In this blog post we discuss what a complimentary play is in this offense, why we use them, and when to use them. We will have a subsequent post that goes into to more detail with certain plays and why they are effective.  

A complimentary play in this offense is typically a non-option run, outside veer, screen/draw or a waggle/boot concept.  Typically, complimentary plays allow you to have success offensively when a defense takes away a couple of your base option plays.  

For example, we might play a team that is very fundamentally sound and by assignments and alignments they are doing their best to take away Inside Veer. Well, this may give us the opportunity to run Trap, Down, or Belly etc. Which in turn may give the players success offensively and get the defense to adjust. Thus opening back up Inside Veer again.  These plays are really designed to get you back to running your base stuff.

I feel you need to consider two points before deciding which plays are best for your teams. The first thing to consider is your own players. What are their strengths and how can you use them to the teams advantage.  If my B back is my best player, then I might consider Trap, Down, Belly or Outside Veer. If my QB is my best player then I might consider Zone Option, QB Draw, or Sprint Out/Waggle/Boot Concepts.  If my A back is my best player then I might consider Jet, Counter Iso, or Counter Dive. Bottom line…. trying to still find ways to get the ball to my best players when a defense is trying to take them away within the confines of our base offense.  

The second thing to consider is which gaps you want to attack.  Maybe a defense is slanting to motion or making the reads hard for the QB and he is struggling to run things effectively.  Being able to attack A gap with a non-option play like Trap may help you out. Also, if your team is good at running Toss/Rocket and good on the perimeter, the defense is going to take that play away, well then Jet/Fly Sweep might be a good answer to get you back on track and still allow you to attack the edges.  Think about this as well, some defenses align to take away certain gaps, but leave others open, this is where having a plan to attack A,B,C gap is important.

Obviously trying to figure out which plays to run can be overwhelming because you don’t want to stray too far from your Base 5 plays. Having a bunch of plays and not being good at any of them is certainly a fear.  Hopefully this article and the subsequent articles can help you decide which plays might be best for you and your teams.

I want to leave you with two plays to consider as we move into this series of blogs. The first one is Down/Belly G and the second one is Belly/Crossblock/FB Iso.  Belly G or Down as wing-t guys call it is a great complimentary non-option run with simple rules to follow.

Belly G/Down

PSA - Block Down, Secure the gap to your inside, If no immediate defender in your gap then climb to second level

TE - Block Down, Secure the gap to your inside, If no immediate defender in your gap then climb to second level

PST - Block Down, Secure the gap to your inside, If no immediate defender in your gap then climb to second level

PSG - Pull up into the LOS and block/kick out the force player, should be the first unblocked defender on the EMOLS. Remember if we pull right we block with the right shoulder, if we pull left we block with the left shoulder.

C - Scoop playside A gap to backside linebacker

BSG - Scoop

BST - Scoop

BSA - Rocket Motion on Down, want to get you in motion early to influence any playside defenders

WR - Block man on or NDD

Adjustments with Belly G/Down

Sometimes we get an A gap defender when we run Belly G/Down. Over the years we have typically checked out of the play but 10 years ago I met with a coach that really ran the play well and they would make a “T” adjustment or tag to the play. This “T” tag would tell the playside tackle to pull and kick out and thus allowing the playside guard to double the A gap defender with the Center. This “T” adjustment also told the QB and B back that the play would hit just a little wider. Below is that adjustment drawn up.

Belly/CrossBlock/FB Iso

PSA - Fold into B gap and block the 1st linebacker passed the center playside, If “Odd” call, attach yourself to the playside tackle, and block B gap , If “X” call then step and pause for a count, to let the cross block happen, then burst through B gap and block.

TE - Base/Fan first defender to your outside.

PST - Base/Fan first defender to your outside, If “Odd” call, allow PSG to clear and fold around/skip pull into A gap. If “X” call, block down on the B gap defender

PSG - Base the first defender to your inside could make an “Ace call to the center to double the A gap defender. If ‘Odd” call, base/fan first defender to your outside. If “X” call then pull and kick out the first defender outside the PST.

C - Scoop playside A gap

BSG - Scoop

BST - Scoop

BSA - Rocket Motion on Down, want to get you in motion early to influence any playside defenders

WR - Block Man on or NDD