The Freeze Option
The Freeze Option adds another dimension to our attack from the Power Formation. It also allows us to feature the speed and athleticism of our quarterbacks. The addition of the Freeze Option has been so successful we have not just added it in, we have made it an integral part of our offense to the point of modifying the existing offense to take full advantage of it.
Running the Freeze from the Power Set enables us to take advantage of any defensive overshift to stop our very successful FB Blast to the strong side. The ride of the FB into the line is the reason it is called the freeze; the better the ride, the bigger the freeze. What freezes? The opposition! As many as eight defenders will "Freeze" or step to the FB once he is established in the game as a runner (with us, often the opposition's scouting report establishes the FB as a runner).
We have determined (for us) that a FB depth of 4.5 yards (feet at 4.5) is a good depth to start at. A faster FB may need to line up at 5 yards; a slower starter may have to start with his feet at four yards. Deeper is usually better according to our experience/we want to give the defense time to react to what is happening on offense. Many an opportunity can be missed by a QB that rushes his read. In addition, we run this play with maximum splits on the LOS; for our line this year we used 3 foot splits. On Ranger 30 the FB steps straight ahead with his right foot and begins to mesh with the QB on his second step.
The QB must clear the area. His first step is a 6-8" step with his left foot into the A gap at seven o'clock on the QB foot clock. His second step is a sweeping step with his right foot into the same A gap. The QB extends his arms and the ball to mesh with the FB. Against the defensive alignment illustrated, the QB focuses on the B gap defender while he "feels" the mesh of the FB. We follow our Veer rules for reading this defender,i.e., if the defender squats, comes across or widens we give the ball to the FB. If the "read man" closes on or threatens the FB, we pull the ball and proceed with the progression.
At the snap the guards are responsible for blocking the A gaps. In the illustration the center and the weak guard will double team the A gap defender. We do this to protect the QB's back. The Strong guard steps through the A gap to the Lb'er. If the LB'er is blitzing the A gap, the guard is to block him, or if there is some stunt into the A gap the guard is to block the stunt. The called side guard, therefore, is to block gap to LB'er. (If there is a nose guard on the center, we will use regular veer blocking rules against that odd defense,i.e., double the nose with the playside guard and the IOT would block down to LB'er. The OOT would still block out.)
The two tackles block out. They block the first man to their outside on or off the ball. The TB runs through the area vacated by the IOT and doubles with the guard on the LB'er. We have, therefore, a double-double team at the POA.
Ideally, the TB and the guard would drive the LB'er back and to the opposite side of the center. The FB, if he has the ball, would bend past this block and get into the secondary.
The SE is to release and block Level 3. The Flanker moves to a pitch position at the snap. Good execution by everyone will make sure the strong safety is preoccupied with the pitch route for the flanker.
If the B gap defender attempts to tackle the FB, the QB will pull the ball. The FB is responsible then, to collide with that B gap defender. The QB will bubble slightly around the collision of the FB and "run downhill" into the B gap which will be wide because (1) the defender vacated it to get to the FB, and (2) the block of the IOT out on the C gap defender seals it open.
The QB is into the running lane that opens between the SS and the CB responsible for pitch. It becomes a foot race to the goal line. The very first time we ran this play in a varsity game, the execution was exactly as drawn and the QB scored from midfield.
Since the power set is our base goal line offensive set, often the defense goes goal line as well. If that be the case, our line will make a "gap down" call meaning that all linemen will block the inside gap down to the center. The QB will then move or "bounce" out to the C gap and option off the DE.
We want to be able to spread the defense to create better running lanes, so we added a "doubles" formation to our package. The Doubles set puts the SE and the Flanker to the wide side of the field and the TE and the TB to the short side of the field. Blocking rules are the same. We will also call "Doubles Wide" and have the receivers line up 5 yards wider that they would in a regular doubles formation.
What we have done with the doubles formation is that we have incorporated it and the freeze into our quick pass offense. Our quick pass offense features 4 receivers across the field with one back.
