Going into the 2022 season, the term “Pony Package” was used a lot when talking about the Packers. It’s a term that springs from the early-80s SMU backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James, nicknamed “The Pony Express.” As such, Pony Package refers to a personnel grouping with two running backs on the field at the same time.
On its face, that seems like it would be a good package for the Packers early in 2022. With a young wide receiver room, it seems like getting Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon on the field at the same time would be a solid plan.
It didn’t turn out that way. After leaning on it fairly heavily in the first couple of weeks, its usage was greatly reduced for the rest of the season.
Still, the idea of the Pony Package intrigued me, so I wanted to see what the rest of the league was doing with it. I found enough fun stuff to build out a fairly robust package of plays in the Pony Package out of a split-back shotgun formation. I went with split-gun because it can be a more versatile package for two running backs. There is some cool stuff you can do out of offset I, but, unless at least one of your backs can function as a fullback (or, at least, 80% of a fullback), it’s pretty limited.
This post will focus on the largest group of plays. I don’t know exactly what it’s called, but I’ve taken to calling it the Lead Flare Series.
The main action of the two backs is the same in this series: the back to one side releases laterally to the flat, while the other back crosses the face of the QB and puts his hands up for a handoff look.
That’s the basic action, but you can build a lot of fun stuff off of that action.
Inside Give
Pretty straightforward. The flare back releases outside while the other back takes the handoff and looks for a hole in the middle of the line. Remove a defender from the run fit with the flat release and have a TE slicer seal the backside of the line. It’s not likely to be a big gainer, but it can give you a couple hard-earned yards.
The bigger thing it can give you is forcing some hesitation on the defense for some of these other plays that are more focused on attacking the edge. If you only gain 2-3 yards on this but it keeps a linebacker tied to the middle of the field for half-a-second on the ensuing concepts, it’s worth it.
If you want to get a little creative with the first play in the clip below, you can see a world where the QB keeps it and has the option to run or throw to the flat on the run.
RB Lead
This concept is what first comes to mind when I think of the Pony Package. The lead back as a lead-blocker and the other back follows behind him. It’s a natural concept to tie into Inside Give, but it also highlights some of the shortcomings of the Pony Package. You’re telling your running back - whose usage on running plays is pretty much always trying to find and hit the hole in the line - to block a man in space. It immediately makes me think of a Mitch Hedberg bit. “Okay, you’re a cook. Can you farm?”
Still, even while it’s asking your RB to do something a little outside of his expertise, it can do some nice things out of Pony.
TE Shovel
If someone were to come up to me tomorrow and say, “Hey, what Pony Package diagram do you want etched on your tombstone,” I would name this one. It would be an odd thing for a stranger to ask, but at least I’m prepared.
It plays nicely off the RB Lead concept. Look for the defense looking to set a hard edge against an outside run, then hit them with the TE shovel.
TE Shovel Fake
This has a much more limited use, mainly because it’s a constraint off a constraint. You’re likely not going to run the TE Shovel enough for the fake to be effective. But for that one time a year you run it? Buddy, I will be standing and applauding.
Really, it’s just RB Lead with a slight fake to the trailing TE, but I feel it’s an important distinction to make.
Lead Back Wheel
If the shovel is #1 in terms of being etched on my tombstone, this is 1b. It’s the same action we’re all familiar with at this point, but the lead back wheels up the field after clearing the line. It looks exactly like something like RB Lead, which would have that lead back looking to block someone on the edge. While a defender may be looking to elude the block, the RB is simply looking to release vertically.
It works like a dream in the first clip, with the defense all tied up inside and the lead back releasing into an ocean of space for a big gain.
The defense picks it up well in the second clip, but the trailing back is able to find room in the flat to pick up a decent chunk of yardage.
RB Lead Counter
Teams leaning on RB Lead? May I interest you in Counter? First step from both backs looks like RB Lead/Inside Give, then they cut back counter to that, with the “trailing back” blocking through the line while the “lead back” follows him. A beautiful little tendency breaker.
RB Screen
I like this one a lot. Surprise surprise. It looks like RB Lead, but the trailing RB turns back and looks for the screen after playing out the action of crossing the QB’s face. It’s not necessarily a variation you’ll run too much, but it can be extremely powerful.
RB Lead Misdirect
Our last play in the Lead Flare series will lead nicely into our next series. On this play, the trailing back releases to one side, while the other back - who would normally be the lead back - crosses behind the QB and takes the handoff to find a pin/pull look to that side.
My original plan was to gather all of the Pony Package stuff into one post, but we’re already north of 1,000 words and I feel like that’s too many. This is by far the largest package of plays we’ll be looking at, but I want to make sure I give the others enough room to breathe while also making sure people don’t check out (emotionally and physically). In the next couple of days, we’ll put a bow on this with the Orbit and Vertical packages.