Playbooks
F Trail out of the Strong I H Wing formation is a play action based man beater built around the fullback releasing on a trail route underneath while the outside receivers stretch the field vertically. The play action fake from Strong I sells the Power O run threat, holding the linebackers and safeties for a beat while the fullback works late into the flat or intermediate area against man coverage leaks. Primary read starts with the deep outside routes to see if the play action freezes the safety, then works down to the fullback trail route as the checkdown against man coverage or blitz pressure.
Check for a single high safety pre-snap, this usually signals man coverage underneath that the fullback trail route can exploit If linebackers are sitting shallow at the snap and not biting on the run fake, this play action concept loses its window and the fullback release gets picked up quickly Watch for a user controlled linebacker spying the fullback out of the backfield, if he stays home instead of flowing to run action this play is likely dead Cover 3 with a hard flat defender can jump the fullback trail route, so if you see a corner or safety sitting low in the flat, redirect to the vertical routes instead Blitz packages that bring extra defenders off the edge can be gashed by the play action rollout if the offensive line picks up the initial rush, since the fullback trail becomes the emergency valve
Use this on early downs when defenses expect Power O or HB Dive out of the same formation to maximize the play action hold on linebackers
Watch pre-snap for a single high safety or man coverage indicators like corners playing tight with no cushion, this is when the fullback trail route becomes most dangerous
Hot route the outside receivers into deeper vertical stems if you see a two high shell rotating late, forcing the safeties to declare before the fullback releases
Pair this play with Power O and PA Power O earlier in a drive so the fake holds up against linebackers who are keying run fits
Use in second and medium or third and short situations where defenses are likely to bring extra run support and leave man coverage on the backside