Playbooks
Breakdown
95 Mike out of I Form Close Flex is a power run play designed to hit off tackle to the strong side. The fullback leads through the hole ahead of the halfback, with the offensive line executing down blocks and a pulling guard to seal the edge and create a lane at the point of attack. This is a downhill power scheme, not a man or zone beater in the passing sense, so the primary read is the halfback pressing the hole and reading the fullback's kick out or lead block before deciding to bend it back or stick to the called gap.
Defensive Reads
Watch the strong side defensive end and outside linebacker alignment pre-snap, if they are crashing hard inside the cutback lane opens quickly. Identify whether the defense is running a 4-3 Over or Under front, Over fronts with the nose shaded away from the play side are the easiest to gash with this concept. Post-snap, key the fullback's lead block, if the user controlled linebacker sheds and fills the hole early, bounce the run outside off the tackle's block. Look for safeties rotating down into the box pre-snap, an eighth defender in the run fit signals blitz or a heavy run commitment that can shut down 95 Mike. If the defense shows Cover 3 or Cover 1 with a single high safety and light box counts, this is the ideal shell to attack with the power scheme.
Usage Tips
Use 95 Mike on early downs in run heavy personnel packages to establish tempo and set up your play-action shots later in the drive.
Check the defensive front pre-snap, this play thrives against base 4-3 and 3-4 fronts that do not stack extra defenders in the box.
If the defense shows a heavy box with 8 or more defenders, consider motioning the fullback or audibling to HB Iso or Stretch from this same set to keep the defense honest.
Pair 95 Mike with PA Power O and PA TE Corner in the same drive to freeze linebackers who key on the fullback lead action.
Control the fullback after the snap on user input to seal the edge defender or the first man off the pulling guard's block, this manual assignment often decides whether the run breaks big.
