Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Stretch out of Full House Over Close (Pistol, 21 personnel) is an outside zone run play designed to get the ball carrier horizontal before he presses a gap. The diagram shows the offensive line flowing laterally with the HB taking a wide, angled path toward the edge behind zone-blocking linemen, while the FB and TE align to seal the edge and provide a lead block. This is a pure run play (zone beater against gap and man-heavy fronts), and the primary read progression for the ball carrier is press the stretch path, read the edge defender and playside linebacker flow, then decide to bounce outside, bend into the alley, or cut back against overpursuing defenders.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and box count, if the defense has 7 or more in the box with both safeties deep it signals a run-stopping front that can beat the stretch with fast flow. Watch the playside defensive end and outside linebacker leverage, if they are crashing hard inside pre-snap the cutback lane will open behind the stretch flow. Post-snap, key the play side linebacker's pursuit angle, disciplined linebackers who stay square and read the stretch will limit the bounce outside and force an early cutback. Look for user-controlled defenders spying the edge or crashing the C gap, this is the primary defensive answer to stretch and shows up most on 3-4 fronts with an aggressive outside linebacker. Nano blitz packages off the edge and heavy man coverage with an extra run defender in the box are the top counters to this play, if you see either pre-snap consider checking to HB Dive or a play-action look instead.
Usage Tips
Run this out of Pistol Full House Over Close when the defense shows light boxes or is aligned to stop inside zone, since the stretch action forces edge defenders to widen and opens cutback lanes.
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is in a 4-3 over or 3-4 shell with the strong side matching your TE, since overloaded fronts to the play side will clog the stretch lane and require a quicker cutback decision.
Use manual control on your lead FB or TE blocker to seal the force defender at the point of attack, this is critical against user defenders who try to crash down and blow up the edge.
Pair this play with HB Dive and Counter Y-Lead from the same set to keep linebackers guessing between inside zone, counter action, and the outside stretch, all from identical pre-snap alignment.
Best called on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short) to stay ahead of the sticks, and avoid calling it into stacked boxes with extra defenders showing blitz on the edge.
