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Quick Reference
Not in any team playbook.
Breakdown
RPO Alert Bubble is a run pass option out of Shotgun Trips TE Offset with 11 personnel. The read shows an inside zone hand off to the HB with the offensive line blocking down, while the outside receiver on the play side runs a quick out or flat route and the inside slot receiver runs the bubble screen behind it. This is a true RPO built to attack numbers on the perimeter, giving the QB a pre-snap and post-snap alert to throw the bubble if the defense is outnumbered or hand off the zone run if the box count favors the offense.
Defensive Reads
Watch the flat defender or slot corner pre-snap, if they are sitting deep or bailing into a zone drop the bubble read is wide open for the QB. Check linebacker depth before the snap, stacked or crashing linebackers signal a run blitz that the QB should audible away from by throwing the bubble immediately. Man coverage on the outside receiver with no help underneath is a green light for the run since there is no natural bubble defender to jump the screen. Split safety looks with two high safeties often leave light boxes, making this a strong run alert against Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells. User controlled defenders who key the mesh point and crash hard on the zone action are exactly who this RPO is designed to beat, since the bubble read punishes that aggression instantly.
Usage Tips
Count the box pre-snap and if you see six or fewer defenders in the box, lean run and let the QB pull the ball on the zone read. If a defender flies out toward the bubble alert pre-snap, that is your green light to hand the ball off immediately since the numbers advantage shifts inside. Use the bubble as a conditioning tool against aggressive user defenders who crash down on inside zone, since it punishes overpursuit with a free release throw. Pair this play with RPO Zone Alert Bubble and RPO Trap Alert Bubble in the same set to keep the defense guessing between different blocking schemes while showing the same bubble alert look every snap. Best called on early downs or 2nd and short when defenses are more willing to sell out against the run, since the bubble alert punishes overcommitted linebackers and safeties.
