A Simple RPO Concept For Any Offense

RPO's, an acronym for Run-Pass Options, are going to forever change the game of football. RPO's put the defense in conflict as they must defend the entire field and all of your skill guys each and every play.  RPO's are great for three reasons:
1. The defense must defend the entire width of the field
2. The defense can't load the box to stop the run
3. Skill players get more touches in open space

RPO's are essentially option football. Like with option concepts, your quarterback is going to read a defender. With RPO's, however, you are going to throw the football rather than give the football based on the key defender.

I teach RPO's as three basic families. We have pre snap, post snap, and RPO specific concept. With a pre snap RPO, the quarterback is going to look at the pre snap alignment of the defense to determine whether he will throw the pass concept or execute the run.

With a post snap RPO the quarterback will read the post snap movement of a defender to determine whether he will give the ball or throw he ball.

RPO specific concepts are designed to give the quarterback a post snap run/pass option. The most popular post snap RPO is the stick draw concept.

When first installing RPO's I teach coaches to build the pre snap RPO's first. These are the easiest to execute and give you opportunities for explosive plays. These also give your quarterback simple reads based on pre snap defensive alignment.

The most basic pre snap RPO concept I like to install its he SMOKE concept. We call this quick. Quick is thrown to the #1 receiver. The #2 receiver is going to block for #1. The #1 receiver must catch the ball and get vertical. We tell our players this will often be a 6 yard gain, and if you break a tackle, it will be six points. Below is a diagram of the quick concept.

On the quick concept the quarterback is going to catch the snap and throw. His footwork is simply "turn two." What I mean is, we are going to turn a double play. We want to get the ball out quickly. The quarterback is going to determine whether he will throw the quick or execute the run based on the alignment of the 2nd defender from the outside in. 

In the diagram below, the offense is running inside zone read with a quick concept to the twins. The quarterback finds the 2nd defender and sees that he is hipped on the defensive end. Essentially that gives us a 2-on-1 on the outside. We want to throw the quick. If the defense were to align the outside linebacker over the #2 receiver, the quarterback would execute the run. 

The smoke concept can be run from any formation that gives you two receivers to one side or the other, and can be paired with any of your runs. The defense cannot bring an extra player into the box, as you are going to have an answer. Any system can install this concept in one day, and can attach it to any of your run game concepts. Regardless of what offensive system you run, you can install this concept.

If the defense were to walk out the outside backer over the number #2 WR, the quarterback would execute the run. This gives us numbers in the box.

Regardless of what defensive front is being run, the pre snap reads are the same for the quarterback. This is important when you install this system as it speeds up learning. In my book about RPO's I give you a systematic process to install pre snap RPO's without having to add any new verbiage! You will never again have to run the ball into a loaded box!

RPO's are great equalizers when defenses want to add defenders to the box to stop your run game. They give the offense the ability to take advantage of literally anything the defense does. The great thing about RPO's is that they can be added to any offense. You can add pre snap RPO's with relative ease. Once you build your pre snap RPO's, you begin to install your post snap RPO concepts. With a small investment you can add a huge element of explosiveness to your offense!

 Last year I got hooked up with CoachTube, and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points! 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

This year I put out a book on RPO's that will give you a systematic process to build RPO's into your offensive system. The book has an iBooks version and an Amazon Kindle version. The iBooks version can be read on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It is an amazing book that gives you over an hour of video! It has been read by coaches at all levels, and they have all loved it! This book gives you a systematic process for installing and teaching pre snap and post snap RPO's! This book will greatly enhance your offense! It can be ordered clicking here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959.

If you don't have an apple device, you can order the paperback version! It is available on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520447485

Four Keys to Offensive Organization

Perhaps the most important aspect of being successful on offense is organization. The more organized you are, the more efficient you can be. What does your organization consist of? I think there are four important elements. Those four are:

1. Personnel
2. Game Plan
3. Practice Plan
4. Call Sheet

Personnel is vital because you must make sure your best athletes are on the field where they can help your team the most. Many years ago we had a kid we were using at running back, but he just wasn't playing well. He sometimes ran routes out of the backfield at half speed because he didn't know what to do. He also didn't have great vision. When we moved him to tight end he became an all-state player. Our offense improved, and he played a more vital role. He wasn't a great athlete at running back, but at tight end he flourished.

Our game plan is based on our scouting report. We want to find advantages over the defense and exploit those on game day. The purpose of our game plan is to give us a systematic approach to calling plays. We don't want to shoot from the hip. We want everything we do to have a purpose. We have a menu each week of 24 things we think we will be able to do successfully against the defense. We star the 8 things we think we will be best at during that week. When we put our game plan together, we want to feature those 8 things we think are going to create opportunities to score more points.

With our game plan we have to be adaptable. When the game starts, we often find something that we can use to consistently gain yards. As we prepare for each game there are certain things we expect the defense to do. They often will do something different, and sometimes that something different gives us a chance at big plays. We must recognize this during the game and during preparation. What do you do if the defense suddenly calls strength to the boundary? Or, what if a 3-4 team suddenly gets in a 4-3 front? Do you have a plan? Have you practiced contingencies? Are you adaptable enough to shift on the fly?

