Playbooks
Breakdown
HB Power out of Shotgun U Off Trips Wk is a gap scheme run play designed to pull a lineman across the formation and create a double team at the point of attack. The diagram shows the HB taking a lateral step before pressing downhill off the guard's outside hip, with the offensive line blocking down and a puller kicking out the edge defender to seal the alley. This is a run play, not a man or zone beater in the traditional sense, but it does have a built in advantage against overaggressive fronts that crash hard toward the trips side. Primary read progression is: identify the pulling lineman's kickout block, press the hole downhill, and be ready to bounce outside if the backside defensive end squeezes the point of attack.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth before the snap. Linebackers stacked tight to the line signal an aggressive run blitz that can beat Power before the puller gets around. Key the edge defender on the play side. If he is squeezing hard down inside, the HB needs to bounce this outside immediately rather than pressing the designed hole. Identify single high versus two high safety shells. Single high alignments often mean the extra defender is already in the box, making this run tougher to execute against loaded fronts. Look for a user controlled defender flowing hard toward the trips side pre-snap, since that usually means the defense is selling out to stop the perimeter and leaving the interior gap exposed. If the defense shows a nano blitz look with a defensive lineman shaded directly over the center or guard, expect quick penetration that can blow up the pulling lineman's path.
Usage Tips
Run this play on early downs like first and second down when defenses are more likely to sit in base personnel instead of loading up with extra DBs.
Check the box count before the snap. If the defense has six or more defenders in the box, consider audibling to a perimeter play or RPO Alert Bubble instead.
Use the trips side to bait the defense into rotating a safety or nickel corner out of the box, then attack the weaker side where Power actually hits.
Pair this play with Inside Zone and Outside Zone in the same set so defenses cannot key run fits based on formation tendencies alone.
Mix in RPO Zone Alert Bubble or RPO Peek Corner from the same personnel and formation to keep linebackers honest and prevent them from crashing down on the mesh point every snap.
