Playbooks

RPO Power Alert Bubble

Shotgun·Doubles HB Wk·11

RPO Pass Play Run Play Bubble Screen

Likely unavailable in the playbook builder

This play belongs to no NFL team or scheme playbook, so it may not appear in the in-game builder.

Diagram coming soon

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetDoubles HB Wk

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 2 playbooks

Elites OffenseOffense MUT KO RPO OffenseOffense

Breakdown

RPO Power Alert Bubble is a run pass option out of Shotgun Doubles HB Wk that pairs a Power run scheme with a bubble screen alert to the slot receiver. The offensive line pulls to execute Power blocking downhill while the quarterback reads the alerted defender, usually a linebacker or slot corner, to decide whether to hand off or throw the quick bubble to the flat. This is primarily a run play with an RPO tag, making it a strong zone beater against light boxes and a check against overaggressive linebacker flow.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, count the box defenders and check if the slot corner or linebacker is aligned to take away the bubble, since that tells you if the offense will run or throw. Post-snap, watch for a user controlled linebacker sitting flat footed instead of flowing to the run fit, which signals he is baiting the quarterback into throwing the bubble into a trap. Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with linebackers who respect run gaps first tend to get gashed by the Power run if the alert key crashes down too hard. Blitz packages that bring extra defenders off the edge or through the A gap can disrupt the Power blocking scheme before the quarterback ever gets to his RPO read. If the defense shows a two high safety look with the slot corner sitting outside, expect the bubble throw to be the higher percentage option since the run fit is more sound.

Usage Tips

Check the box count before the snap and if you see six or more defenders in the box, lean toward pulling the ball for the bubble instead of forcing the handoff into a stacked front.

Use the alert key defender, typically the play side linebacker or slot corner, to make your decision fast since hesitating erases the RPO advantage.

This play is money on early downs like first and ten or second and short when defenses are still respecting the run and playing base fronts.

Pair this play with RPO Power Peek and RPO Zone Alert Bubble in the same series so defenses cannot sit on either the run action or the bubble key without getting burned by the other variant.

Against man coverage on the bubble receiver, hot route the outside receiver into a quick slant or curl to give yourself a secondary answer if the alert defender jumps the screen.