Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Read Option out of Shotgun Wing Tight Nasty is a zone run play that puts the QB in a true dual read with the HB, showing a mesh point directly behind the center where the ball can be handed off or pulled and kept. The offensive line flows in a zone blocking scheme to the play side while the QB keys the edge defender to decide give or keep, with the keep option opening up outside contain if that defender crashes down the line. This is a run-first zone beater designed to punish teams that overload the box or send an aggressive edge defender upfield, and the primary read progression is: identify the read defender first, then decide hand off to the HB on the zone track or pull it and attack the edge yourself.
Defensive Reads
Watch the edge defender assigned to the read side, if he stays home and squeezes the mesh point he takes away the QB keep Spy or user the QB with a linebacker to shut down the keep lane and force the offense into the dive every time Sim pressure or a 3-4 look with an unblocked EDGE defender is the most effective counter since it forces a bad read for the offense Watch for safeties rotating down into the box pre-snap, that indicates run support and a crowded interior for the dive read Post-snap, keep contain defenders disciplined instead of crashing so the QB has nowhere to escape on the perimeter
Usage Tips
Check the read defender pre-snap and confirm he is not sitting in a contain position before the snap since disciplined edge defenders will erase the keep option
Use this play on early downs in normal or run heavy personnel to keep defenses honest and set up explosive play-action shots later in the series
Pair Read Option with Mesh Spot or HB Punch from the same Wing Tight Nasty set so the defense cannot key on run tendencies based on formation alone
Against defenses that crash hard on the HB dive, pull the ball on the read and get to the edge immediately before the backside pursuit can flow
Avoid calling this against interior stacked run blitzes since the mesh point can get blown up before you complete the read
