Building a Pre-Snap RPO System

Building a Pre-Snap RPO System
(Softcover: 78 pages)

We love those post-snap RPO concepts just as much as the next coach.

After all, we devoted two entire special reports on this subject alone. Like other coaches, we got caught in the “lab” designing all these cute concepts and how they can manipulate defenders. But when we were compiling our research for those two studies, one common caveat kept coming up from our sources and that was… you need to have the right quarterback to run them.

We all know the efficiency of that system lies in the post-snap decision making of the quarterback. So that got us thinking. What if you don’t have a quarterback that can legitimately handle those duties? What if you had better receivers than running backs? Do they not get the ball as much? Then our time at Sam Houston State working with Phil Longo (who now serves as Ole Miss offensive coordinator) cemented these philosophies as he introduced us to the concept of having receivers run pass tags off every run concept in his system.

From that time, what we learned is that if you’re teaching your quarterback about coverage, you’re wasting time. Space is much easier to teach than coverage and when you teach your receivers to run routes that attack space, its glorified offensive stealing. And when you teach your receivers all quick game routes, and get them the ball in space, good things happen.

Let’s face it… receivers don’t want to block anyone anyway.

Which is why we wanted to devote an entire study on pre-snap, not post-snap, RPO concepts. In fact, we’ve just released this entire study in our brand-new, 78-page book, Building a Pre-Snap RPO System.

By definition a pre-snap RPO (run/pass option) is a decision made by the quarterback (or offensive coordinator) to either run or throw the ball depending on the pre-snap leverage of a particular defender. It’s an exploitation of leverage and space vacated by the structure of the defense. And it’s all done before the ball is snapped.

The goal of pass tags is to stretch the defense horizontally and control the numbers game in the box by making those overhang players declare for run or pass by their pre-snap alignment. These tags are designed to take advantage of the extra defender in the box that cannot be blocked in the run scheme. It’s a series of high percentage throws and considered an extension of the run game. While this may not be an entirely new concept, we found more coaches are coming on board with this system. We found that 33 percent of coaches have at least 75 percent of their offense with pass tags built in.

So, for this project, we wanted to speak with coaches who were mainly using pre-snap pass tags in the run game, rather than a post-snap RPO system, and ask them the advantages of doing so. The most common responses were heard included:

• It eliminates pressure.
• Helps necessitate and assist a non-mobile quarterback that may not be able to use post-snap RPO concepts.
• It accentuates potential “gifts” by defenses that will yield leverage on the perimeter.
• Puts overhang defenders, most synonymous with two high, three down structures, in a pre-snap bind.
• It’s another solution to teaching wide receivers how to block.

Our research is presented in three case studies:

Case 1: Pre-Snap RPO Design and Installation

Case 2: Pre-Snap RPO Concepts that Attack Numbers, Leverage and Grass

Case 3: QB Pre-Snap Protocols and Post-Snap Mesh Game

Building a Pre-Snap RPO System brings you all the latest trends, methods, strategies and schemes that can only come from X&O Labs’ in-depth research.

Devise your offensive system this off-season around pre-snap RPO reads by using X&O Labs’ Building a Pre-Snap RPO System.