Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
0 1 Trap out of Shotgun Deuce Close is a gap scheme run play built around a trap block at the point of attack. The offensive line pulls a blocker across the formation to kick out or trap the first defender inside the box, letting the RB press the hole created by the down blocks before bursting through the interior gap. With both TEs tight to the formation and no route concepts shown in the diagram, this is a pure power run play designed to win with numbers and angles at the line rather than beat man or zone coverage in the passing game. Primary read progression starts with identifying the trapped defender's reaction, then working from the initial designed gap to the backside cutback lane if the front flows hard.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check the depth and width of the defensive tackles and any linebacker stacked directly behind the trap gap since a quick-crashing three technique is exactly what this play is designed to exploit. Look for overloaded fronts or a Mike linebacker sitting tight in the A gap, that alignment tells you the trap block has a clean angle to seal him off. Post-snap, key whether the user-controlled defender flows outside with the pulling blocker or stays home to fill the interior gap, since a disciplined gap-and-fit defender can blow this play up before it develops. This run play struggles against heavy blitz packages that send extra defenders through the exact gap being trapped, so a stacked A gap blitz or a nano blitz look pre-snap should make you consider an audible. Zone defenses with linebackers reading run fits and flowing hard to the ball can also close the cutback lane quickly, so watch linebacker depth at the snap for early flow.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or a hard count to force linebackers to declare their gap responsibility before the snap since the trap block relies on that first level defender crashing inside. Call this on early downs like first and ten or second and short when defenses are more likely to sit in base fronts with fewer extra defenders in the box. Watch for a light box count with six or fewer defenders, that is the ideal trigger to run this play with confidence. Pair 0 1 Trap with Inside Zone and Outside Zone from the same Deuce Close set so the defense cannot key run direction based on formation tendencies alone. Mix in RPO Read Cntr or RPO Alert Omaha after running Trap a few times to punish linebackers who start cheating downhill too aggressively.
