Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Power O out of the I Form Tight 22 personnel sells the Power O run fake with the fullback and offensive line stepping hard to the play side, freezing linebackers before the quarterback pulls it back for a pass. Off the play fake, the TE releases into a corner route to the boundary while the outside WR runs a deep post crossing over the top, creating a natural high low stretch on the play side safety. The backside X receiver runs a comeback or curl at intermediate depth as the checkdown option if the deep shots are covered, giving this play both zone beater and man beater properties depending on how the safety keys the run fake. Primary read progression is the corner route first, then the deep crossing post, and finally the backside comeback as the outlet.
Defensive Reads
Key the play side safety before the snap, if he is stacked over the tackles expecting run he cannot get depth in time to help on the corner or post. Watch the linebackers at the snap, if they step up hard on the run fake you have a clean window to sit down or throw over their heads on the crossing routes. This concept struggles against a true Cover 2 or Cover 4 shell where the safety sits back and reads through the mesh point, since the corner route runs right into that deep help. Look for a user controlled defender flowing hard downhill on the fake, that is a strong indicator the AI or opponent bit on the run and the pass window is wide open. Man coverage with an aggressive blitz off the edge can beat this quickly since the play action drop takes an extra beat, so account for overload pressure to the play side before committing to the fake.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs like first and ten or second and short so the run fake actually holds linebackers and the play side safety.
Watch pre-snap for a safety cheating down into the box, that is your green light since it means one high or no help over the top for the post route.
Hot route the backside comeback into a deeper dig or curl against zone shells like Cover 3 to give yourself a sure completion if the safety stays deep.
Sequence this play right after you have run HB Power O and HB Off Tackle a few times so linebackers are conditioned to bite on the run action, then hit this shot play for a big gain.
Against man coverage, prioritize the corner route to the flat first since it isolates the TE on a linebacker or slower defender in space.
