Richt's RPO Philosphy A Good Fit For Top WR Recruits

[JayCane20]

RPO works when your QB doesn't have to use a Walker to get around in the backfield.

Kaayak does...

I think the big issue with Kaaya running RPO is what happens when that first read is gone or the OL breaks down. It's not so much that we need a scramble-ball QB, but Kaaya has to be able to move his feet in order to extend the play once that first read goes away.

I think the guy before is talking about a read-option, which is different than RPO. It seems most poeple are confused by these concepts and don't understand the QB isn't necessarily a threat to run in RPO. I'm sure one could be, but that's not really the QB's function in RPO, where his primary responsibility is to either hand the ball off or throw it to a reciever. Read option on the otherhand is a designed run by either the RB or QB depending on the play of the defense.

"In football, an option is a running play where the quarterback can choose to either give the ball to another player or keep it himself. The read-option (also called zone-read) is the latest incarnation of this concept that features a quarterback in the shotgun who reads either a defensive end or outside linebacker to make his decision."

https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-read-option-offense-a-la-the-49ers

"The general concept [of RPO] is easy enough: the offense will isolate a defender who has both run and pass responsibilities. The quarterback reads what that guy decides to do, then either throws the pass if that guy attacks the run, or runs the running play if he stays back."

I'm no expert by any means but I can understand the difference between the two.

I've tried to explain this to guys on here all season with no luck. I don't understand how anyone could believe or make themselves think that Richt would be stupid enough to design a play with Kaaya running as an option. It's never going to be installed that way.

However, if Kaaya does keep 1-2 times a game just to keep them guessing even if he gets 2 yards it can make it more effective. It's never designed as a QB keeper being an option though.

Just to show how effective an RPO can be.. this past season we had to play our backup QB because our starter had a concussion. He was a freshman and didn't grasp the playbook very well. I was JV OC and he started as JV QB, so they let me call plays for him. We ran 53 plays and 45 were RPO. We only used 5 different RPO designs. I just had them run hurry up and snap, make the read, and get back to the line. The other team had no answer. We scored a season high 54 against a 6-1 team that finished 7-3 and we finished 5-5.

Obviously that's high school but the same concept applies. Unless you've got good *** safeties it can be impossible to defend

 

[Coach Macho]

It's both. Let's imagine this:

1) A RPO play is called - the run option is an inside zone run and let's say the pass option is a WR slant
2) The QB looks at the defense and sees the CB playing 10 yards off and the LB crowding the line (a pre-snap read)
3) The ball is snapped
4) At the snap of the ball, the QB notices the LB drop into the flat to take away the slant (post-snap read)
5) QB hands off to the RB and the RB runs to where the LB just was for an easy 6 yards

Same playcall:

1) CB is still playing off coverage, LB is still crowding the line (pre-snap read)
2) At the snap, the QB sees the LB crash down to take away the run (post-snap read)
3) QB pulls the ball out of the RB's gut and throws the WR slant right at where the LB just was for another easy 6 yards

Rinse. Repeat.

https://youtu.be/2F81g5OC-cA

On my phone so I'm not sure how to embed...@ 1:14 is an RPO executed perfectly. Watch what the outside backer does and the result is a TD

Agree. What is interesting to me is the fact that we had RPOs on both the front side and backside. Unless Berrios is running a dummy route instead of blocking the playside LB.

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He's running a bubble to pull the flat defender out of the box.

That is a well designed play. Thanks for the insight.

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Most spread offense will have their slot WR's run bubbles every play to force that flat defender to be honest. If that flat defender sniffs inside to help with the run then that gives the slot WR leverage on the outside. (and they'll throw the bubble)

 

[Coach Macho]

RPO works when your QB doesn't have to use a Walker to get around in the backfield.

Kaayak does...

I think the big issue with Kaaya running RPO is what happens when that first read is gone or the OL breaks down. It's not so much that we need a scramble-ball QB, but Kaaya has to be able to move his feet in order to extend the play once that first read goes away.

I think the guy before is talking about a read-option, which is different than RPO. It seems most poeple are confused by these concepts and don't understand the QB isn't necessarily a threat to run in RPO. I'm sure one could be, but that's not really the QB's function in RPO, where his primary responsibility is to either hand the ball off or throw it to a reciever. Read option on the otherhand is a designed run by either the RB or QB depending on the play of the defense.

"In football, an option is a running play where the quarterback can choose to either give the ball to another player or keep it himself. The read-option (also called zone-read) is the latest incarnation of this concept that features a quarterback in the shotgun who reads either a defensive end or outside linebacker to make his decision."

https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-read-option-offense-a-la-the-49ers

"The general concept [of RPO] is easy enough: the offense will isolate a defender who has both run and pass responsibilities. The quarterback reads what that guy decides to do, then either throws the pass if that guy attacks the run, or runs the running play if he stays back."

