Option on me applied to flexbone

What would you suggest is the most effective way to block the cover 2 corner when running the option. In my experience they are not easy to block with a WR since they don't back pedal at the snap.

Thanks. We usually send our SE to the safety and the wing out to the corner when we are in one of our flexbone sets vs. a Cov. 2 but we obviously don't have that option when lined up in the I formation. We have always been an I formation team but added some flexbone stuff to become more multiple. It also allows us to get more touches to our back up tailback by lining him up at one of the wing positions. It seemed like the next step we should take since once we motion a back behind the FB we can run almost all of our I formation plays anyway and we added in jet sweep and rocket toss. Once I got the Option on Me ebook I tried to apply it to all our formations. I wanted to see if it was something we could use just in the I or with all formations. We have a QB coming up at the freshmen level who has strong physical as well as mental skills so we are considering installing the option on me with him next fall so he can get comfortable with it. Thanks for the welcome to the forum. I have been getting information from other's posts for a few months but finally decided to join in. It is a great resource.

Timothy Zbytniewski

The option on me works first and foremost by allowing the quarterback to read what the defense is giving him and then attacking the weakness of the defense. This attack all begins by recognizing who is in the box and where the offense has a mismatch. Three different option plays to run out of this philosophy are inside veer, load option, and the midline. The load option and midline will always run to the tight end side, while the inside veer will run to the open end of the formation.



The first read the quarterback needs to make is where the outside backer or safety on the open side of the formation. If this backer is off the line of scrimmage, then the quarterback knows he should run to the tight end side because he will have better numbers. Following this, the quarterback needs to look to see where the defensive linemen are aligned. If the defensive tackle is in a two or three-technique, then the quarterback should run the midline and read the two or three-technique. If there is no two or three-technique tackle, then the quarterback should run a load option, reading the outside backer or the seven-technique.



The second formation the quarterback may see is if the open side outside linebacker is not there, then he should run the inside veer to that side. Since the outside linebacker either stacked or moved back for pass coverage, that side of the line now has a numbers advantage. The quarterback reads the five-technique on that side.



Some of the pros for giving the quarterback this power begins with keeping the defense off balance. No matter what formation they come out in, the quarterback can take advantage of the numbers game. Another good thing about this scheme is it also takes away from the tendencies an offense might have when specifically calling plays. Many offenses tend to call plays based on specific strengths of formations or side of the field. Some of the cons for this scheme include not being in control and the need for an intelligent offensive group. Since my kids tend to play both ways, giving this freedom would most likely confuse them. The reason I say this is because instead of knowing what one or two things they need to do in one play, they now need to think through the vast array of options and techniques. The other con is the lack of control; if your QB is struggling that game and the whole scheme is based on his ability to read a defense pre-snap, it could cost you the game.