Weak Dive

Description

The most powerful T Bone-Jumbo running plays are aimed at the obviously stronger right side of the formation, but every formation, especially unbalanced ones like this one, need to have a weakside running play to keep defenses honest. Weak Dive fills this bill nicely. While it's not flashy, with no nifty trap blocking or pulling guards, this play is a solid power run with strong blocking despite the fact that it goes away from the tight end and primary fullback. Defenses loading up against the strong side of the T Bone will think twice about that strategy after being hammered by this play where they don't expect it, and even against more conservatively positioned defenses Weak Dive will prove to be effective and reliable.

Because the #1 FB is a bit wide to get into the main part of the blocking, this play is very similar to a weak dive out of a normal straight I Formation. This isn't a bad play against most defenses as the lead FB provides a pretty good block, though the lack of a TE to shield the outside is a bit of a disadvantage. The real strength, in the I Formation and even moreso in T Bone-Jumbo is the strong side, so this play is best utilized as a compliment to more brute force plays. By constantly keeping defenses guessing as to which side the run might come, running in any direction has great potential. Weak Dive is effective enough to fulfill this role well.

Player Assignments

See the Madden Playbook Guide for a description of these symbols.

Blocking Assessment

Nothing too sophisticated here, as this play pretty much comes down to a simple dive with FB lead block. One bonus compared to a normal dive might be the fact that the strongside FB blocking right up the middle creates opportunities for some very nice cutbacks to the right which might not normally be available. On the other hand, if you don't mind giving your intent away to the defense this FB can be motioned to the left side and the ball snapped at various times, creating real power blocking inside or pushing things a bit wider, taking out any possible edge rusher and possibly bouncing the play outside. On the off chance that the defense shifts to the weakside, don't hesitate in tapping the Playmaker and running strongside, the play is actually stronger in this direction with the right FB and TE giving blocking support.

Despite being an inside oriented run, Weak Dive is probably best against man defenses where the ROLB can get caught inside in the traffic, letting the HB take the ball just off tackle. If a safe "one yard and a cloud of dust" type run is more important (such as for a conversion in a short yardage situation) cutting to the inside is really the way to go though, as this prevents any edge blitz from catching the HB in the backfield for a loss. Weak Dive is also pretty good against zones, especially against defenses that choose to shift their LBs to the strong side, which prevents the ROLB from hanging back at first and shooting the run gap after the lead FB has already passed by.

Analysis

Pros:

• Excellent play against defenses loaded up against T Bone-Jumbo's strong side
• Playmaker to strong side makes for an even more powerful run than when run to natural weak side

Cons:

• Quick, strong rush around left tackle can occasionally slip by FB block and tackle HB for loss
• ROLB waiting in zone will limit cut options for HB and usually hold to modest gains