We have the SE and the Flanker always aligning to the wide side of the field, or to the right side if the ball is in the middle of the field for a right handed QB. Sometimes we sub a SE for the TE and run 2 SE's. We have, therefore, 4 receivers for our quick pass patterns and we also have people in position to run the freeze.
On quick pass, the QB "shows" the ball to the FB on his first step; crosses over on his second step; plants and throws on his third step. The FB takes a fake into the A gap and is responsible for blocking the LB'er to the right side (or the MLB'er if there is one over the center). The guard is responsible for blocking the number one rusher, the tackle is responsible for the number two rusher. If the defense is even (which most defenses are these days) the center blocks number 1 to the left, the LG gets #2 and the LT takes #3. If the center is covered on the line with a NG, the center must take him. Then the LG would get #1 to his side and the LT would get #2, #3 remains unblocked. If #1 is a LB'er and does not blitz, the the LG would drop out to block out on #3.
The fake to the FB freezes the front seven . . . or more, and, of course, those deep defenders are taking those "read" steps and the receivers are more open than they ever have been.
We also have included a doubles wide set where everyone aligns 5 yards wider than normal. If we are going to run Ranger, the slotback who would become the pitch back would go in motion on "set" to get into proper pitch relationship.
Finally, we have empowered our QB with the ability to make the call. We are using a "Ranger check with me" call for the play in the huddle. The team lines up and the QB decides at the line which way the play will run. How does he decide? We want to run at the open A gap:
If both A gaps are covered, i.e., if there are 3 in the box within the box, or there are 2 defenders in both A gaps, we tell the QB to run to the strongside as there are 5 blockers to that side as opposed to 3 blockers to the weak side (when we are in the power formation).
Defenses gang up on the LOS against our offense. It is not uncommon for us to see 9 - even 10 man fronts, which is all right. They are only going to put so many people at the POA and only we know what that point is.
There are times, however, when backing people off the LOS can be beneficial. This is achieved by formation. When you split receivers out there, they must cover them or you will throw to them. We back people off the LOS with the trips, doubles and doubles wide formation and with motion. Trips right flea brings the flanker into proper position behind the IOT. From there we can run the Freeze just like before, everyone is in position. The difference is on the other side of the LOS. Defenses get out of their goal line 6/man look and get into 4 or 5 fronts with zone coverages. Spreading the formation just gets people off the LOS, creates hesitation and indecision on their part, especially since we have changed our blocking scheme for our quick pass series. The Freeze freezes them for both the run and the pass.
If we should happen to run into a 6-1 type defense, we would block and run it according to the diagram below. The Guards would block the defenders on them, the center would drive out on the MLB'er, the QB would make a good ride fake with the FB and most likely the QB would take the ball out to the B gap and run there unless the Guards and Center have good blocks on the defensive people they are blocking. The tackles would block out according to rule and we are running things like normal from there on out.
The base rules for blocking the Freeze for us are therefore:
Front Side Guard: block A Gap to LB'er
Center: Power scoop with the Back Side Guard blocking first down lineman to back side LB'er.
Back Side Guard: Power scoop with the Center.
IOT and OOT: Block first man to your outside on or off the ball.
Fullback: Mesh with the QB running straight ahead and bend to daylight, accelerate, score.
QB: Mesh with FB reading the man over the guard or in the B gap. Use veer rules for give or keep. If keep, move to the B-C gap, accelerate through the LOS into the outside running lane. If B-C gap is closed, pitch.
SE: Drive off he ball to level 3 and block defender there.
Flanker: Position yourself for pitch. Maintain good pitch relationship with the QB.
TE: Block B Gap to LB'er.
One thing we are really going to give a big look at next year is to widen the splits out somewhat more than stated here. That means we will be looking at a 3+ foot split by the guards, a 4 foot split by the IOT and a 4+ foot split by the OOT. Widening the splits makes it easier to read the defense, gives us more time to make the read, and "opens the hole" with formation and alignment and we have not block anyone yet.
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