Practice Planning is vital to your preparation each week. As we prepare our practices we make sure we have enough individual time, group time, and team time to prepare for our game. We script everything to make sure we get enough reps of the 24 things we think we will do. We make sure we get extra reps of the 8 things we might major in. When I talk about 24 things, I am not talking about 24 plays. I am talking about 24 calls. If we run Even 42 Read, that is one thing. If we run Early 42 Read, that is a second thing. If we run Late 18 Option, that is a 3rd thing. Even QB Iso is a 4th thing. Even 92 Y Corner is a 5th thing. Early 92 Y Corner is the 6th thing.

We used to have our entire playbook available each week. We had all of our formations, motions, and concepts available. The problem was, there were over 1,000 combinations, and there is no way to practice them each week. We decided be very specific about what we were going to implement into our game plan each week. Scripting our practices makes sure each of those 24 things gets at least 16 reps during practice. Each of our 8 majors will get at least 32 reps each during a practice week.

Our call sheet is what allows us to play very fast regardless of circumstance. We use our call sheet to create mini scripts of each down and distance situation based on defensive tendencies. We also include a section on specific concepts to get our best athletes the football. We want to make sure your 20 touch guys get 20 touches. There is nothing worse than finishing a game and realizing your best athlete had only 3 touches. We want to make sure our athletes touch the ball a certain number of times each game.

The hardest part about organizing yourself on offense is creating the sheets to do it. I spent years visiting schools and learning how they organized the practice and game plans. I have now come up with a packet of sheets that will help you immensely to be more organized on offense. You can order this packet for under $15! These documents are all editable and can be customized to fit your program. For less than the cost of lunch you can have everything you need to improve your offensive organization. This packet contains nine documents that will help you to be more successful and organized. The nine documents are:

1. Two Sided Color Call Sheet Legal Sized (Excel)
2. Scouting Report Template (ppt)
3. Wrist Band Template (Excel)
4. Install Schedule Template (Excel)
5. Game Planning Worksheet (Word)
6. Daily and Weekly Practice Plan with Scripts (Excel)
7. Blank Defensive Personnel Template For Scouting Reports (Excel)
8. Offensive Depth Chart Template (Excel)
9: Offensive Staff Workflow (Word)

You can order this packet by clicking here: https://sellfy.com/p/AndN/ Many coaches have told me this is the best purchase they have made this summer! Coaches told me this will save them hours!

This packet will change your entire approach to organization on offense. No longer will you feel like you are grasping for the right play to call. You will know what to call and when before the situation arises! Coaches at all levels of football tell me this packet helped them immensely on offense!

When I was a defensive coordinator we adapted this to our defensive preparation! 

Here is a link to the defensive game planning documents. It includes 12 fully editable and customizable documents. https://sellfy.com/p/AY1u/ These are what we used to post 6 shutouts when I was a defensive coordinator. Defensive coordinators at all levels of football are using this. 

And finally, I put together a special teams resource. This has everything you need, included drill tape, practice tape, and game footage. It includes teaching presentations and scouting forms just for special teams! https://sellfy.com/p/tJwz/ This helped us to build dominating special teams! 

I wanted these to be available at a very reasonable cost. These can help you to be more successful on the field and more efficient in the office! 

A while back I got hooked up with CoachTube and put together three courses for offensive football coaches. I put together two courses on RPO's, and a course on Building An Elite System of Communication. All of these courses will help you to score more points! 

https://coachtube.com/users/coachvint

Installing Post-Snap RPO's

Installing Pre-Snap RPO's To Get Your Skill Guys More Touches

Building An Elite System of Gameday Communication

All three of these courses are detailed, with everything you need to be more explosive and to score more points. 

The course on communication gives you a detailed approach to your gameday communication. I give you a system and a process to improve the quality of conversations, leading to improved play calling on game day. This course has received outstanding reviews from coaches at all level of football. A coach with multiple state titles told me this course helped them to be much more efficient and explosive this season. 

My two RPO courses take you through a systematic process of installing RPO's into your offensive system. RPO's put the defense in conflict, forcing them to defend all 53 yards of width and all 6 skill players every single play. I not only give you a system, but I teach you the methods to develop your own RPO concepts. 

A few months back I published a couple of iBooks that can help your program with X's and O's. The first is on Installing RPO's into any offense. Here is a link to the iBooks version: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1078061959. The ibooks version includes explanations, diagrams, and video clips on multiple RPO Concepts. It will give you a simple process for implementing them into your offense.

If you don't have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can order the Amazon version for the Kindle. It has everything except the embedded video. You can order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Installing-Explosive-Concepts-Into-Offense-ebook/dp/B01B12YSCG/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

I also wrote a book on Tempo. It will greatly help you build a multiple tempo system with simple communication that will allow your kids to play with confidence. It also had over an hour of video clips! You can order the ibooks version here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1075902270.

Order the Amazon Kindle version here:

http://www.amazon.com/Using-Multiple-Tempos-Create-Explosive-ebook/dp/B01ATOL46A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

New Book

Over the last several months, I have stepped out of my comfort zone and wrote a new book about faith and purpose. The book is available as a paperback on Amazon, and as an eBook for the Kindle App. The cool thing about the Kindle app is that you can read the book on any device. I invite you to read it, and discover the power you receive when you make a decision to walk with the Lord. Here is a link to the book: Finding Faith

Since publishing the book, I have received numerous texts, calls, and emails, from people who are going through similar trials and tribulations. They were feeling many of the same things I was feeling. The found comfort in the book. They also found they had a desire to change and to live better. They wanted more joy. 

I would invite you to read the book and discover the possibilities that God has planned for your life.