Playbooks
Breakdown
HB Blast is a downhill power run out of the Power I Strong formation with 31 personnel on the field, giving you a fullback, tight end, and lead blocker in front of the halfback. The diagram shows the HB taking a direct, hard-angle path through the interior of the line while the FB leads through the same gap to seal the point of attack, with the line firing straight ahead in a standard Iso blocking scheme. This is a pure downhill run play designed to get north-south yardage quickly, not a man or zone beater since there is no passing concept attached, and the primary read is simply to follow the FB's block and take whatever crease opens between the guards.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, identify the middle linebacker's depth since a shallow MLB alignment signals the defense is loaded to stop exactly this kind of interior blast. Watch for a 4-3 under or heavy front with defensive tackles shaded into the A gaps, as this alignment clogs the lane the FB is trying to seal and kills HB Blast before it starts. Post-snap, key the play-side linebacker's first step, if he flows hard downhill immediately he is reading the FB block correctly and will likely make the tackle at or near the line. This play struggles against goal line and heavy run-stop packages with extra defensive linemen, but it can gash light boxes or nickel defenses that are anticipating pass on early downs. Look for a user-controlled defender spying the fullback lead, if the CPU or opposing user jumps the FB block early, cut the HB off his outside hip instead of forcing it back inside.
Usage Tips
Use HB Blast on short yardage and goal line situations where you need a hard-nosed gain of two to four yards against a stacked box.
Check the defensive front pre-snap and if you see six or more in the box, consider audibling to HB Toss or Power O to bounce outside instead of forcing it up the middle.
Pair this play with PA FB Flat or PA Boot Slide later in a series once the defense starts crashing down hard on the FB lead block, since the play-action look off this same personnel will freeze linebackers.
Manually control the fullback at the snap if you are comfortable user-blocking, since taking out the first unblocked linebacker at the second level often creates the difference between a two yard gain and a chunk run.
Run this from under center on early downs to keep the defense honest, then mix in HB Slam or FB Dive from the same look to disguise your run tendencies.
