Playbooks

Outside Zone

Shotgun·Deuce Close·12
Outside ZoneRun PlayZone Run
Play diagram for Outside Zone from Shotgun Deuce Close in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

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Breakdown

Outside Zone out of Shotgun Deuce Close (12 personnel) is a zone run play that stretches the defense laterally before the running back presses the hole. The diagram shows the RB taking the handoff and pressing outside toward the edge with the offensive line executing zone steps to move the front horizontally, giving the back the option to bounce outside or cut back based on backside pursuit. This is a zone run beater against gap and man alignments, and the primary read progression is aiming point outside first, cutback lane second, reading the reaction of the play side defensive end and linebacker flow before deciding where to plant.

Defensive Reads

Watch the play side defensive end, if he crashes hard inside the cutback lane opens immediately for a big gain. Key the flow of the middle linebacker, aggressive downhill linebackers get outrun by the stretch action and create cutback opportunities. Check safety depth before the snap, a safety sitting at 8 yards or closer signals extra run support and should push you toward the cutback read instead of bouncing outside. Man coverage on the perimeter with no extra force defender favors the bounce outside since blockers can climb to the second level cleanly. Heavy blitz packages with edge pressure can blow up zone steps before the back reaches the mesh point, so avoid this call against known aggressive nano blitz teams on early downs.

Usage Tips

Attack light boxes with six or fewer defenders in the box since the extra TE in 12 personnel gives you double the blocking surface on the edge.

Use pre-snap motion or a quick glance at safety depth to confirm run support is light before snapping it against two high shells.

Pair this with Inside Zone from the same set to keep linebackers honest and prevent them from flowing hard to the edge every play.

Combine it with RPO Read Cntr and RPO Read Mtn Stick out of the same formation so the defense cannot sit on run keys presnap.

On third and short or first and ten, this is a great tempo call to keep opposing defenders guessing between run fits and pass drops.

Other Plays in Deuce Close