Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 15 playbooks
Breakdown
Z Close Toss is a perimeter run play out of the Shotgun Wing Slot Offset formation in 12 personnel, designed to get the HB the edge quickly with numbers in space. The diagram shows the offensive line and tight ends releasing to the play side to reach and seal defenders, while the HB takes the pitch on the toss action and follows the blocking arc toward the sideline. This is a run play, not a man or zone beater in the passing sense, and the primary read progression is bounce, bang, or bend based on how the edge defender and force defender fit the play, reading the kick out block first before deciding whether to cut it up inside the sealed edge or take it outside.
Defensive Reads
Watch the play side EDGE or OLB alignment pre-snap, if he is crashing hard down the line the blockers will try to reach and seal him, so user him to spill the play or hold contain. Key the force defender, usually the play side corner or safety in run support, since he determines whether the HB bounces outside or cuts back inside the log block. Against Cover 3 or Cover 1 run fits with the strong safety rotated down, this toss can get sealed quickly if the linebackers scrape fast, so blitzing off the edge or running a contain scheme with a user defender shuts down the bounce lane. Look for teams stacked in the box with an extra linebacker or nickel blitz package, as an aggressive fast flow can beat the reach blocks before the HB gets to the corner. Post-snap, track the backside pursuit linebacker for cutback lanes if the play side gets sealed too far outside, and user control a defender to spy the cutback if you suspect a bend read.
Usage Tips
Use pre-snap motion or alignment checks to confirm whether the defense is in a run-heavy front before calling this, since light boxes with 6 or fewer defenders are ideal for this toss.
Identify if the defense has fast flow linebackers, and if so consider hotrouting your fullback or extra blocker to log the edge defender rather than reach him, giving your HB a cutback lane.
This play hits best on early downs like 1st and 10 or 2nd and short when defenses are still respecting play-action and RPO tendencies from this same formation.
Pair Z Close Toss with Z Close Duo and Z Close PA Flood from the same set so the defense cannot key on formation tendencies, forcing linebackers to respect both inside zone and outside toss action.
If the CPU or opponent overloads the box after seeing toss once, switch to Read Option or RPO Alert Bubble from the same Wing Slot Offset set to punish aggressive run fits.
