The 7 calls
1BlastRB run · Direct RB run. The call’s last word is the way he goes.No motion Blast+
Action
Direct snap to the QB. The RB — lined up weak, opposite the WR — takes a quick mesh handoff and crosses to the called direction, pressing off the guard on that side and then off the receiver’s block.
Blocking
Playside guard down-blocks his defender. With four up front there is no tackle outside him, so the edge on that side belongs to the WR, who stalk-blocks the corner over him. WL stalk-blocks his own corner on the backside. Centre and the two left linemen screen the men over them and hold.
Alignment
Call RB Strong instead to line him up on the same side as the WR — same rules, just flip which guard is covered. Flip the whole picture left-right to run it the other way; the two receivers trade sides with it. Because the runner clears the guard and then runs at a corner rather than behind a tackle, the receiver’s stalk block is the block that decides this play.
Who does what
| Quarterback | Catch the snap and hand it to the running back. Then get out of his way. |
| Running Back | Start on the LEFT. Take the ball and run RIGHT, off the guard and past the receiver. |
| Right Receiver | Start out wide RIGHT. Block the man in front of you — the runner is coming your way. |
| Left Receiver | Start out wide LEFT. Block the man in front of you and keep him there. The play is going away from you. |
| Lineman | Guard on the ball side blocks down. The other three screen the man over them and hold. |
2QB DartQB run · Same picture as Blast, but the QB keeps it the other way.No motion Dart+
Action
Same mesh look as Blast — the RB fakes taking the handoff, crossing right as usual. The QB pulls it back and keeps, running the called direction instead: here left, the backside, away from the fake.
Blocking
Every block is the same as Blast, which is the whole point: playside guard down-blocks, the WR stalks the corner over him, the rest screen and hold. What changes is which stalk block matters. The QB is running at WL, so WL’s corner is the man standing between him and the sideline — that block is now the front of the play.
Coaching point
Same picture as Blast at the snap — that is the whole point. Install this only after Blast is second nature, so the fake actually has something to sell. Tell WL that his block looks identical on both calls and only matters on this one; that is the pair of plays in one sentence.
Who does what
| Quarterback | Fake the handoff to the running back, keep the ball, and run LEFT. |
| Running Back | Start on the LEFT. Pretend to take the ball and keep running RIGHT. You never get it. |
| Right Receiver | Start out wide RIGHT. Block your man, same as Blast. |
| Left Receiver | Start out wide LEFT. Block your man and hold him — this time the quarterback is running right at you. |
| Lineman | Block exactly like Blast. The defence chases the fake and leaves the other side open. |
3QB SneakQB run · No fake, no formation dependence. Straight up the gut.No motion Sneak+
Action
No fake, no formation dependence — direct snap and the QB hits the A-gap immediately. The RB shows a quick step toward the QB to hold a linebacker for a beat, but never gets the ball.
Blocking
All four up front fire out for vertical push on the down defenders — a simple wedge, with the left tackle and left guard squeezing in from their side and the right guard from his. Both receivers stay wide and hold their defenders, out of the play: it only needs a yard, and two corners standing still is two fewer men in the pile.
Coaching point
Fast, no-frills answer any time you just want a yard with no moving parts. Formation does not matter — call it regardless of which side the receivers and the RB are set to. Four in the wedge instead of five means the push has to be together, on the snap count, or there is no wedge at all.
Who does what
| Quarterback | Catch the snap and go straight up the MIDDLE, right now. Do not wait. |
| Running Back | Take one quick step at the quarterback to freeze the linebacker. You never get the ball. |
| Right Receiver | Stay out wide and keep your man busy. This one is not coming to you. |
| Left Receiver | Stay out wide on your side and keep your man busy. This one is not coming to you either. |
| Lineman | All four push straight ahead together, on the snap. Nobody goes looking for anybody. |
4QB SwingQB run · QB keeps it and runs the edge behind the RB’s block.No motion Swing+
Action
The RB lines up strong — same side as the WR — and stays there. No motion. The QB takes the direct snap and keeps it every time, swinging outside the WR and the corner as he turns upfield with the ball.
