Playbooks
At a Glance
In 1 playbook
Overview
H Wing is the heaviest look inside I Form, pairing a fullback in the backfield with a wing tight end aligned just off the line outside the tackle. Where I Form Close and I Form Tight keep both tight ends attached to the formation and I Form Twin TE stacks them to one side, H Wing detaches one of them into a wing position, which changes the run fits for the defense and gives you an extra body who can arc block, kick out, or leak into the flat without ever leaving the line of scrimmage congested. The 22 personnel means two backs and two tight ends with a single split receiver, so defenses will almost always answer with base or 4-3 heavy looks, which is exactly the matchup you want when you are running gap and downhill concepts.
Strengths
- HB Power O and PA Power O out of this look give you a true gap scheme with a pulling guard and the fullback kicking out the edge, and the wing tight end adds a second surface for the defense to fit, which regularly creates a free hat at the point of attack against single-high shells.
- HB Toss and HB Stretch attack the same edge the defense has to overplay after you pound Power, and the wing alignment lets that tight end get outside leverage on the force defender faster than an attached tight end can.
- HB Counter WK gives you a legitimate backside gap answer that punishes over-flowing user linebackers, and it pairs perfectly with Power to build a two play tendency read that keeps the second level frozen.
- HB Iso is your short yardage hammer with the fullback leading through the hole, and because defenses stay in base personnel against 22, you are running at linebackers instead of nickel or dime bodies.
- Hot routing the wing tight end to a flat, drag, or corner route out of any run play art gives you a cheap play action or run pass option element with only one receiver having to win, and the lone split receiver is almost always isolated against a single defender with no help underneath.
Weaknesses
- With only one split receiver you have no real spread threat, so a user who commits an extra defender to the box or runs a heavy edge blitz can outnumber your blocking scheme before the pull develops.
- Gap runs like Power O and Counter WK are slow to hit, which makes them extremely vulnerable to inside nano and A gap pressure that beats the pulling guard to the spot.
- Play action out of 22 personnel telegraphs itself once you have shown run, and a user controlled safety or linebacker can sit on the wing tight end route without giving up much on the ground.
- Passing windows are tight because the formation is condensed, so zone drops naturally overlap your route stems and there is very little natural spacing without manual hot routes and motions.
- If you fall behind or face obvious third and long, this set forces you to either audible out or run predictable one and two man route concepts against a defense that knows exactly what is coming.
Usage Tips
Use H Wing on first and second down when the defense shows base personnel with a single high safety, then check the box count before the snap and kill the play if the defense has more defenders in the box than you have blockers.
Lead with HB Power O and HB Iso to establish downhill flow, then punish the over-pursuit with HB Counter WK and HB Toss to the same edge the linebackers just vacated.
Set up PA Power O only after several straight run calls from this look, and hot route the wing tight end to a corner or out to attack the vacated flat when the force defender crashes.
Motion the split receiver toward the formation to identify man or zone before the snap, then hot route him to a slant or streak once you confirm he is isolated with no underneath help.
In goal line and short yardage, stay in H Wing and lean on HB Iso and HB Power O, and keep a play action call in your back pocket for third and short when the user is guessing run.
