Acme Packing Company
Today’s film room dives into the play action world by looking at the Packers efficiency using shotgun and under center concepts.
Play action passing is one of the most effective tools in an offense’s play calling arsenal. By simulating run action, it manipulates defensive reactions by slowing down pass rushers and freezing linebackers just long enough to create opportunities behind them downfield.
Whether it’s executed from under center or shotgun, the deception becomes even more potent, as the traditional run-action mechanics force defenders to commit more fully to stopping the run before recognizing the pass.
The conventional wisdom is that under center play action is the preferred play call of choice between the two because it is more closely aligned with running the football. The key advantage of under-center play-action is the extra time it takes for the play-fake to develop.
Unlike shotgun, where the run or pass is often more immediately apparent, the under-center fake forces defenders to pause and read the play longer. This hesitation creates larger passing windows and slows down the pass rush, giving the quarterback more time and space to operate.
In one example from Week 3 of 2019, the Green Bay Packers (under then-first-year head coach Matt LaFleur) called a fullback leak out of 22 personnel in an I-formation. Fullback Danny Vitale was the target here downfield. The play-action from under center allowed the fake to develop slowly, making it even more convincing.
By using this method, the Packers made it extremely difficult for Broncos defenders to quickly diagnose the play. The second-level defenders, particularly the linebackers, took their initial steps toward the line of scrimmage as Aaron Rodgers executed the run fake.
The linebackers were positioning themselves to fit up the run on the fullback, causing them to hold their positions just a split second longer as they tried to identify whether it was a run or pass. That slight delay was enough to create openings in the coverage and let Vitale get open behind them as he navigated through the hole.
From the end zone angle, the effectiveness of this under the play-action becomes even clearer. The defensive line hesitated before rushing the passer, and the linebackers were late to drop into their zones as they focused on the backfield action. That extra moment of uncertainty is all Rodgers needed to exploit the defense and deliver a successful pass.
In 2024, the Packers called more under center play action than shotgun, but were a slightly more efficient team when running it out of the gun. They had 54 passing attempts from under center and 43 out of the shotgun.
The data in the two charts above is courtesy of Sports Info Solutions. They are sorted using their advanced charting features and do not include any run-pass options out of shotgun, as RPOs are essentially a cheat code and skew the data. When sorted, the data shows that the Packers' use of shotgun play action was more...
