The 46/ 47 Power O was my best running play for years. I won a lot of games running this play
out of 21 personnel. The play required having a tough fullback who had to take the right angle to
kick the defensive end out. It also required a great push at the point of attack by the offensive
line. We used gap blocking rules for our linemen which helped against
attacking defenses who liked to plug, etc. There were games that I would run this play 5 to 6
times in a row on the same side right at the defense and they still couldn’t stop it. It was our
“bread and butter” so it got a lot of reps during practice.
As I went to the spread offense and worked primarily out of a one back set or out of the
shotgun, the Power O was dropped from our running game. As time went on I began to look
at ways I could get this back into our scheme. It had been like a security blanket in our offense
and we really wanted to bring it back. So after looking at what others were doing with this
play, we added it to our running game. Next to the Veer it became on of our best running plays.
BLOCKING RULES FOR POWER O (Same blocking scheme for Counter)
Gap blocking rules, meaning each lineman has an inside gap responsibility away from the play.
We spent a lot of time on teaching the combination block. Your covered lineman must step with his
inside foot and punch the defender to move him back, with his eyes on the backside LB
scraping over the top or trying to run through. He is responsible for any run through in his inside
gap. We’ve blocked the combo block a couple of different ways, one being a straight hard down
block moving the defender down inside. The other way was to have
the lineman step with his inside foot down keeping shoulders square, contacting the defenders
outside number and driving him upfield with eyes on the backside LB for a scrape over the top
or run through. We worked the 2-on-2 scheme repeatedly. We used the later scheme more
recently because it fit into our zone blocking combos. So, like zone, the two linemen would
combo the down defender with their eyes on the LB and taking the down defender to level 2.
We work with our fullback on taking the correct path to the defender in order to kick out.
We used what we called an “attack block” where we would drive the palms of our hands into the
numbers of the defender. Keeping elbows in and feet driving, we wanted to block through the
defender to create a alley for the ball carrier. It is imperative that the fullback take an inside-out path
to the defender. To help keep him on path, we had him step with the foot opposite the play first
to keep him from widening or getting to far upfield. His aiming point is the outside hip of the play-
side guard and then he will adjust to the defender. He needs to have his head in the hole. If the
defender should close down quickly and take away the kick out, then the fullback will log the
defender and the play will bounce outside.
We worked hard having our pulling guard look for the playside LB as he pulled. We wanted him to
get up into the hole and take the LB on square, knocking him back. One drill we did was have
the guard pull around a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood and find and then contact the LB. If there isn’t an alley
to pull up into, then the guard will continue around outside looking for the LB.
Once again, it is important that you get push on the double team to get the defender off the line. It is
as important for the fullback to kick the defender out and create an alley for the back to run through.
The covered linemen or punch/seal blocker are responsible for any run through by LBs.
.
The power from a one back set has a change in playside blocking rules; Y and the playside tackle
will base out if they are covered. Running to the open side of the formation would be a
wiser choice.
This power running play has been very productive for our offense over many years. I have
attached an option action off the power play, using the power blocking schemes from the shotgun
formation.
You can switch this blocking scheme by having Z going to the Safety and the back kicking the corner.
We added the jet sweep to our offense as another way to to get the ball on the perimeter. The
more we ran it, the harder it was for the TE or EMOL to reach the defender on or outside of them.
In some cases, the DE was good enough to string the play all the way to the sideline. So we
decided to read the DE, not block him. When you run the power O a good DE can make it difficult
for your fullback by not giving an alley to run up and inside through. So by reading him, we can go inside of
him with the power O and outside of him with the jet sweep. There is a number of ways and
formations you can run this out of it as it proved to be a very successful play. If the DE sits or closes,
the ball will be handed to the sweeper. If the DE widens or comes upfield on the sweep, the QB
will pull it and run the power O.
The timing is the same as if running the jet sweep. You have to time this to your personnel.
A common rule is to snap the ball when the sweeper is near the tackle to that side. You have the
QB secure the snap and get his eyes on the read while shuffling
laterally with the ball in the sweepers pocket. Shuffle with him and read and go opposite the
DE reaction. The blocking for the O-Line is the same as power and the blocking on the perimeter is
the same as the jet sweep Kick play.
Once again we are reading the DE and reacting off of what he does. We want to push the
option on the perimeter to the SS. Nothing has changed for the O-Line. It is blocking
power.
If you would like more information on this offense, please contact me at gsuhr1221@hotmail.com.