Playbooks
Breakdown
HB Dive out of Singleback Wing Tight 13 personnel is a straight downhill run play designed to hit the A gap immediately after the snap. The formation shows a wing tight end and a lone receiver split out wide, both of whom stay in as blockers or run off coverage rather than showing route concepts on this play. The blocking scheme pulls the offensive line to seal both A gaps, with the fullback or extra tight end wing kicking out the closest defender, and the primary read for the HB is to press the initial hole and read the interior of the defensive line, cutting to whichever gap opens up first.
Defensive Reads
Watch for a 4-3 or 3-4 look with linebackers stacked tight behind the defensive line, this alignment clogs the dive lanes and forces the HB to bounce outside into extra defenders. If the defense shows a Cover 3 or Cover 1 shell with safeties rotating late, the box is likely light and the dive has room to hit for 4 plus yards before contact. User controlled defenders flying downhill immediately at the snap signal a run blitz, which HB Dive actually handles well if the line gets its double team on the nose, but be ready to check to a quick pass alternative if you see this consistently. Look for defensive tackles shaded into the A gaps pre-snap, this is the number one dive killer since it eliminates the natural crease before the ball is even snapped. If the linebackers are showing deep drops or bailing into zone coverage, that usually means light run support underneath, which is exactly when HB Dive should be called back to back.
Usage Tips
Call HB Dive in short yardage or 3rd and 1 situations where you need a guaranteed low risk push up the middle.
Check the defensive line splits pre-snap, if the interior defensive tackles are lined up wide in the gaps rather than head up on the center and guards, the dive lane will be tighter so consider audibling to HB Stretch or HB Ace Power instead.
Use this play early in a game plan to set up HB Counter Wk and HB Misdirection later, since defenders keying on the initial dive footwork will bite hard on the misdirection fakes.
Against stacked boxes with 8 or more defenders, this play loses value fast, so pair it with PA Ctr Waggle or PA Boot Slide to punish teams that load the box to stop the dive.
Take the direct snap timing seriously, mistime the handoff button press and you will lose the natural one cut window this play depends on.
