Should I Install Play Action or RPOs?

Play Action and RPOs have the potential to overlap significantly in a playbook. Are they both worth installing? When would Coach Davidson use them?

Despite the growing number of passes thrown at all levels of football, it seems that less and less of those passes are off of play action. I think there are a few reasons for this.

1. Defenses fit runs slower vs passing offenses, so a play fake doesn’t accomplish much

2. Most offenses operate primarily, if not exclusively, out of the shotgun, which presents the least-believable play fakes compared to the pistol or being under center

3. The ability to run or pass within a single play call (RPO) can eliminate the need of a fake for either

The third point is the one I want to focus on today. An RPO, in theory, gives you the best of both worlds. If the defensive structure or conflict defender plays the pass, then you’re able to run. If the defensive structure or conflict defender plays the run, then you’re able to pass. As a playcaller, it can take the stress of finding the right time for play action away when you can call a play with a built-in answer for how the defense is playing.

For example, let’s take the Shanahan-staple Drift concept.

The idea for this base version of the concept is that a quarters safety should be responsible for fitting the run. As he gets more aggressive in the fit, call Drift, and throw it over his head when he fits. Totally sound if-then logic, but this, to me, is one of those areas where sometimes lower levels of football are more difficult than the NFL because I can’t always trust that 16 year old safety that just fast-fit the run a few plays ago to do be disciplined and do the same thing when we fake the run to try to throw this Drift right behind him.

This is where the Glance comes into play for me. From a different formation, we can still force him into the fit, but this time, the QB can have eyes on him as he does. If he fits the run, throw the Glance behind him. If he stays flat-footed or even backpedals, now we have the run.

In theory, I prefer RPOs to play action because they do really give the best of both worlds. However, there are still plenty of instances where play action can be extremely useful, and with how little of it defenses see in the modern football landscape, it can be extremely lethal. Paid subscribers will have access to the rest of the article where I detail when I would turn to play action over RPOs.

PS: When referring to play action, I am referring to play passes specifically - passes where the QB sets up in the pocket after the run fake. I am not talking about Movement passes - Nakeds, Keepers, Bootlegs, etc. I hold those in a different category, and to me, they are not replaceable with RPOs because they attack defenses differently.