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Duo

also: power without a puller · inside veer without a read

Duo is a downhill interior run built on two vertical combination blocks (an Ace and a Deuce) with no pulling linemen. Instead of stepping laterally like Inside Zone, the offensive line uses Duo blocking to drive the defensive tackles straight off the ball into the linebackers, while the running back presses the playside A/B-gap and reads the Mike linebacker to hammer the ball inside or bounce to the edge.

Lincoln Riley

Duo: Shotgun Duo right from 11-personnel Trey against a 4-2-5 Over front. LG and C execute an Ace double-team on the 1-technique (N) up to the Will (W), RG and RT execute a Deuce double-team on the 3-technique (T) up to the Mike (M), Y turns out the playside end (E), and R reads the Mike to bang downhill or bounce outside.
Shotgun Duo right from 11-personnel Trey against a 4-2-5 Over front. LG and C execute an Ace double-team on the 1-technique (N) up to the Will (W), RG and RT execute a Deuce double-team on the 3-technique (T) up to the Mike (M), Y turns out the playside end (E), and R reads the Mike to bang downhill or bounce outside.

The call

PositionResponsibility
Rtake the handoff on a downhill track aimed at the playside A/B-gap and read the Mike linebacker (M). If M steps outside or gets washed by the Deuce double-team, hammer the ball north; if M fills the interior gap, bounce outside the tight end's block.
Qopen for the downhill mesh with R, seat the ball firmly in his stomach, and carry out a boot fake away from the call to hold the backside defensive end.
RGpost man on the Deuce combination. Drive the 3-technique defensive tackle (T) vertically off the ball with inside-out leverage.
RTdrive man on the Deuce combination. Stay hip-to-hip with RG to create vertical displacement on the 3-technique (T), keeping eyes on the Mike linebacker (M) to climb and seal him.
LGpost man on the Ace combination. Drive the 1-technique nose tackle (N) vertically off the line of scrimmage.
Cdrive man on the Ace combination. Double the 1-technique nose (N) vertically with LG before climbing to seal the backside Will linebacker (W).
Ybase and turn out the playside defensive end (E) to create the outside wall if R bounces the run.
LTbase and hinge-block the backside defensive end (E) to prevent chase pursuit from behind.
Hstalk block the strongside overhang nickel defender (Ni) in the alley.
Zstalk block the playside cornerback (CB).
Xstalk block the backside cornerback (CB).

Run it with

  • Inside ZoneInside Zone stretches the front horizontally with lateral zone steps, while Duo attacks the same front vertically with gap-style double-teams.
  • GT CounterGT Counter pulls the backside guard and tackle to kick out and wrap, while Duo keeps all five linemen home to create immediate vertical movement.

Related terms