Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 1 playbook
Breakdown
HB Blunt Dive is a straight downhill run out of Singleback Y Trips 11 personnel, showing three receivers bunched to the trips side and the HB aligned in the backfield behind the QB. The diagram shows the HB attacking the A gap directly off the line on a hard dive path, with the offensive line executing a straight-ahead blocking scheme designed to seal the interior gaps rather than pull or reach outside. This is a pure run play with no route concept attached, built to get quick, north-south yards before the front seven can flow and fill.
Defensive Reads
Key the middle linebacker depth and gap alignment before the snap, if he is shaded tight to the A gap the dive will have a hard time breaking through. Watch for a nine or six man box, this run gets stopped cold by loaded fronts and blitzes sent straight up the middle since there is no misdirection to exploit. User the middle linebacker or a defensive tackle on this play to jump the dive immediately, since the ball carrier has a predetermined interior path with minimal deception. Look for A gap blitzes or straight man free run lanes up the middle, since Blunt Dive offers no lead blocker to pick up an unblocked rusher. Against zone defenses with light boxes and safeties rotated away from the line, this run hits quickly, but any defense selling out on inside run tendencies will blow this play up before it develops.
Usage Tips
Use this play on short yardage and 3rd or 4th and 1 situations where a fast, decisive hitter to the A gap is more valuable than a designed cutback run.
Check the defensive front pre-snap, this play wins hardest against light boxes with 6 or fewer defenders since the dive hits fast and does not rely on a blocker winning a numbers battle.
Pair HB Blunt Dive with HB Dive and HB Plunge from the same set to keep the defense guessing on tempo and gap since all three look identical from the mesh point but hit different lanes.
If the defense stacks the box after seeing this run once, counter with PA Ctr Waggle or PA Power O to freeze linebackers with the play-action fake off the same personnel and formation.
Snap the ball quickly after the read to avoid giving second level defenders time to diagnose and fill the A gap, since this play has almost no wiggle room if the timing is late.
