Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Read Option out of Pistol Doubles is a true zone run play built around the QB and HB mesh point, with the QB reading the play side edge defender to decide between handing the ball off on inside zone or pulling it to keep himself. The diagram shows the offensive line blocking down as a unit with zone steps, the HB aligned behind and slightly to the side of the QB for the exchange, and no receiver routes drawn into the play design since this is a pure run action. This is a run play, not a pass or RPO, so the primary read progression is the QB keying the unblocked defensive end or edge player to determine keep or give before the mesh point.
Defensive Reads
Key the play side defensive end or outside linebacker immediately after the snap since that is the exact defender the QB is reading for the keep or give decision. Watch for a scraping linebacker who stays home on the QB, since disciplined edge contain shuts this play down completely. Look at safety depth before the snap, because a safety cheating down into the box signals run support that can beat both the give and keep options. Man coverage on the outside receivers with no extra run support in the box is the ideal shell for this play to hit for positive yardage. Heavy blitz packages that send extra defenders off the edge can blow up the mesh point before the QB finishes his read, so watch for pre snap blitz indicators like walked up corners or overloaded fronts.
Usage Tips
Check the box count before the snap and only call this against light boxes with six or fewer defenders in the tackle box. Identify whether the play side edge defender is crashing hard down the line pre snap, since that tells you whether the keep read will be there after the snap. Use this in early down and distance situations like first and ten or second and short to keep the defense honest and set up explosive plays later in the drive. Pair this with Jet Inside Zone and HB Zone from the same set so the defense has to respect multiple run fits out of an identical Pistol Doubles look. Sequence this behind PA Boot or PA Ctr Waggle later in the series so the defense over pursues the zone action and opens up the play action window.
