Sweet!  I was a little confused in the diagram over which one you're calling the quarterback, but I see it's #7.  Where you say you "need a little better mesh", the first play, actually I think you had it as good as you'd ever need for the fake, because #7 is crouching low at the time.  Maybe you mean that when he hands it for real, it's clumsy.  Actually in the second play it's not as convincing, because #7 holds the ball too high.  It doesn't have to look good from the sideline.  Really on a front handoff there's not much you can do to improve the sell job.  Just holding it low hides it from the defenders who matter at that instant the back crosses in front.  If he needs to slow down to actually take the ball, that's not a defect, because, coming to the mesh at the angle he does, his body just hides the ball longer.

Have you tried having #7 fake to #43 behind (or even in front of) him while #15 takes the snap and hands behind him to either #9 or #58 coming around?  Again, #7 has to crouch while doing it, in this case to hide the fact that he doesn't have the ball.

Thanks, coach! We do have 7 fake to 43 on wedge plays. We also have a spin power where 7 fakes to 43 and runs off tackle. But the fake never really gave us anything. We're also working on 7 fake to 43 with a snap to 15 who then egg tosses to 58 com8ng to short side. We call it "buck lateral." It's a lot closer to what Will Postel was doing with side saddle. We haven't worked the bugs out yet.

Posted by: @troy

Thanks, coach! We do have 7 fake to 43 on wedge plays. We also have a spin power where 7 fakes to 43 and runs off tackle. But the fake never really gave us anything. We're also working on 7 fake to 43 with a snap to 15 who then egg tosses to 58 com8ng to short side. We call it "buck lateral." It's a lot closer to what Will Postel was doing with side saddle. We haven't worked the bugs out yet.

I think having #15 hand to #58 (preferably just pulling the ball out from the snapper's butt and swinging the ball away for #58 to do a reach-take) would hide the ball better than tossing it.  Of course if you want #58 to belly deep, the toss would get him more depth.

@bob-goodman Having 58 belly deep was actually my thought. Interesting how you spotted that. We can hit the off tackle short side pretty reliably, but we need a misdirection to the short side that gets outside. The reason is that teams blitz the short side CB thinking... well, I presume they think they have nothing to lose and their CB can maybe run the power down from behind. I don't necessarily care that they do that, I just want to exploit it. 

Posted by: @troy

@bob-goodman Having 58 belly deep was actually my thought. Interesting how you spotted that. We can hit the off tackle short side pretty reliably, but we need a misdirection to the short side that gets outside. The reason is that teams blitz the short side CB thinking... well, I presume they think they have nothing to lose and their CB can maybe run the power down from behind. I don't necessarily care that they do that, I just want to exploit it. 

Yes, auto-blitz by the CB when the flanker vacates that side is usually a good bet because:

1. If the play does come back that way, wouldn't you rather be facing the ball?
2. Close the space the offense has to work in.
3. A lot of distance and traffic you might have to get thru if you pursue on your side of the line instead.
4. If the runner reverses field, or gives or pitches to a teammate for a reverse, you'll see it.

So the best way to exploit that move is to make it so the CB doesn't see who has the ball.  Snapping to the sidesaddle helps hide it, but then tossing it reveals it.

I call it sucker

Please explain in more detail. Not following.

Posted by: @troy

Please explain in more detail. Not following.

See, if you'd been following, you'd've been suckered.  😉 

From my perspective. My team is the defense in the first clip.

The only defender that played his position in this play is my safety (21), who was an inch away from making a TFL.

Play side 9 tech took too deep a path into the backfield. This is a kid who makes up his mind where the ball is going when the ref spots the ball and goes hell bent for leather to where he thinks it's going. Blitzing CB followed him. To be fair, he probably couldn't see over the two lead blockers who are a head and a half taller than him. I am not a fan of the CB blitz (not a fan of blitzing of any kind, TBH). Had I rolled the alignment instead, the CB would be in a position to at least influence 7's running path. Doubt he would make a tackle, but at least he would have been a factor. Auto blitz is Mahonz' idea. I blame him. 🤣 

Play side OLB has HORRIBLE alignment, then jumps around. No one blocked him, but to be fair, no one had to.

Orin's great block was on a back side 9 tech playing on the wrong side of the LOS. Another kid who does whatever he wants. Guessing you want him on the play side OLB, but as stated above, there was no need to block this kid.

MLB was horrible from start to finish. I think the misdirection confused him, because he was usually money. He would have been the only player with instructions to read your BB.

The key to this play's success is the double team by Orin and 26 on my play side DT, then 7 realizing that my OLB failed to set an edge and the CB had blitzed himself out of the play. There was no need to block my NT because he was cutting your C all day. So Orin, executing a fantastic combo is the right assignment. He just missed his guy. My guy took care of him, though by doing absolutely nothing.

However, my safety, #21 unblocked is an issue for the offense 99% of the time. Pretty rare that he missed that tackle. If you clean up the weak guard's assignment, your WB should be able to get a block on my safety, but then you're missing a kick out.

Posted by: @gumby_in_co

I am not a fan of the CB blitz (not a fan of blitzing of any kind, TBH). Had I rolled the alignment instead, the CB would be in a position to at least influence 7's running path

Should we start a thread elsewhere about what to have a CB do when the flanker vacates?  Was there such a thread already?

There was no need to block my NT because he was cutting your C all day.

Wow, was wedge that great a threat, or something else?

We're pretty good at wedge. Everyone started submarining this year to take it away. No disrespect to Lar. This is our wedge against a select team that has won 4 straight championships.

Posted by: @bob-goodman

Wow, was wedge that great a threat, or something else?

Yes. Troy's wedge is on a different level.

Posted by: @troy

We're pretty good at wedge. Everyone started submarining this year to take it away. No disrespect to Lar. This is our wedge against a select team that has won 4 straight championships.

I can either submarine it or watch it score, LOL. I was talking to a guy who used to coach with us. Took his kids to Brighton to be closer to home. His older son plays in the age group above us and apparently there's a DW team from Broomfield with a wicked wedge. My guy's comment, "They run that double wing crap and just wedge all day. No one can stop it. That's not 'real' football."  I just laughed. 

Re: the wedge

FWIW, we faced one team a couple yrs back that wedged a lot.  Their mistake was not staying with it.  Ate up a ton of clock, moved the chains, but they'd only run it a 3 -4 times in one drive, not all in the next couple, and then get back to it again later.   I'm seriously thinking of running wedge instead of trap with our Bucksweep backfield action.