Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Reload HB Sweep is a pure run play out of Shotgun Normal Y Off Close with 11 personnel, designed to get the halfback moving laterally before turning it upfield. The diagram shows the RB taking a reload step to the backfield before receiving the handoff and bouncing outside, following the flow of blockers toward the edge. This is not a pass concept at all, it is a sweep run that relies on outside numbers and edge blocking to spring the ball carrier, with the primary read being the alley and the edge defender's leverage as the RB presses the line and picks his crease.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth pre snap, if they are sitting back in coverage the edge is exposed and the sweep hits big. Key the play side defensive end and outside linebacker, if they stay home and do not crash inside the run can get sealed off at the line. User controlled defenders flowing hard to the sweep side is the biggest threat, since a user hit at the mesh point kills this play instantly. This run gets stuffed by defenses with a fast flowing linebacker who reads the reload action and beats the pulling blockers to the edge. Overloaded fronts or extra defenders stacked to the sweep side will shut this down, since the blocking scheme cannot account for numbers advantage there.
Usage Tips
Use this play against defenses showing light boxes or when linebackers are sitting deep in zone drops, since the sweep needs numbers advantage on the perimeter.
Check the edge defender and slot corner alignment pre snap, if they are crashing hard inside you have a clean lane to bounce outside.
Pair this with Inside Zone or Read Option from the same set so defenses cannot key on the sweep action based on formation tendencies.
Best used on early downs (1st and 10 or 2nd and short) to keep defenses honest and set up play action rollouts later in the series.
Avoid calling this into stacked fronts with extra defenders in the box, since the blocking scheme cannot handle numbers disadvantage on the edge.