I'm no expert by any means but I can understand the difference between the two.

I've tried to explain this to guys on here all season with no luck. I don't understand how anyone could believe or make themselves think that Richt would be stupid enough to design a play with Kaaya running as an option. It's never going to be installed that way.

However, if Kaaya does keep 1-2 times a game just to keep them guessing even if he gets 2 yards it can make it more effective. It's never designed as a QB keeper being an option though.

Just to show how effective an RPO can be.. this past season we had to play our backup QB because our starter had a concussion. He was a freshman and didn't grasp the playbook very well. I was JV OC and he started as JV QB, so they let me call plays for him. We ran 53 plays and 45 were RPO. We only used 5 different RPO designs. I just had them run hurry up and snap, make the read, and get back to the line. The other team had no answer. We scored a season high 54 against a 6-1 team that finished 7-3 and we finished 5-5.

Obviously that's high school but the same concept applies. Unless you've got good *** safeties it can be impossible to defend

**** near impossible unless your Safeties are studs.

Best ways to defend RPO's in my opinion are any form of single-high coverage. (Cover-3 or Cover-1) And even those coverages can leave you vulnerable in some spots.

It's a ***** of a concept to defend.

 

[JayCane20]

RPO works when your QB doesn't have to use a Walker to get around in the backfield.

Kaayak does...

I think the big issue with Kaaya running RPO is what happens when that first read is gone or the OL breaks down. It's not so much that we need a scramble-ball QB, but Kaaya has to be able to move his feet in order to extend the play once that first read goes away.

I think the guy before is talking about a read-option, which is different than RPO. It seems most poeple are confused by these concepts and don't understand the QB isn't necessarily a threat to run in RPO. I'm sure one could be, but that's not really the QB's function in RPO, where his primary responsibility is to either hand the ball off or throw it to a reciever. Read option on the otherhand is a designed run by either the RB or QB depending on the play of the defense.

"In football, an option is a running play where the quarterback can choose to either give the ball to another player or keep it himself. The read-option (also called zone-read) is the latest incarnation of this concept that features a quarterback in the shotgun who reads either a defensive end or outside linebacker to make his decision."

https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-read-option-offense-a-la-the-49ers

"The general concept [of RPO] is easy enough: the offense will isolate a defender who has both run and pass responsibilities. The quarterback reads what that guy decides to do, then either throws the pass if that guy attacks the run, or runs the running play if he stays back."

I'm no expert by any means but I can understand the difference between the two.

I've tried to explain this to guys on here all season with no luck. I don't understand how anyone could believe or make themselves think that Richt would be stupid enough to design a play with Kaaya running as an option. It's never going to be installed that way.

However, if Kaaya does keep 1-2 times a game just to keep them guessing even if he gets 2 yards it can make it more effective. It's never designed as a QB keeper being an option though.

Just to show how effective an RPO can be.. this past season we had to play our backup QB because our starter had a concussion. He was a freshman and didn't grasp the playbook very well. I was JV OC and he started as JV QB, so they let me call plays for him. We ran 53 plays and 45 were RPO. We only used 5 different RPO designs. I just had them run hurry up and snap, make the read, and get back to the line. The other team had no answer. We scored a season high 54 against a 6-1 team that finished 7-3 and we finished 5-5.

Obviously that's high school but the same concept applies. Unless you've got good *** safeties it can be impossible to defend

**** near impossible unless your Safeties are studs.

Best ways to defend RPO's in my opinion are any form of single-high coverage. (Cover-3 or Cover-1) And even those coverages can leave you vulnerable in some spots.

It's a ***** of a concept to defend.

Only time it was tough on us was a team that played cover 2 with the 2 best safeties in the area on the same team. Still had 300 yards but ypp was way down compared to our season average on RPO plays.

We just finished our end of the season review where we charted everything on film, did evaluations, graded guys out, and planned our offseason. We're planning on doubling our RPOs in our playbook and we may just run it 100% of the time vs 50% this past year. We averaged nearly 8 ypp on RPO and just below 5 on everything else. Our young QB kills it because he's got such a quick release and is deadly accurate on short yardage passes. If it was up to me he was our starter the entire season

 

[Canezum5]

Although you don't need a Running qb to have a successful rpo.

It is much more successful when the qb can run.

We run the RPO with Mariota in Tennessee and I've seen Petrino run it at Louisville with much better success because of the qbs ability to extend the play.

The qb can pull a defender away from the sideline WR and pass it to him.

