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In college football, the relatively lax definition of an illegal man downfield allows for RPOs to involve heavy downhill running plays and vertical passing attacks. The extra space downfield that linemen are allowed to advance allows more time for passing plays to develop and allows for linemen to
188:
In the
National Football League, the use of the RPO is more restricted than in college football due to its more stringent criteria for an illegal man downfield penalty. As such, passes tend to be quick-hitting and near the line of scrimmage, and linemen are less able to engage with second-level
143:, the NCAA proposed to restore the pre-2009 rule, which would have had the effect of restricting the efficacy of the RPO, but declined to do so after a large number of coaches expressed their discontent with the proposed rule change.
111:
to advance three yards downfield prior to a forward pass being thrown. Previously linemen had been restricted to blocking just one yard downfield on pass plays. The additional downfield blocking greatly assisted the
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There are several run-pass option plays that have become commonplace, even earning adoption in the NFL. One common such RPO involves a slot receiver running a slant route run alongside an inside zone read.
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284:
68:, the quarterback is responsible for viewing the actions of a particular defender (the "read man") and makes a decision to hand the ball off to their
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131:. Critics of the RPO's adoption within college football generally argued that the rule changes that enabled the RPO had made the game
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76:. However, unlike the read-option, the quarterback is responsible for making a decision regarding whether or not to throw a
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by allowing linemen to block so far downfield on passing plays, which was exacerbated by the failure of
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116:'s ability to run after the catch. As such, the RPO became a staple of many successful college team
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The RPO has since spread beyond college football, becoming a part of professional offenses in the
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has been a critic of the rules change that preceded the development of the run-pass option
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that became popular after a 2009 revision to the NCAA rulebook. This rule change allowed
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285:"Ravens' Eric Weddle says RPOs are a fad that will be gone from football in five years"
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259:"Why NFL offenses needs to expand their RPO packages ahead of the 2021 NFL season"
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to properly penalize linemen who blocked too far downfield. Just prior to the
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379:"How run/pass options (RPOs) work differently in college than in the NFL"
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150:. By 2018, the RPO had entered the playbooks of NFL teams including the
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84:, rather than simply the decision to keep the ball and run with it.
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306:"Film Breakdown: Shea Patterson, RPOs and the offensive key"
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depending on how that defender chooses to act after the
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There were many notable critics of the RPO, including
60:the ball depending on the alignment and actions of
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353:Beaton, Andrew; Cohen, Ben (January 8, 2017).
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355:"The Most Dangerous Play in College Football"
103:The run-pass option is a development of the
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217:"Stanford Film Study: Glance Tunnel RPO"
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20:
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215:Sampath, Kaushik (September 18, 2022).
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180:in order to support a downhill run.
398:Bullock, Mark (September 4, 2018).
304:Marcovitch, Max (August 21, 2019).
236:Ruiz, Stephen (September 6, 2019).
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13:
238:"A casual NFL fan's guide to RPOs"
14:
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16:Option play in gridiron football
377:Boyd, Ian (September 6, 2018).
283:Dubin, Jared (August 7, 2018).
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1:
257:Galina, Seth (May 14, 2021).
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125:Alabama Crimson Tide Football
25:A double-slant RPO against a
141:2016 college football season
40:(RPO) is a type of designed
7:
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330:NCAA Football Rules Online
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52:has the ability to either
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80:to a receiver running a
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360:The Wall Street Journal
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33:
326:"SECTION 3. BLOCKING"
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24:
1113:Resting the starters
1007:Defensive formations
904:Offensive formations
64:. Like the standard
405:The Washington Post
814:Defensive strategy
311:The Michigan Daily
264:Pro Football Focus
222:The Stanford Daily
160:Cincinnati Bengals
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34:
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809:
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755:Statue of Liberty
156:Carolina Panthers
46:American football
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880:Icing the kicker
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796:Clock management
750:Hook and lateral
685:Play-action pass
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171:College football
78:play-action pass
74:snap of the ball
32:-aligned defense
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1030:Seattle Cover 3
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952:Single set back
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780:Tackle-eligible
760:Halfback option
715:Fake field goal
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532:Run-pass option
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400:"Grand schemes"
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38:run-pass option
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549:Run and shoot
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537:Triple option
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152:Chicago Bears
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105:triple option
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48:in which the
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23:
19:
1097:8-in-the-box
854:Bump and run
740:Fumblerooski
735:Flea flicker
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512:Buck-lateral
471:Play calling
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333:. Retrieved
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176:engage with
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70:running back
37:
35:
18:
972:Pistol-Flex
932:Single-wing
745:Hidden ball
695:Double pass
677:Trick plays
657:Stop-and-go
502:Air Coryell
466:Two-platoon
461:One-platoon
335:January 30,
243:For the Win
189:defenders.
178:linebackers
127:head coach
66:read-option
42:option play
987:Jump shift
937:Short punt
828:Man-to-man
765:Hard count
725:Fake spike
700:End-around
564:West Coast
554:Smashmouth
480:Offensive
290:CBS Sports
202:References
133:unbalanced
129:Nick Saban
97:Nick Saban
1025:Miami 4–3
847:Coverages
720:Fake punt
544:Pro-style
384:SB Nation
118:playbooks
1146:Category
1131:Category
962:Flexbone
957:Wishbone
592:Crossing
522:Multiple
517:Hurry-up
507:Air raid
482:strategy
193:Examples
166:Strategy
137:referees
1092:Prevent
1077:7–1–2–1
1015:2-level
982:Wildcat
947:Pro set
942:Shotgun
917:Split-T
838:Tampa 2
770:Pyramid
710:Spinner
705:Reverse
454:Systems
109:linemen
88:History
30:cover 6
1087:Nickel
967:Pistol
859:Double
821:Scheme
652:Sluggo
637:Screen
587:Corner
574:Routes
559:Spread
527:Option
490:Scheme
158:, and
1106:Other
1072:7–2–2
1042:3–3–5
977:Trips
885:Stunt
873:Other
789:Other
667:Wheel
662:Swing
647:Slant
582:Chair
1082:Dime
864:Zone
833:Zone
690:Draw
642:Seam
632:Post
622:Jerk
607:Flat
602:Drag
597:Curl
497:A-11
337:2024
58:pass
54:rush
36:The
1067:6–2
1062:5–3
1057:5–2
1047:4–4
1037:3–4
1020:4–3
890:Spy
627:Out
617:Hot
612:Fly
184:NFL
56:or
44:in
27:4-3
1148::
1052:46
402:.
381:.
369:^
357:.
345:^
328:.
308:.
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273:^
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219:.
162:.
154:,
120:.
927:A
922:I
912:T
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425:v
408:.
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363:.
339:.
314:.
293:.
267:.
246:.
225:.
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