Counter

The concept

The back takes one step one way to pull the defense with him, then takes the ball back the other way into the space they just left.

The offense1 / 3
The look
At the snap the back steps left, and every eye in a well-coached defense goes with him. Then he plants, takes the handoff going right, and the receiver on the left keeps selling the direction the ball is no longer going.
vs Flow2 / 3
The conflict
The defense reads the first step and runs with it, which is exactly what defenders are coached to do. The side the back is really going to has been emptied by their own pursuit.
vs Flow3 / 3
The cutback
The yards come from a defense moving the wrong way. A defender who has taken two steps in the wrong direction needs four to recover, and the counter arrives in the time it takes him to find out.

Why it works

It turns good pursuit into a weakness
Every coached defense is taught to flow to the ball. The counter is built entirely out of that habit, which is why it gets better against better-coached defenses.
It costs nothing
No blocking, no extra players, no special rule. The only price is a back who sells the first step as if he means it.
It keeps the sweep honest
A defense that has been burned by the counter cannot flow freely to the sweep. Each play makes the other one work.

How it gets run badly

A false step nobody believes
A half-hearted jab fools nobody. The first step has to look exactly like the sweep's first step, or the defense never moves.
Calling it before the defense has chased anything
The counter punishes flow. Against a defense that has not yet been given a reason to flow, it is just a slow run. Run the sweep first.
A slow mesh after the plant
Misdirection buys a second, not three. If the handoff after the plant is sloppy, the defender on the far side recovers before the back gets there.

Who can run it, and how

All six formats. Misdirection costs no blockers and breaks no rule, so the counter travels everywhere the sweep does. Do not confuse it with Counter Trey — that is a tackle blocking scheme with two pulling linemen, and it has its own page.

In flag5v5 · NFL Flag · 6v6 · 7v7
Nobody blocks. The receivers on the fake side keep running that way to drag their defenders with them, and the back relies on his first step to empty the side he is really going to.
In tackle9v9 · 11v11
In tackle the counter usually brings two extra blockers: the backside linemen pull across to lead the back through the hole. That version is Counter Trey, and it has its own page.

Put Counter in your playbook

Draw it in the designer, change the assignments, and save it to your playbook.

Open the designer

The look

The conflict

The cutback

Why it works

It turns good pursuit into a weakness

It costs nothing

It keeps the sweep honest

How it gets run badly

A false step nobody believes

Calling it before the defense has chased anything

A slow mesh after the plant

Who can run it, and how

Put Counter in your playbook