Its almost like a pass option within the zone read.

 

[Canezum5]

Its a cheap concept to defend, that's why.

Having lineman blocking 3- 6 yards downfield.

It's insane.

How do you even key in on it or make the right read step?

 

[Coach Macho]

Although you don't need a Running qb to have a successful rpo.

It is much more successful when the qb can run.

We run the RPO with Mariota in Tennessee and I've seen Petrino run it at Louisville with much better success because of the qbs ability to extend the play.

The qb can pull a defender away from the sideline WR and pass it to him.

Its almost like a pass option within the zone read.

Agree. It just gives you one more option to defend.

We run that here at Southeast.

It's a zone/read with a bubble option. Three plays in one.

If the QB pulls it and runs around the edge he can throw the bubble when that defender crashes down on him.

 

[Coach Macho]

Its a cheap concept to defend, that's why.

Having lineman blocking 3- 6 yards downfield.

It's insane.

How do you even key in on it or make the right read step?

It's bullsh!t. As a defensive coach I hate it. It's not fair but what are you gonna do? Today's football is tailored around offense.

 

[Moro]

Creating doubt in a QB can derail any explosive offense. Simple line movements, or exotic stunts, it doesn’t matter. As long as a defense can simply change the read and the gaps post-snap, an RPO offense will struggle. We saw this through the 4 game stretch. Tempo didn't mask this flaw. Even when a defense stayed in a base 4-3 they beat our RPO by changing the Gap Post-Snap, Over coverage, and well timed line movement and blitzes. The **** if RPO can't be stopped; we saw it 8-4.

 

[Canezum5]

Although you don't need a Running qb to have a successful rpo.

It is much more successful when the qb can run.

We run the RPO with Mariota in Tennessee and I've seen Petrino run it at Louisville with much better success because of the qbs ability to extend the play.

The qb can pull a defender away from the sideline WR and pass it to him.

Its almost like a pass option within the zone read.

Agree. It just gives you one more option to defend.

We run that here at Southeast.

It's a zone/read with a bubble option. Three plays in one.

If the QB pulls it and runs around the edge he can throw the bubble when that defender crashes down on him.

exactly... We had one play early in the year where it worked to perfection.

Mariota saw the DE crash.. he pulled the ball down, the boundary corner closed in on him and he through it to Harry Douglas for a 9 yard play.

I've seen Petrino pull that out of his hat a few times to get Lamar going.

That type of play with guys with that have the athleticism of Mariota And Lamar make the RPO impossible to defend when mixed in with a whole offensive system.

 

[Canezum5]

HAHAHAH true!!

I'm sure you'll find a way to exploit it/slow it down.

As innovative as offense has become, defenses have become just as savvy.

I want to get into coaching so bad. I just don't have the **** time!

Hopefully I can get an 8- 5 schedule this year.

 

[Moro]

It's schemes that spread defenses out and play off of traditional run-pass rules. Modern offenses are putting their best players at slot and QB. The reaction by defensive coaches? Nothing new, just match quarters, the 4-3 Over, and well-timed line movement and blitzes. That's why I agree with Ghost you can't live with it. You have to go back and rely on the traditional approach to be successful and Richt finally wised up after that 4 game stretch then we won out.

 

[Canezum5]

Right, that's why I said its impossible to defend when you sprinkle it into your offensive playbook.

IT helps give the defense something extra to think about and prepare for.

 

[Moro]

According to that video we had no business running RPO. Everybody thought "their dudes were better than our dudes" most times they were right especially the front five. All things are not equal.

 

[JayCane20]

Its a cheap concept to defend, that's why.

Having lineman blocking 3- 6 yards downfield.

It's insane.

How do you even key in on it or make the right read step?

It's bullsh!t. As a defensive coach I hate it. It's not fair but what are you gonna do? Today's football is tailored around offense.

RPO is getting popular in high school football in Tennessee and we had trouble stopping it until a few years ago when we installed it into our offense. We started switching up in practice for like 15-20 minutes to have defensive players get in on offense and had them learn the concepts we taught our guys on RPO. That made a huge difference when they started understanding what the offense wanted to do and the concepts behind it. Not so important for DLineman but for OLB, CB, or S it helped those guys a ton.

Our DC went to a clinic at UT Chattanooga where coach Braitewaithe (or something like that) was talking about how they manipulate the QB in an RPO by always biting on the run and it takes the guessing and reading away from the DBs. We started doing that against teams that ran a lot of RPO and it worked. Except one time and I don't think their QB knew what he was doing in the RPO, kept making the wrong read and handing it off and our linebackers kept missing the tackle in the backfield. That RB was slippery and kept chunking our D for 10+ yards when we had him for a 4-5 yard loss.

