Playbooks
Inside Zone out of Shotgun Trips TE Flex Close WK is a base run play built off zone blocking principles, with the offensive line stepping in unison toward the play side to create a natural cutback lane. The trips receiver bunch and flexed TE give you flexibility to check into a run based on box count, but as designed the primary read is the running back reading the double team at the point of attack and working through his aiming point to find the first crease, whether that is a bang, bend, or bounce read. This is a pure run play with no play-action or RPO attachment, making it a straightforward downhill zone run best used to control tempo and set up your play-action shots later in the set.
Identify the linebacker depth pre-snap. Linebackers sitting shallow at five yards or closer are keying run and will fill fast, so be ready to bounce the play outside using your zone vision. Watch for a stacked box with eight or more defenders, which signals a run blitz or crash call designed to beat you to the point of attack before the double team can develop. Post-snap, track the play side defensive end and 3-technique. If they are shooting gaps rather than reading blocks, that is a gap exchange or run blitz look that this zone scheme is vulnerable to. Man coverage on the outside with the trips bunch often means fewer defenders in the box, giving Inside Zone a favorable numbers advantage, so attack downhill immediately. Beware of a user-controlled linebacker sitting in the hole or spying the mesh point, since a good user can crash the cutback lane and blow up the run before it develops.
Check the box count pre-snap before the snap. If the defense has six or more defenders in the box, consider audibling to a perimeter run or pass instead of forcing Inside Zone into a stacked front.
Use your fullback or lead blocker to seal the first threat off the edge if your personnel allows it, and manually user the play side guard to secure the double team before working to the second level linebacker.
Run this play on early downs, particularly first and second and short to medium yardage, to stay ahead of the chains and keep the defense honest against your pass concepts in this set like Switch Dagger and China Y-Shake.
Pair Inside Zone with Bounce Inside Zone and Bounce Read Option in your play-calling sequence so the defense cannot key on a single gap or landmark, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their run fits.
Against defenses that load the box after seeing zone runs from this formation, counter with PA Flood or Return PA Deep Sail to attack vacated deep coverage zones off the same run action look.