Why “Duo” is a cornerstone of modern offense

Playing hybrid personnel, multiple tight ends, and attacking pass-first have made this simple running play one of the most prevalent in all of football.

The last few years of both pro and college football (surely HS as well) have seen a trend in the run game which has been absolutely delightful to O-line coaches.

That trend is the rise of “Duo” as a primary run scheme for multiple offenses.

Duo is an ironically mysterious play given its simplicity. The “is this Duo or inside zone” question is basically a meme amongst coaches online and the level of content geared around explaining what the play is and how it works is also amusing. I’ve consumed much of that content myself and at times have committed and recommitted myself to trying to understand how it differs from “tight” inside zone.

It doesn’t really matter. What makes the play increasingly prominent and important isn’t necessarily the distinctions between it and tight zone, nor the specifics of the play.

What makes it very prominent these days is that it’s about as simple a running play as has ever or could ever exist and that simplicity allows it to function as the fulcrum of modern hybrid offenses.

That is a topic worth yet even more content generation, so here we go again…