 

[JayCane20]

HAHAHAH true!!

I'm sure you'll find a way to exploit it/slow it down.

As innovative as offense has become, defenses have become just as savvy.

I want to get into coaching so bad. I just don't have the **** time!

Hopefully I can get an 8- 5 schedule this year.

Lol I'm trying to get out of coaching it stresses you the **** out. I got a GA position in football offices at ETSU while I'm back for my masters and I've decided that going into the ops department of a college football program is the way to go. I wasn't even intending on getting that position but I made a late decision in early August to enroll and they were looking for someone and I just happened to see it online and knew a few coaches from them recruiting a few guys at our school. I'm hoping when I graduate they put me on full time at a position like Doherty or Baez or something is at Miami.

Good money at big programs.. these guys are above 100k. Made my career choice clear, I hope I can work my way up to a bigger program.

 

[Moro]

HAHAHAH true!!

I'm sure you'll find a way to exploit it/slow it down.

As innovative as offense has become, defenses have become just as savvy.

I want to get into coaching so bad. I just don't have the **** time!

Hopefully I can get an 8- 5 schedule this year.

Lol I'm trying to get out of coaching it stresses you the **** out. I got a GA position in football offices at ETSU while I'm back for my masters and I've decided that going into the ops department of a college football program is the way to go. I wasn't even intending on getting that position but I made a late decision in early August to enroll and they were looking for someone and I just happened to see it online and knew a few coaches from them recruiting a few guys at our school. I'm hoping when I graduate they put me on full time at a position like Doherty or Baez or something is at Miami.

Good money at big programs.. these guys are above 100k. Made my career choice clear, I hope I can work my way up to a bigger program.

Good job with advancing your career. We had a lot of discussion this week with athletes leaving early to pursue a professional career in Sports. This is just one of the options that athletes have when a career ends or the athlete doesn't make a team. Failure and success is what you think not what others think; in most cases their scale is based on what dollar amount you make and that's so far from the truth.

 

[mydas77]

Great thread, guys. This is what I love about this board. I hope we can get back to more threads like this

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[1CN]

Maybe this will help

Here some concept we run often

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3byS7ZuBZI Buck Sweep Slant RPO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFsKwxmXvWk Buck Sweep Pop RPO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcyY_guJgiE Two Back Power RPO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THLOG_IqFBc&index=3&list=PLLiBsWG-KktF0jQjUpsPogCGFyI8-VLlS Buck Sweep Boundary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APODH7weae0&index=4&list=PLLiBsWG-KktF0jQjUpsPogCGFyI8-VLlS Buck Sweep Boundary

[video=youtube;5qyFtwFVhK0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qyFtwFVhK0[/video]

[video=youtube;Dw86EozZBqk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw86EozZBqk[/video]

[video=youtube;aFz1WUHAbxI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFz1WUHAbxI[/video]

[video=youtube;yBmk2EgjxIo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBmk2EgjxIo[/video]

 

[marshallrc13]

Without even reading this whole thread I can already guess that there's countless false statements and wrong information in it regarding RPO's. There's tons of confusion about what an RPO entails. Every time the subject is brought up on here it's a **** show.


1. RPO's have nothing to do with mobile QB's, so hopefully we'll stop hearing about how Kaaya isn't mobile enough to run the concept. It's not the read/option. Now, if you have a mobile QB you can add QB run options into your RPO concepts, but having a mobile QB is not a prerequisite.

2. It's not based on how many guys are in the box. The offense doesn't read the whole defense, they read ONE PLAYER. (the "conflict defender")

3. We run RPO's with a ton of success. Richards has been killing defenses with the quick-slant RPO concept out of the 3x1 formation. Our bubble screens that everybody says we're so much better at this year than the prior seasons... that's cause they're RPO's now...not just a called play that we stay in regardless of defensive alignment.



An RPO is a run/pass concept that reads a single defender. (usually a 2nd level defender like a LB) In the NFL they've progressed to reading 3rd level defenders such as Safeties. (some advanced college offenses do that as well)
It's an easy concept for the QB. All he has to do is read that one defender. That defender will tell him what to do with the ball. If he's reading a LB and that LB crashes down to defend the run, he throws the slant. (long TD to Coley against GT) If the LB stays with the slant or bubble, he hands the ball to the RB. Very simple concept that even good high school offenses can grasp.
The good offenses attach RPO's to run plays such as buck sweep, power, iso, inside zone, outside zone, etc.



This guy does a great job of explaining it. Maybe this video should be sticky'd so the confusion stops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxGF9NBCfa8&t=466s

Thanks for the info.