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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
HB Toss Crack is a run play out of I Form Close 21 personnel that gets the ball to the HB quickly in the backfield with a lateral toss to the flank. The diagram shows the FB releasing outside to crack down on the edge defender while the offensive line down blocks and pulls to seal the inside, giving the HB a lane to bounce outside once he catches the toss. This is a pure run play, not a play-action or RPO, and the primary read for the HB is to press the line of scrimmage, read the FB's crack block on the edge, and decide whether to bounce it outside or cut it up based on how the perimeter defenders flow.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify the alignment of the play side defensive end and outside linebacker, if they are widened out this play has less crack lane to work with. Watch for a strong safety or nickel defender cheating down into the box pre-snap, since that extra body can blow up the crack block and force the HB back inside into trash. Post-snap, key the edge defender's reaction to the FB's crack, if he squeezes down and reads it, the play gets strung out and loses yardage. User-controlled defenders flying downhill from depth are the biggest threat to this play, since the crack block cannot account for a fast-flowing user linebacker. This play struggles against defenses that set the edge with contain rules or spy technique, since the HB has nowhere to bounce once the perimeter is sealed.
Usage Tips
Call this play on early downs when you want to establish outside run threat and set up your play-action boot game later in the set.
Check the defensive end and outside linebacker alignment pre-snap, if they are crashing hard inside this toss crack scheme is designed to get outside them before they can reset.
Use the FB's crack block as your key, if you see the crack getting picked off by a scraping linebacker be ready to cut the HB up inside immediately.
Pair this with HB Zone Toss and HB Stretch to keep the defense guessing on outside zone versus toss crack timing, since both attack the perimeter but hit at different angles.
Avoid calling this against stacked box looks with extra defenders crashing the edge, since the crack block alone cannot handle numbers advantage on the perimeter.
Sequence this after a few inside runs like HB Lead Dive or Inside Zone so the defense over-pursues inside, opening up the crack lane on the edge.
