NFL Passing Game:12P Diamond Formation Playbook.

The diamond formation is a good formation to use in football. It involves using 2 tight ends and 2 WR in 12 Personnel. It is a formation to be utilized that can influence both the run game and especially the play action game.

Two teams that have used it quite a bit are the Chiefs and Shane Waldron when he was with the Seahawks.

The best part of this set is the play action passing game. It is a a highly efficient st that is utilized to keep teams off balance. They use it to thrwo the ball with both traditional play action and boot schemes.

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12 personnel Bone/Diamond Package

The Chiefs come out in Diamond with 2 tight ends in the backfield. The defense shifts to cover 3 and they throw the play action sail concept.

Example #2

Chiefs come out in diamond and motion to stack, The Defense again checks cover 3 but they leave the middle of the field underneath open. The motion to stack causes some confusion defensively.

Film Clip

Chiefs 3rd concept vs cover 2 lock.

The defense is in cover 2 lock, the CB have all of #1 everywhere they go. Kelce gets behind the LB as the #1 WR takes care of the safety vertically. The play action holds the LB enough.

The Seahawks with Shane Waldron were very creative with their 12P diamond package. They use some interesting sets out of 12 personnel.

What these sets do is forces teams to play cover 3 and also the 3-4 teams to commit a safety to one side. Like below, the 2 te are to the one side and the defense goes cover 3 in that direction.

Now it comes down to what plays you want to run vs the look.

#1 2 TE on the same side in the bone package

#2 The 2nd example is true bone .Again they force a cover 3 look, but the Lions roll to 2 high on the snap. The play call is still good.

Let’s take a look at some plays.

Here we have a few plays with the Tight End on the same side. The rb goes in motion and they fake a handoff to him. This freezes the LB and they run a dig with Metcalf behind it. Great play design.

#2 The next example is the sail concept from the bone package. They get the SS to bite and throw the ball behind him.

film

2 More examples vs the Giants and Panthers where they shift out of the heavy diamond formation.

True Bone, A TE on both sides

The first play is a zone read with the read to the front side on the DE.

He comes hard so he pulls it and you have the 3 route concepts

1. post

2. te wheel

3. te slice route to the flat