Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Dive out of Full House Over Close in Pistol is a straight downhill run play with the offensive line blocking the interior gaps and both the FB and HB aligned behind the QB in the pistol look. The diagram shows the runner hitting a quick vertical crease directly behind center with no lead blocker path shown beyond the line, meaning the OL must win their combo blocks up front. This is a pure run play, not a play-action or RPO look, designed to punish light boxes and aggressive edge defenders who bite on the outside routes from the rest of the playbook. The primary read progression is frontside gap first, then bounce to the backside cutback lane if the initial hole is clogged.
Defensive Reads
Check the linebacker depth before the snap, stacked linebackers within four yards of the line signal a run blitz that can beat this play if your OL loses the point of attack. Watch safety alignment, a single high safety with both corners playing off man usually means light numbers in the box and a green light for the dive. If the defense shows Cover 3 sky or Cover 1 with an extra hat in the box, this play gets tough since the extra defender fills the frontside gap immediately. Key the defensive tackles at the snap, if they shoot gaps upfield instead of reading the mesh point, the backside cutback lane opens up for a bigger gain. User controlled defenders spying the mesh point or crashing down hard off the edge can blow this play up before the back gets vertical, so avoid calling it against defenses that consistently show gap-shooting DL stunts.
Usage Tips
Call this play when the defense shows a light box of six or fewer defenders in the run fit, especially against 3-3 stack or 4-2 nickel looks that favor pass coverage. Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into flowing early, then snap it to hit the A gap before they reset. Pair HB Dive with Counter Y-Lead from this same set so defenders keying downhill dive action get gashed by the counter misdirection on the next snap. Mix in PA Boot Lt and PA Flood X-Post Stop after establishing the dive to force safeties to respect the run fake before committing to deep zone drops. Best used on early downs, first and ten or second and short, when you want to stay ahead of the chains and set up explosive shot plays later in the drive.
