Throughout the off-season, those of us wondering what exactly a Coach Joe Moorhead offense at Oregon will look like can find hints in the form of play selection from his previous stops. Though there will be collaboration with the other Ducks offensive coaches, there are a few staple plays that I’d be willing to bet Coach Moorhead calls next season. One of those plays is his rendition of the inverted veer.
Classic Inverted Veer/Power Read
Above is the classic inverted veer or, as some have come to call it, the “power read.” “Power read” may be a suitable name given the blocking scheme it utilizes. For all intents and purposes it is a power blocking scheme, minus a tight end/fullback kicking out the defensive end to the play side.
Unlike a traditional power blocking scheme, however, the typical inverted veer uses the defensive end as a read key and so doesn’t kick him out with a blocker. Should the end flow with the running back, the quarterback keeps and follows the pulling guard up the field. If the end squeezes, the QB hands off and the RB attacks the open space off the edge.
Coach Moorhead’s Inverted Veer
Coach Moorhead runs his inverted veer a little differently. Instead of reading the play-side defensive end, he has his QB read the play-side outside linebacker. And instead of lead-blocking up the field as with a traditional power read, the backside guard kicks out the play-side defensive end.
If the outside linebacker stays home or advances upfield, the QB hands off to the RB and the back attacks off the outside edge as with the traditional inverted veer.
Should the OLB flow to the outside with the RB, the quarterback keeps the ball and cuts upfield inside the pulling guard. Because the end is being kicked out and the OLB is flowing to the outside, the box opens up, leaving running room for the QB.
In the video above, the QB gets the keep read and gets some pretty decent yardage. You can see how the play works to empty the box if the QB decides to keep the ball. The play can also be run a variety of ways in Coach Moorhead’s scheme. In the video above it is from an empty set, but he also has a version where the quarterback and running back shift and trade responsibilities, with the back taking the direct snap.
It’d be cool to see an Oregon back in this last version of the play shift over and become the “QB,” cut up through an empty box and run to daylight.
Coach Eric Boles
Newark, OhioTop Photo by Tom Corno
Phil Anderson, the FishDuck.com Volunteer editor for this article, is a trial lawyer in Bend Oregon.
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Eric resides in Central Ohio, just outside the capital city of Columbus. He is a former offensive assistant and return game coordinator for the Ohio State – Newark/Central Ohio Technical College Titans football program.
He is an OSU-N graduate, having completed a Bachelor of Arts program in psychology.