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End Around

The concept

A receiver comes around behind the quarterback and takes the ball going the other way. One handoff, not two — a reverse without the part that gets fumbled.

  1. The offense1 / 3
    END AROUNDFAKERUN HIM OFFQBRBZX

    The look

    The back fakes a run to the left while the receiver from that side is already coming across behind him. The quarterback hands it straight to the receiver as he passes, and he carries it to the far side of the field.

  2. vs Flow2 / 3
    END AROUNDFAKERUN HIM OFFQBRBZXMES

    The conflict

    The defense bites on the fake inside and flows with it. The receiver coming around is behind all of it, and the side he is heading for has been emptied.

  3. vs Flow3 / 3
    END AROUNDFAKERUN HIM OFFRBZXQBRBZXMES

    The far side

    It arrives faster than a reverse because the ball changes hands once. What it gives up is the second fake, so it needs a defense that reacts to the first one.

Why it works

  • Safer than a reverse

    One exchange instead of two. At younger ages that is the difference between a play you can call and one you are afraid to.

  • It puts the ball in your fastest player's hands

    The run is carried by a receiver rather than the back, so it goes to whoever you most want in space.

  • It punishes a defense that follows the back

    A defense taught to key the back follows the fake. The end around is the play that stops them doing it.

How it gets run badly

  • The receiver leaves too early

    If he starts across before the snap, the defense sees him coming and the play is announced. He goes on the snap, not before.

  • A fake that is not a fake

    The back carries the fake all the way to the line. The end around only works if somebody was worth chasing.

  • Running it every series

    It is a constraint play: use it when the far side is flowing. Overuse it and the far side stops flowing.

Who can run it, and how

All six formats. The end around is the simpler cousin of the reverse — worth teaching first at younger ages for exactly that reason — and it is legal everywhere a handoff is.

  • In flag5v5 · NFL Flag · 6v6 · 7v7
    End Around in flag football: nobody blocks, and the other players run their defenders away from the ball.

    Nobody blocks. The back's fake takes the inside defenders, the receivers take theirs deep, and the receiver coming around runs into a side of the field the defense has just left.

  • In tackle9v9 · 11v11
    End Around in tackle football: every blocker marked with a block bar, and the ball carrier following them.

    The line blocks toward the fake to sell it, and the end around runs behind the whole thing. The same idea as flag, with the line doing the selling instead of the back alone.

Put End Around in your playbook

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

Open the designer