Inside the playbook: RB alignments

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Over the past week at the National Football Post, here’s what we have broken down on the offensive side of the ball in the NFL:

-Offensive I.D. (personnel groupings)
-Formation I.D. (pre-snap formation alignments)
-Base NFL run game (schemes/backfield action)

And as we continue to look inside NFL playbooks, I want to talk about backfield alignments. Another tendency to study from a game plan perspective and another defensive key when you break the huddle.

Here is a rundown of the base alignments you will see in the backfield on Sundays in the pro game:

GROUP 1

-BASE I
-STRONG I
-WEAK I
-SPLIT
-BLUE
-BROWN

GROUP 2

-DOT
-CHOWED
-POWER I
-TREY
-GUN STRONG
-GUN WEAK

GROUP 3

-PISTOL
-WISHBONE

A couple of quick notes...

Depth of RB: Pre-snap alignment at 8 yards is a high run alert. Shorten down to 5 yards is a high pass alert.

"Chowed" alignment (outside leg of the tackle): Play for the back to release into the route scheme.

Strong I: High tendency to get the Power O (Guard Pull, FB kickout).

Any offset back: Alert for "divide" motion (motion to the core of the formation) to create a buch formation.

Base I: Look for the Lead Strong/Open and playaction.

Dot: Always alert for boot action.

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