Playbooks
HB Mid Draw out of Shotgun Wide Trips is a pure run play designed to sell pass on the snap before the HB takes the handoff up the middle. The offensive line pass sets briefly to draw the front upfield and linebackers into pass drops before the interior gaps open, giving the runner a clean lane through the A or B gap. The primary read progression for the ball carrier is playside guard to center, hitting the first crease if the linebackers bite on the pass fake, then cutting back if the backside gap develops instead.
Key the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he drops hard into pass coverage or flows wide to cover a route the draw hits big. Watch for user controlled defenders sitting in a lurk spot near the line of scrimmage, aggressive human players who diagnose the draw quickly will fill the A gap and blow up the play design. Defenses in man coverage with linebackers manually spying the backfield shut this down since they read the mesh point immediately instead of dropping. Zone coverage shells with linebackers dropping to intermediate depth are the most vulnerable since they take themselves out of the run fit chasing air in their zone drop. Check for stacked fronts or five man pressure looks pre-snap since immediate interior penetration negates the delayed blocking scheme and forces a negative play.
Call this on early downs or in obvious passing situations like second and long or third and medium to exploit defenses expecting a drop back throw. Watch pre-snap for linebackers cheating up into blitz alignment or showing man coverage depth, both indicate they will bite hard on the pass fake and open up the draw lane. If the defense shows a two high shell with linebackers sitting soft in zone, the draw loses value since those defenders will not vacate the middle. Sequence this after calling Four Verticals or Deep Choice from the same Wide Trips set so the defense respects the pass shell and continues to bite on the play fake. Avoid calling this against heavy blitz packages with defensive line stunts since penetration up front can blow up the draw before the hole develops. Use manual motion or a stick to slow-play the LB drop keys before committing the runner through the hole.