gitgronked82
2nd Team Getting Their First Start
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2015
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For the second video, it makes me click on the link to go to Youtube rather than watching it embedded on this site. I think some issue with official NFL content. But maybe it's restricted in your country.
You're of course entitled to like/dislike a play concept, but there are some valid rebuttals to the points you raised.
First, to lay out how RPO's generally work, the OL/TE's all block the run play. They execute the full play assuming it's a run play, and the QB has the option to pull the ball and throw it. OL doesn't pass set- they do whatever they would do on the called run play (say inside zone, for a common RPO call). It's strictly less simplistic than any run play. Rather than only having the option to hand off, you have the option to hand off that same run play OR to pull and throw. So if you oppose it due to simplicity, you oppose almost all run plays. So when you bring up the micro/macro issue and say you'd rather have the whole team focus on ALL routes/blocking or whatever, they're still doing that. The OL are all still running a full run play. RPO's are, by definition, less limiting than a typical run play.
There can also be multiple route options. You can have the glance on the left side and a slant/bubble combo on the right side. That's fairly common as well. So not limited to just one route the QB can throw.
The read of the LB/SS in terms of whether to hand off or pull and throw isn't the only read being made in the play, too, of course. OL and RB still make their reads (read the fronts, read the blocks) like any normal run play.
The QB's decision flow of whether to hand it off or throw the glance route isn't less restricted than plenty of passing concepts. You put one defender in conflict and choose the more open between the two offensive players stressing that defender. This is similar to reading a defender on a high low concept in the passing game, which I'm sure you wouldn't oppose. But in this case instead of choosing between, say, the dig and the drag, you choose between the Izone handoff and the glance route.
Yes, defenses will know it's coming, but it's really hard to stop. It does put the defender in conflict. Same way defenses know that offenses run play actions, yet linebackers still bite and fill run gaps, leaving their zones open. You have often have to commit to trying to stop one action, which exposes the other action. If you just kind of play in between or try to bait one of them, you may leave both open (or the QB may read you well). They're also designed to make it hard to do that. The field is stretched out so you can't be in two places at once.
It works well in the NFL. Plenty of teams run it. Teams with great QBs (the Bills with Allen, the Chiefs with Mahomes), teams with solid QBs (the 2017 Eagles with Wentz), and teams with limited QBs (the 2021 Dolphins with Tua).
