Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Wide Zone Wk is an outside zone run out of Pistol Trips Open with 10 personnel, sending the offensive line laterally to stretch the defense before the HB picks his crease. The Trips Open alignment pulls extra defenders out wide, thinning the box and giving the offensive line clean zone angles to the play side. This is a run play, not a man or zone beater in the passing sense, with the primary read being the HB pressing the play side edge, reading the widest defender first (kick out or seal block), then working inside through the natural cutback lane if the edge is squeezed.
Defensive Reads
Watch for linebacker depth pre-snap since stacked linebackers at 4 to 5 yards can fly downhill fast and blow up zone runs if your defenders diagnose it quickly. Attack the play side aggressively with a user controlled defensive end or linebacker to string the run out before the HB can turn the corner. Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with numbers advantage in the box are the best counters, since extra run support defenders can fill cutback lanes. Watch the play side tackle and tight end area for double team zone blocks, and time a linebacker blitz through the vacated inside gap before the line can climb to the second level. Nano blitzes and edge crash calls from a 46 Bear or heavy front can disrupt the outside zone track before it develops, especially if the defense sells run on early downs.
Usage Tips
Check the box count before the snap since Trips Open naturally removes a defender from the box, making this a great call versus base 4-3 or 3-4 fronts that keep both linebackers stacked inside.
Use the HB vision cone and patience press the line hard to the play side to bait linebackers into flowing before cutting back against overpursuit.
Pair this with HB Slip Screen or HB Draw from the same set to keep defenses honest against teams that start crashing the edge every snap.
Best used on early downs (1st and 10, 2nd and short) to stay on schedule, and it works especially well against defenses that show heavy blitz looks since the zone scheme naturally accounts for fast edge pressure.
Mix in Wide Zone (the non Wk variant) and Speed Option Wk from the same formation to keep linebacker flow guessing between different mesh points and cutback lanes.
