The Patriots have used simple RPOs since Charlie Weiss was OC....before it became a buzzword.
Here' s Carlie calling it with Notre Dame:
And no...
RPO=/=Zone Read
These are two different things. An RPO does not require the QB to run. Nick Foles did not run in SB, either. An RPO is just a run play where a WR runs a route, and the QB gets to choose whether to hand-off or throw based on the D.
In the shotgun, it's sort of like a typical play action pass...but the QB really can hand it off. Only difference is that the O-line blocking assignments are run oriented, so the QB has to throw quick; before the O-line is 1 yards past the line of scrimmage.
But when the QB is under center, he just turns and throws. Notice the run blocking and how the back is still expecting the hand-off.
Pretty much.
Teams are just putting new wrinkles on an old concept because the NFL uses more shotgun these days and are more willing to run out of it, too.
With that being said, I should mention that the Patriots are also one of those teams adding new wrinkles to their more traditional RPOs (it's not just 'Look' and 'Swing' anymore, like in the video above)....See the below gif in comparison to the video above. There are more wrinkles used these days (i.e. Gun formation and the WR routes are more and more vertical) but it's still the same basic concept; it's a basic running play where the QB simply has the option to hand-off or throw it. That's it. You read the D, and choose.
So, how/why is an RPO really just a basic run play? Look at the blocking. For example, in the gif below, notice how they
pull the Guard in the blocking scheme; that's a "Power" run concept, which is
not something you'd ever see on a genuine pass play (notice how Brady has little time to get rid of it). But what makes this running play an RPO is that the QB simply has the option to hang on to the ball and throw to a receiver really, really, quick. Again, you cannot hang onto the ball a read the coverage, or anything. No 3-step-drop, or anything. Because it's not a pass play....it's run blocking. That's it. That's all it is.
...but it still can be very tricky for an opposing D to defend; just see the video below. Easy play, big gain. Defenders have to be in position to defend the run and the pass
after the snap.
Edit: Ok, I uploaded the video clip from this
Globe article:
Now, has the RPO evolved? Absolutely. Notice how the Patriots are now running it out of the Shotgun (which caught on in the NCAA first). When in he Gun, the RB is right next to the QB. So the QB doesn't have move in order to hand off (like he would if he were under center). So, with an RPO in a Gun formation, it allows the QB to genuinely hand-off, or fake that hand-off, right after the snap...without any change in the QB's post-snap movement. Because before? When the RPO was/is run from an under-Center formation (like in the Weiss video) the QB has to turn his back to the play and hand-off when he chooses to run. Or immediately throw if he chooses to pass (but no fake hand-off, because there's simply no time if under-center). So, running RPO out of the gun gives the QB the chance to hand-off, or fake the hand-off,
every-time; so it further forces the D to respect the run and the pass after the snap.
Also, using the RPO out of the shotgun gives more room/passing lanes for the QB to throw to, so you see more (quick) downfield routes. So, you can attack the seam with quick slants/go-routes, etc. Unlike under-center, where you'd really just see passes behind the line-of-scrimmage (again, like, 'Look' and 'Swing'). This gives the RPO more flexibility to mix thing up, as well.
In the gif above, the Patriots kind of mix thing up with both of their '0ld' and 'new' RPO tendencies. So, in the gif, notice how Dorsett runs that simple 'swing' route (while Hogan initially fakes a block)...only to see Brady turn and throw to Hogan on a quick slant to the seam, instead? Both the Saints Nickel and OLB totally bit on that initial swing route and that opened-up Hogan on the quick slant. Big gain. So, on this play, the Pats not only faked out the saints front-7 with (again)
a genuine the run play, but by also picking-on those two defenders in the slot by making them think it was a (traditional) RPO swing route...when they were really just disguising a (more modern) RPO quick slant, to Hogan.
BTW- But again,
it's genuinely a run play. I can't stress this enough. Media/fans don't always seem to understand this part, either. In the huddle, the QB really does call a basic run play. Everyone on that O-line is run blocking. The RB
expects the hand-off; because if the QB really does hand-off? It is no different than a basic run play....because
it is a basic run play. It's just that an RPO is simply a run play with a "tag" or "alert" that tells a WR to run a route, so the QB can turn and throw based on how he reads the D. That's all. It's still a simple concept that forces the D to play both the run and the pass. It's nothing new, we're just seeing it with more and more wrinkles now, too.
