Coach ,

Good offensive systems have a progression in what will take it to a certain set of answers. When the defense takes something away the offense should have the answer in its menu of plays. For example, the RPO game was created to protect the run game. RPO allowed offenses to have the answer/progression within the play, but what protects the RPO?

RPO can be designed to attack level 3, and certainly that is an answer, but other components of an offensive attack can serve to take advantage of the defense that is aggressively rotating or playing tighter on level 2 while still remaining gap sound in the box to take away the RPO.  

A well-thought-out vertical attack helps solve the problem. Certainly, four verticals can enter the discussion, but to do it right, that concept can be expensive in terms of time on task in individual and reps in group and team. 

It is also a full field concept with several decisions and variables for the quarterback. If that’s not your forte, better answers exist for what you can do to create the vertical answers needed to protect RPO.

Elliott Wratten and Jason Phillips at Alcorn State utilize the “Deep Choice” package to protect their RPO game. Their system for RPO is comprehensive and well thought out. It can be accessed here. The Deep Choice is something they utilized Baylor and Central Florida as resources to create a package that works for them.

The carryover for the reads for the RPO game and the versatility of Deep Choice is explained here:

Coach Phillips explains how their attack starts by breaking the field into lanes and designating the lane in which the choice will be run. The idea then is for the receiver in the other lane to be sure he keeps traffic out of the lane designated for the Choice. The general premise is to create a one on one in that designated lane. Phillips gives an overview in the video here (click on image for video):

The Outside Deep Choice has application in a number of formations and situations. Here Alcorn gets the sniffer wide open in the red zone on this Choice Switch:

The Inside Choice puts the option in Lane 2. The quarterback will be looking at the boundary safety to the release of #2. Now the focus is attacking the middle of the field. Coach Philips how this route is run in this video:

The versatility of the Choice package is that it can be utilized to create split field concepts. Coach Phillips explains here:

It’s easy to fall in love with passing concepts, but unless you are playing seven on seven you need to protect it as well.  Coach Wratten covers their slide protection in a tempo situation in this video. He explains why this protection is great for any tempo offense:

For further study, you can check out Coach Wratten and Coach Phillips have made the entire package available here. If you have not seen it, their RPO System gives you a systematic attack for the entire field with the RPO.

Whether you utilize their Deep Choice package to protect your RPO or look to another way, thinking about this and planning for the next season will make your offense so much more effective.

Let me know what answers you utilize to protect your RPO game.

Always be growing!

Coach Grabowski