Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
RPO Zone Bubble out of Shotgun Split Twins Offset combines an inside zone run scheme with a bubble screen tag to the slot receiver, giving you a true run pass option against light boxes. Your primary read is the alley defender or overhang defender to the bubble side: if he crashes down to fill the run gap, pull it and throw the bubble for a numbers advantage on the perimeter, and if he sits or hangs outside, hand it off and let your line work the zone blocking scheme north south. This play beats aggressive run fits and blitz heavy defenses that leave the flat uncovered, making it a low risk conflict creator against defenses that key the mesh point.
Defensive Reads
Identify the alley or overhang defender assigned to the bubble side before the snap, his leverage tells you whether the offense will pull or hand off Watch linebacker depth at the snap, if the second level defenders crash hard downhill on run action the quarterback is coached to pull and throw the bubble immediately This play struggles against zone coverage shells with a flat defender sitting outside, so playing a Cover 3 or Cover 4 shell with disciplined flat drops takes away the bubble read entirely User the slot defender or nickel corner manually to jump the bubble route if you suspect the RPO tag, this forces the quarterback to live with the handoff into a loaded box Watch for blitz packages that send extra defenders off the edge, since a well timed bubble throw beats blitzes that vacate the perimeter for pressure
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, count the box defenders and identify whether the defense is playing a 6 man box or lighter, since a light box tells you to lean run and a stacked box tells you to prioritize the bubble read
Bring up the alert defender pre-snap by checking the slot corner or overhang defender leverage, if he is aligned inside or shaded to take away the bubble you should plan to hand the ball off immediately
Use this play on early downs in run heavy sequences to keep the defense honest, then follow it up with RPO Alert Swing or RPO Read Bubble to attack the same conflict defender with a different look
Hot route the backside receiver on a quick out or slant if you consistently see single high shells, this gives you a second answer if the defense rotates a safety down to take away the bubble
Pair this call with Inside Zone Lt in your play calling script so the defense cannot sit on the RPO tag, forcing linebackers to respect true zone action every snap
