Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
H Zone Str is an outside zone run out of Singleback Wing Tight Z with 13 personnel, showing the offensive line and tight end flowing together toward the play side while the HB takes a lateral zone path before pressing upfield. The wing back and tight end combo block to seal the edge, giving the HB a stretch read to either bounce outside or cut back based on how the defensive front flows. The primary read progression starts with the play side double team at the point of attack, then works to the cutback lane if the backside linebacker overpursues the zone flow.
Defensive Reads
Key the frontside linebacker depth and shade before the snap, since H Zone Str is designed to attack the off tackle gap and a linebacker sitting downhill in the box will trigger fast flow that the zone blocking scheme has to seal outside of. Watch the defensive end and outside linebacker alignment on the tight end and wing side, because heavy edge sets or a nano blitz package from that side will collapse the cutback lane before the HB can press the hole. Check for stacked fronts or run blitzes with a linebacker crashing the play side gap pre-snap, since those alignments beat outside zone by beating the double team at the point of attack. Look for safeties rotating down into the box post-snap, which signals run support that can outnumber the blocking scheme on the edge and force an early cutback read. If the defense shows a light box with only six defenders and the safety stays deep, this scheme wins clean because the zone blocking has numbers advantage to seal and climb to the second level.
Usage Tips
Run H Zone Str on early downs like first and second and ten when the defense hasn't committed to a run blitz look, since the zone scheme needs a base front to work with. Pre-snap, check the strength of the defensive front and count the box, if there are seven or more defenders stacked to the play side, consider audibling to HB Counter Wk or HB Power O to attack the weak side instead. Use motion or a hard count to bait linebackers into showing blitz intent, then confirm the safety rotation before the snap so you know if it's a two high shell that leaves light run support or a single high shell that stacks the box. Pair this play with PA Misdirection or PA Sprint HB Flat from the same set to keep the defense honest on backside flow, since both plays sell the same zone action before breaking off into pass concepts. Manually control the fullback or wing blocker at the second level if you're facing an aggressive user linebacker, this lets you seal the alley defender instead of relying on the CPU logic.
