Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
RPO Power Alert Glance is a run pass option built off a Power run scheme out of Shotgun 12 personnel, giving the quarterback a pre snap or post snap alert to a glance route from the slot. The blocking up front pulls the backside guard for Power while the play side reads a designated defender, typically an alerted linebacker or safety, to decide between handing off or pulling and throwing the quick glance. Against man coverage the glance sits inside the leverage of the defender for an easy pitch and catch, while versus light boxes the quarterback rides the mesh point and hands the ball off. Primary read progression starts with the alert key defender before the snap, then confirms box count and second level flow to trigger either the give or the glance throw.
Defensive Reads
Pre snap, look at the alignment of the slot cornerback or nickel defender over the glance route, tight leverage usually signals man coverage that the glance can win against with quick separation Watch the play side linebacker depth, if he is sitting shallow near the line of scrimmage he is likely keying the run fit and will be late to cover the glance Post snap, track whether the alert defender crashes toward the mesh point or hangs back, aggressive crash means the quarterback should pull and throw immediately Zone shells with a robber or hook defender sitting in the middle of the field can shut down the glance by jumping the throw, so identify two high safety looks pre snap as a warning sign User controlled lurk defenders sitting at the second level are the biggest threat to this play, if you see a defender spying the exact glance window before the snap consider checking to the run or an audible
Usage Tips
Check the box count before the snap and identify if the play side alert defender is sitting in the throwing lane or cheating toward the run fit
If the linebacker or slot defender widens with the glance receiver at the snap that is your cue to hand the ball off into the vacated running lane
Use this play on early downs in run heavy sequences to keep the defense honest and force user controlled defenders to choose between spying the run or covering the glance
Pair this with RPO Power Alert Bubble and RPO Power Peek Slant in the same set so defenses cannot key on one alert route, forcing hesitation in zone drops and lurk assignments
Against aggressive user blitzers, quick trigger the glance since the fast pull action often draws linebackers downhill before they can drop into coverage
Mix in Inside Zone and Mtn Inside Zone from the same personnel to sell run action and keep second level defenders honest before dialing up this RPO later in the series
