Dana Holgorsen West Virginia/ Houston Counter RPO Game

 Dana Holgorsen Counter Run Game With RPO Principles.

Dan Holgorsen was the head coach at West Virginia in 2018. Below are some variations of his counter run game with RPO principles.  Later in this article, I look at some of his counter options including running same side counter.  It's a great play against odd fronts out of 3x1 who like to play the 4i to the side of the back. You get an easy down block from the Tackle on the 4i and usually there is no edge defender vs these odd front defenses you see. 

West Virginia runs it's RPO game with counter blocking and has a few variations. The bottom line is if they get a light box they will run the football. If the qb likes the options in the passing game they will throw the screen or route progression.

Let's look at the options they ran vs. Kansas in 2018. Here we will look at the counter blocking 1st. They ran it 2 times for 65 yards vs Kansas.

The 1st time they run it they get a 4-3 but a 4-1 box. They run it and get good down blocks. A nice 46 yard gain and excellent execution.

The 2nd time they run it the get an odd bear type look with a 3 tech to the left side and a 4i to the right side. Nice blocking again for a good 19 yard gain. This time a 6 man box.

Below is the film that goes with the top 2 plays.

RPO Options. On both runs above they had the following rpo options. 

1) At times they will run a wr screen option from a stack set  to the side of the back.

run #2 Below again he has the screen option to the side of the rb. He feels he has an advantage in the run game and gives the football

Here is a 3rd route with the quick out by the  h back and the #1 and #2 wr blocking. 

Nice design and 25 yard gain but it's called back on a holding penalty.

After the penalty they run it again for 8 yards.

You can see both plays below:

11 personnel.

The other way they block it is with the h back pulling it's a change up but they still have the RPO option on the outside. The guard kicks out and the Tackle leads up. Here's 1 they ran vs Kansas.

In 2019 He brought his offense to Houston when he became the head coach. He ran some interesting variations with the H back. Here is some cut ups vs UCF.

In the 1st clip it's just straight counter. tite front below! disregard the 4-2 mistake!

In the 2nd clip they motion the h back out and have the screen option. If the DE widens give the ball on the counter. They read the give and it's a 12 yard gain. The other nice part of this play is they run counter to the same side of the back. The back does a nice job with his footwork and reads the play nicely. Good play with no edge defender vs odd fronts. Usually get a 4i and no edge defender. Good scheme.

Here are 2 clips that go with the pictures above.

The Same play variation they run vs Texas who plays a 3 man front often. It is an excellent play against teams that run 3-3 stack. 

Here are some additional clips of the counter play they ran throughout the year. 

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Screen off the Counter 

They fake counter left , pulling the rt guard and run the h screen back to the right. Great design by Holgorsen and staff.

They get the Center and RT out on the screen on the excellent screen design. 

Holgorsen does an excellent job with his counter game. He adds an rpo component, uses the same side counter and it is an integral part of his run game. I hope you enjoyed this article 

CLEVELAND BROWNS WIDE ZONE

The Cleveland Browns are usually one of the best rushing teams in the NFL. They have been top 5 the following 3 years in rushing.

2022  5th in rushing  146 yards per game

2021  4th in rushing 145 yards per game

2020 4th in rushing  145 yards per game. 

They start their attack with wide zone, and everything else runs off that. We broke down 3 of their games from 2020, Bal, Cin (Week 2), and Dal. In each game they had a different approach and package but the concept of wide zone remained the same. 

In the Bal and DAL games they ran weakside and tight side wide zone. When they ran it to the TE side, the TE was in a "Yo" position and it was with a lead blocker. Both variations of plays work for them to produce and efficient running attack.

Below is the 1st example as you see the tight end wing 12 personnel set. The defense sets the front to that side with a 2i on the backside. That is where the Browns attack.

You can see the angles presnap and how they cut off the backside is the key to the play. 

Their offensive line all get on the same angle 

You can see the lanes on the backside as they create a huge run lane. 

The RB takes 5 steps before he makes his cut and he sees a lane and takes it.

Next CLE ran the same play vs DAL only with a different offensive setup. CLE coaching staff do a great job creating different looks for the defense, while keeping it repetitive for the OL. Against a 4 Down front, they want to attack weak. Their combo blocks set up much better vs a shade than a 3 tech. 

Again they run it to the shade side as they prefer the angles to that side.

Nice job by the Left tackle as he tells the RB it will be cut inside.

Excellent job on the backside combo.

23 personnel

Big package!

On the next play CLE runs wide zone into a 3 down look. The playside Guard and Tackle do a great job of reaching the 3 tech and still gaining stretch by the OT. The FB makes everyone "right" here by cleaning up the hole. When the FB can see what the RB sees and "reads it like the runner" it can be beneficial for everyone. 

This time they lead with the FB.

Nice combos upfront.

The FB leads up inside which makes the O.Line right

The final clip shows great coaching and preparation by Coach Callahan. CIN runs a SS blitz to combat wide zone. The OL does a great job handling the movement. Good coordination with 5 guys working together as 1 unit. Tough task to complete at all levels of football.

You see the assignments and how it progresses!

Nice initial push by the OLine and they get to the next level!

Here's a clip of their wide zone vs the Jacksonville Jaguars. Great execution and the rb does a great job staying on his track and making an excellent cut