You don't need twenty RPOs. You need a couple of good answers that stress two defenders on every snap.
A lot of coaches hear "RPO" and picture a thick packet of plays nobody can keep straight. That's not what this is. The two-part RPO is one play that puts two backside defenders in conflict on every single run. It's eleven-on-nine football, and it's built on two reads, not twenty.
Here's the structure. The first read is a regular zone or gap read in the mesh. The quarterback rides the handoff and reads the end man on the line. If that end plays contain and stays home, leave the ball with the back. If he chases down the line, pull it and get outside of him. My favorite way to teach it is off counter, because the puller pulls the end inside and makes that first read clean.
The second read comes after the pull. Now the QB is on the perimeter, and he reads the force or flat defender. If that man stays in the flat, the QB keeps it and runs. If that man comes up to take the QB, he throws to the receiver behind him. The easiest routes to pair with it are seams and flats. One of the best answers we've found is the H-back on an arc release running up the seam, especially off counter weak.
That's the whole thing. One run, two reads, two defenders who are both wrong if you read them right.
A few coaching points to make it stick:
- Pre-snap, find your two read defenders. The QB should know who he's reading before the ball is snapped. If there's no force defender out there at all, just go.
- Check the matchup. If your slow H-back is running at their best safety, get out of it. If the corner is off, take the easy slant or hitch instead.
- Install it clean. Start with a simple zone-read key and one backside route. The first few days, make it an out-breaking route so the throw-or-keep decision is obvious. Don't play stump-the-chump with your quarterback on day one.
It's not about adding more plays. It's about adding more answers to the plays you already run.
Every RPO read in the offense, taught step by step with the QB drills to match, is in the Gun T Quarterback Manual.