Playbooks
Overview
Ace Double Wing is the heaviest personnel look in the Singleback family, running 23 personnel (two backs, three tight ends) out of a single high back alignment. Instead of splitting receivers wide like Singleback Wide or Bunch sets, Ace Double Wing tucks two wing players just off the tackles or tight end alignment, creating a compressed nine man box look with the halfback alone behind center. That alignment is the entire point: defenses have to declare run fits before the snap because there is no vertical field stretch forcing them out of a two high shell. The Gadget tag shows up in the play art with Escort blocking schemes and QB Boot variations that let you attack the edge off of run action.
The run game here is the deepest part of the set. HB Power O, HB Counter Wk, Weak Toss, Escort Duo, Escort Zone Toss, HB Stretch, Wide Zone Lt, HB Zone Wk, and HB Dive give you gap scheme, wide zone, and toss concepts all from the same look, which is exactly what you want when you are trying to force an opponent to commit user defenders to the box. The wings act as extra pullers and lead blockers on the Escort plays, so you get numbers at the point of attack against base 3-4 and 4-3 fronts that have not shifted.
The pass game is built almost entirely off run action. Escort PA Sprint Rt, PA Ctr Waggle, PA Boot Lt, PA TE Cross, PA HB Wheel, Fake HB Zone QB Boot Lt, and Fake HB Zone QB Bootlt all sell the run first, then move the quarterback off the launch point. That matters against user defenders because a plant and drive read on a compressed formation is much harder when the pocket is rolling. TE Corners, TE Shake, HB Smash, Bench, and Stick give you the concept passing when you need it, and because the wings are covered by linebackers and safeties more often than corners, you can isolate a mismatch tight end on a corner route or a wheel against a slower man defender.
Strengths
- Elite run scheme variety from one alignment: gap (Power O, Counter Wk), wide zone (Wide Zone Lt, HB Stretch, HB Zone Wk), and perimeter (Weak Toss, Escort Zone Toss) all look identical pre-snap, which stalls run fit reads and user run commits.
- Play action boots and waggles (PA Boot Lt, PA Ctr Waggle, Escort PA Sprint Rt, Fake HB Zone QB Boot Lt) move the quarterback off the launch point, which neutralizes A gap nano pressure and makes user defender plant and drive reads on the flood concepts far less reliable.
- Tight end mismatches are built in with 23 personnel: TE Corners and TE Shake isolate your best receiving tight end on linebackers and third safeties, and PA HB Wheel gets a back running vertically against a defender who just stepped up on run action.
- Compressed wings create natural rub and traffic against man coverage, so hot routing one wing to a drag or slant while the other runs a corner produces a clean man beater without needing motion.
- Escort Duo and Escort Zone Toss add extra lead blockers at the point of attack, giving you a numbers edge against base fronts that have not shifted or pinched pre-snap.
Weaknesses
- No vertical field stretch pre-snap, so opponents can drop into two high or Cover 3 with a robber and still keep eight in the box, taking away both the run and the intermediate throws.
- Very few true four verticals or field flooding concepts, which makes it hard to attack Cover 0 or heavy man pressure quickly. Edge pressure off the boot side can end the play before the quarterback resets his feet.
- Play action pass sets are slow developing by design, so a well timed outside blitz or a crashing edge user defender gets home on Escort PA Sprint Rt and PA Boot Lt before the flood routes clear.
- Wing blockers are tight ends and backs, not tackles, so power edge rushers and stunting fronts win one on ones and force the quarterback to bail early on the rollout plays.
- Predictability is the biggest issue: once an opponent sees Ace Double Wing they can safely play run first and user the middle of the field, because the pass concepts available are almost all short to intermediate.
Usage Tips
Use this in short yardage and goal line situations where the defense has to respect the run. Escort Duo and HB Power O against an unshifted front give you the best chance at four yards or more without needing a pre-snap adjustment.
Establish the run first, then live off play action. Once your opponent starts crashing the box or ushering a linebacker downhill, PA Boot Lt and Fake HB Zone QB Boot Lt punish that commitment on the edge.
Read the safeties pre-snap. Single high with a linebacker walked up means run into the weak side with Weak Toss or HB Zone Wk. Two high with light box means hit Escort Duo or HB Power O between the tackles.
Hot route one wing to a drag or a slant against man coverage to create a rub off the compressed alignment, and leave the other wing on the corner or shake route as your primary. TE Corners and TE Shake are your best isolation calls against a third safety or slower linebacker.
Use PA HB Wheel as your change up after you have run stretch and toss multiple times. The back leaks out uncovered when the flat defender jumps run action, and it is your only reliable big play shot from this set.
