Inside the red zone, use the heavy 13 or 23 personnel Shotgun sets so the defense must match with bigger bodies, then attack the edge with the quarterback or throw the Fade or Corner behind a crashing safety.
Use motion before the snap to identify man coverage, then check to Crosser or Wheel concepts against man and keep the designed quarterback run when zone leaves the edge soft.
Formations in this playbook
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