Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Inside Zone out of Shotgun Normal Y Off Close (11 personnel) shows a five man offensive line zone blocking scheme with the TE attached in-line for an extra double team or combo block at the point of attack. The HB takes the shotgun handoff and reads the zone blocking flow, pressing the line before picking his gap based on the frontside double teams. This is a run play, not a man or zone beater against coverage, and the primary read progression is A gap to B gap to backside cutback, with the RB keying the frontside double team and bending outside if the alley is clogged.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth pre-snap, if both backers are stacked tight to the line at five yards or closer expect an aggressive run blitz that can beat inside zone before the double teams set. Identify single high versus two high safety shells before the snap, single high alignments often mean the extra safety is in the box as a run defender which changes your cutback lanes. Post-snap key the frontside defensive tackle and if he is a two gapper controlling both A gaps, bounce your run reads to the cutback lane instead of forcing it into the line. Look for user controlled linebackers flowing hard downhill immediately at the snap, which signals a defender spying the mesh point rather than playing assignment football. This play struggles against gap exchange stunts and A gap blitzes from Mike linebackers, so if you see a pre-snap Mike blitz indicator consider checking to a different play at the line.
Usage Tips
Check the box count pre-snap and only run this into light boxes with six or fewer defenders in the box since the extra TE only gives you one more blocker than a standard 10 personnel look.
Use the TE align as a cheat code to identify if the defense is playing run heavy alignment or bailing into pass coverage, since a TE cheating outside pre-snap often signals zone coverage drops that leave the box lighter.
Pair this play with RPO Zone Stick or RPO Peek Spot from the same set so the defense has to respect both the run action and the quick game off the same zone blocking look.
On early downs like first and ten this is a great tempo play to keep defenses honest, but user the fullback or lead blocker with your RB vision and stick to one cut once you commit to a gap.
Combine this with Fk Jet Y Wheel or Zone Fake Jet later in a series once you have established the inside zone look, since the jet motion tags off the same personnel and formation create hesitation in linebacker run fits.