Blocking
This is the play the formation change costs the most, and it is worth saying out loud: there used to be a right tackle reach-blocking the edge defender inside-out, and there is not one any more. So the edge is carried by two men instead of three — the RB kicks out the force defender from his stationary spot, and the WR stalk-blocks the corner behind him. The playside guard still works up to the second-level linebacker; the centre and the two left linemen screen and hold. WL takes the backside corner so nothing chases the QB from behind.
Coaching point
The RB’s block IS this play now. With no tackle outside the guard, nothing else touches the force defender, so if the RB misses him the QB has nowhere to turn up. He has to be lined up strong before the snap — there is no lead block otherwise — and he needs more reps on this one block than on anything else in the book.
Who does what
| Quarterback | Catch the snap and run around the OUTSIDE, following the running back. |
| Running Back | Start on the RIGHT, same side as the receiver. Block the outside man so the QB can get round you. Nobody else can block him. |
| Right Receiver | Start out wide RIGHT. Block the corner and keep him off the QB. |
| Left Receiver | Start out wide LEFT. Block your man so nobody chases the quarterback from behind. |
| Lineman | Guard on the ball side goes and finds the linebacker. The other three screen the man over them and hold. |
5Jet SweepWR run · WR starts offset in the backfield and takes it wide.No motion Jet+
Action
The WR lines up already offset in the backfield — this is the implied-motion stand-in, so nothing moves before the snap. He takes a quick handoff moving toward the play side and keeps going that way, behind the RB’s block. WL stays out wide on the other side, which is where he always is.
Blocking
The RB, lined up strong toward the play side, kicks out the force defender — that is the block this play is built on. Playside guard down-blocks; the centre and the two left linemen screen and hold. Nobody releases to the second-level linebacker any more, because the man who used to do it is out wide, so the ball has to get outside quickly rather than press up inside. WL holds the backside corner: with the jet going right, nothing on the left can catch it if he stays engaged.
Implied motion
The real version of this play has the WR in live jet motion from out wide. This revision keeps live motion out of the book, so he simply lines up where the motion would have delivered him. Work the snap count with the QB and centre before ever adding a live defence. One thing the formation change gave this play back: with WL split wide left, the defence has to keep a corner over there, which is one fewer body chasing the jet.
Who does what
| Quarterback | Catch the snap and hand it straight to the receiver going past you. |
| Running Back | Start on the RIGHT. Block the outside man so the receiver can get round the edge. |
| Right Receiver | Start in the backfield, not out wide. Take the ball and run RIGHT, fast. |
| Left Receiver | Stay out wide LEFT and hold your man there. The ball is going the other way — do not chase it. |
| Lineman | Guard on the ball side blocks down. The other three screen the man over them and hold. |
Quick call list
Call this when
| You need a fast, no-frills answer Blast. No motion, nothing to time up. Pick Give or Keep in the huddle. | Call 1 or 2 |
| They are keying your running back Same picture, ball goes backside with the QB. | Call 1 or 2, Keep |
| They have locked onto the mesh point Jet motion finally has something to pull them off of. | Call 3 |
| They are spread out and the edge is open Sweep. The back becomes a real lead blocker. | Call 4 |
| They are spread wide chasing your motion Sneak. Hits fast and does not need the edge at all. | Call 5 |
| You need one yard right now Sneak. No moving parts, nothing to go wrong. | Call 5 |
| They are flowing hard to the sweep side Reverse. Only after Call 4 has hit a couple of times. | Call 6 |
| They cannot decide between the jet and the QB Jet. Give or Keep off live motion. | Call 7 |
Install order
- Call 1 and Call 2 first. Same mesh, mirrored alignment. Teaches the O-line their base blocks, and both already carry the Give / Keep option, so there is no separate counter to teach later.
- Call 5 (Sneak) goes in right alongside those two, since it has no moving parts.
- Call 3 (Keep) off the fake.
- Call 4 (Sweep) with the back as a real lead blocker.
- Call 6 (Reverse), which depends on Call 4 already being installed.
- Call 7 (Jet) last of all, since the snap timing takes the most practice reps to get right.
