Playbooks
At a Glance
In 38 playbooks
Overview
I Form Wing takes the base I Form skeleton (quarterback under center, fullback stacked in front of the halfback) and flexes a tight end into a wing position just off the tackle's hip, giving you an extra body in the run fit without declaring a full 2TE inline look. That wing alignment is the whole point: the defense has to treat him as an additional gap defender responsibility on the run side, but he can also release clean into flat routes, seams, and drag work on play action because he starts outside the tackle box. Compared to I Form Close or I Form Tight, Wing widens the edge surface and gets your fullback lead blocks running into a more clearly defined C gap, which is why the run tree here is stacked with HB Power O, HB Power G, HB Counter Wk, Mtn Power, and Mtn Power Weak.
The 22 personnel grouping puts two backs and two tight ends on the field with a single detached receiver, and that alone forces most users into base or 3-4 personnel with a linebacker matched to your wing. That is the matchup you are hunting. X Fade, X Slant, and RPO Power O Alert X Smoke isolate your split-end on an island against whatever corner is left in single high or Cover 1, while TE Post, TE Option, and PA TE Leak attack the linebacker or safety who has to carry your tight end vertically. Play action is the payoff mechanism: PA Power O, PA Mtn Power O, PA Boot Flow, PA Waggle, and PA Sprint HB Flat all sell the exact same downhill Power footwork you have been running all game.
Beyond straight gap runs, the set carries genuine constraint plays. HB Stretch, Strong Stretch, Zone Wk, HB Inside Zone, and HB Zone Toss give you a zone package off the same alignment, RPO Stretch Alert X Lookie and RPO Power O Alert X Smoke let you punish a crashing edge defender without reading anything complicated, and FB Fake HB Toss plus 95 Mike function as gadget change-ups when an opponent starts over-committing his user-controlled defender to your primary back. The 3DRB and Gadget tagging means you can also drop a receiving back in and run PA Spot, Curls, WR Corner, and WR Sluggo out of the same personnel shell.
Strengths
- Elite Power run tree with a fullback lead blocker and a wing tight end sealing the edge, so HB Power O, HB Power G, and Mtn Power hit the same gap with different pullers and force the defense to guess who fits where.
- Play action off Power footwork is nearly unreadable when your run game is working: PA Power O, PA Mtn Power O, and PA Boot Flow all replicate the pull and get the front side flowing before the seam or crosser breaks open.
- Heavy 22 personnel drags base linebackers onto the field, then X Fade and X Slant isolate your split-end one on one with no help defender in the flat, which is a straight man beater against Cover 1 press.
- PA Spot, PA Scissors, PA Close Cross, and PA Clearout give you real zone beaters with high low and crossing structure out of a formation the defense expects to run, so Cover 3 and Cover 4 users get flooded before they can rotate.
- RPO Power O Alert X Smoke and RPO Stretch Alert X Lookie let you punish an aggressive edge crasher or a defender jumping the box without needing a full post snap read, and the alert throw is available immediately on the snap.
Weaknesses
- Only one detached receiver means the field is compressed, so a user can walk his safeties down, sit in Cover 1 Robber, and squeeze every interior route without paying for it.
- Under center with a fullback in the way limits your escape options against interior heat, and A gap nano blitz pressure gets home before longer play action animations finish, especially on PA Waggle and PA TE Leak.
- Play action out of a heavy set has slow developing progressions, so a user-controlled linebacker sitting in the middle of the field will read your tight end concepts (TE Post, TE Option) before the ball comes out.
- Predictable tendency risk: if you lean on Power and Stretch all game, opponents will shade coverage to the strong side, pinch the line, and set edge defenders to contain, which kills HB Sweep and HB Zone Toss outside runs.
- No easy quick game answer to blitz outside of hot routing, since the base concepts here are not designed for one read throws, and your fullback pass protection assignments have to be checked manually on multiple plays.
Usage Tips
Establish the Power package first (HB Power O, Mtn Power, HB Power G) on early downs, then run PA Power O and PA Mtn Power O off the identical look once the user starts committing his defender into the box.
Read the box pre-snap: if the defense is in base personnel with a single high safety and the corner over your split-end is pressed with no flat help, take X Fade or hot route him to a fade and throw the isolation.
Against pinched fronts and crashing edges, get to RPO Power O Alert X Smoke or RPO Stretch Alert X Lookie so the alert throw punishes the overplay without asking you to win a run block.
On short yardage and goal line, FB Dive, HB Lead Dive, and Close HB Lead are your highest percentage calls, but keep FB Fake HB Toss and 95 Mike in the bag for third and one when the user is jumping the dive animation.
Motion the wing across the formation before the snap on Motion Power Weak and Mtn Power Weak to force the defense to redeclare its strength, and hot route your fullback to a flat or block depending on whether you read blitz.
