Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
FB Middle is a play-action pass out of Strong I Tight with 22 personnel that sells the FB dive fake before releasing routes off the run look. The QB fakes the handoff to the fullback, then works a flood concept to the right side: an out route sitting at the sticks, a corner route stretching the sideline, and a vertical dig or post breaking inside from the boundary receiver. On the backside, a receiver runs a deep comeback to hold the corner. The primary read progression starts with the corner route on a two-high shell, works down to the flat/out defender for man coverage leverage, and comes back to the deep dig against zone drops.
Defensive Reads
Watch linebacker depth pre-snap. If they are crashed up near the line anticipating FB Middle or Iso runs, the play-action fake will hold them longer and open the underneath out and dig routes. Identify single-high versus two-high safety shells before the snap. Single-high (Cover 1 or Cover 3) leaves the deep corner route and flood side vulnerable to the flat defender getting outleveraged. Post-snap, key the flat/curl defender to the play side. If he sinks into the dig lane instead of widening for the out, that signals zone coverage and the QB should reset to the deep corner route. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting in the shallow flat or spying the FB fake, since that is a common lurk spot that jumps the out route and baits an interception. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the corner route, but disciplined zone drops with a deep half safety can undercut both the out and the corner if the QB holds the ball too long.
Usage Tips
Run this on early downs (1st or 2nd and short-to-medium) when the defense is stacked in the box expecting FB Dive or Power O, since the play action freezes linebackers and creates the window underneath.
Check safety depth before the snap. If both safeties are sitting at 8-10 yards in a two-high shell, key on the corner route first because the flat defender should be forced to widen for the out.
Against man coverage, hot route the backside comeback into a slant or drag to give yourself a quick answer if the corner route gets blanketed by a physical CB.
Pair this with FB Dive and Power O in the same series so the defense keys run action off the FB alignment, making the play-action fake more believable and slowing down linebacker reactions.
Use max protect (drop the FB into a chip block) versus aggressive nano blitz teams if you are seeing consistent A-gap pressure, since the FB fake alone may not sell long enough to hold blitzers.