General motion rule
Calls 1, 2 and 5 never have motion, though 1 and 2 do carry the QB option. Use them as your fast, no-frills answers. Calls 3, 4, 6 and 7 always have motion built into the concept. Call them once the defense has seen enough of the no-motion calls to start reacting to it.
How a call is built
Go only appears when that player is actually in motion. No motion, no Go.
| 1 | The first word is the receiver’s starting side. The second word is the running back’s starting side. L words mean left, R words mean right. |
| 2 | If a word is immediately followed by Go, that player is in pre-snap motion. Where the Go sits tells you who is moving. |
| 3 | The last word is the concept. It tells the whole team the blocking scheme and who ends up with the ball. |
Left side
- Lucy
- Larry
- Liberty
- Lasso
Right side
- Roger
- Ranger
- Rusty
- Rocket
The 6 concepts
| Concept | What happens |
|---|---|
| Blast | Direct RB run, no motion, with a built-in QB option. The RB crosses to the side opposite where he started, or the QB fakes it and keeps it going the other way (backside naked). Coach calls Give or Keep. The picture never changes. |
| Keep | WR jet motions as a decoy. QB fakes it and keeps, running toward the WR’s original side. |
| Sweep | RB really motions across and becomes a lead / kick-out blocker. QB keeps it and follows him around the edge. |
| Reverse | Same picture as Sweep. RB motions and sells the same block. WR works back inside, takes a hand exchange from the QB, and reverses the ball the other way. |
| Sneak | No motion, no formation dependence. Direct snap, QB hits the middle immediately. |
| Jet | WR goes in real jet motion. QB hands it to him in stride (Give), or fakes it and keeps, cutting back the opposite way (Keep, backside naked). |
Two things to fix in the printed version
1. Page 1 says to learn the 7 concepts, but there are 6 (Blast, Keep, Sweep, Reverse, Sneak, Jet). There are 7 calls, not 7 concepts.
2. Call 7 is named Ranger-Go Larry Jet, but Larry means the RB starts left, and both the action notes and the diagram put him on the right, next to the receiver. It should read Ranger-Go Roger Jet.
1Blast🏈RB takes it›➡️He runs RIGHT🧍Start MIDDLE›🤝Give to the RB›➡️He goes RIGHT🧍Start LEFT›🏈Get the ball›➡️Run RIGHT🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Block, RB coming🧍Start wide LEFT›🛡️Block your corner🧍On the line›🛡️Block RIGHT side+
2QB Dart🎭QB fakes it›⬅️He runs LEFT🧍Start MIDDLE›🎭Fake to the RB›⬅️Keep it LEFT🧍Start LEFT›🎭Pretend to take it›➡️Keep running RIGHT🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Block your man🧍Start wide LEFT›🛡️Block, QB coming🧍On the line›🛡️Block like Blast+
3QB Sneak🏈QB keeps it›⬆️Straight up MIDDLE🧍Start MIDDLE›🏈Take the snap›⬆️Run up the MIDDLE🧍Start LEFT›👣One step at QB›🚫No ball🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Hold your man wide🧍Start wide LEFT›🛡️Hold him out there🧍On the line›⬆️Push straight ahead+
4QB Swing🏈QB keeps it›↗️Around the OUTSIDE🧍Start MIDDLE›🏈Take the snap›↗️Run OUTSIDE right🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Block the outside man🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Block the corner🧍Start wide LEFT›🛡️Block, QB runs wide🧍On the line›🛡️Block, find the backer+
5Jet Sweep🏈WR takes it›➡️He runs RIGHT🧍Start MIDDLE›🤝Give to the WR›➡️He goes RIGHT🧍Start RIGHT›🛡️Block for the WR🧍Start in BACKFIELD›🏈Take the handoff›➡️Run RIGHT fast🧍Start wide LEFT›🛡️Hold him, stay left🧍On the line›🛡️Block down RIGHT+
🎬Which Play Is It?Watch it, then pick the name+
↔️Which Way?Point where the ball goes+
🏈What Do I Do?Find your own job+
Pick yourself first
Go to My Plays and tap who you are. Then this game asks about your job.