RC Football
Labs
Toggle menu
Play DesignerPlay LibraryPlaybook Maker
Coaching Resources

Run your program

DrillsSoonPractice PlansSoonLeague DirectorySoon
Plans & PricingLabs
Log InSign Up

Sweep

The concept

The ball carried wide and turned upfield outside everybody, before the defense can get there to meet it.

  1. The offense1 / 3
    SWEEPRUN HIM OFFOCCUPYQBRBYX

    The look

    The back takes it going sideways, gaining almost no ground for the first five yards, while the receivers to that side run off the defenders who would otherwise be free to come and get him.

  2. vs Contain2 / 3
    SWEEPRUN HIM OFFOCCUPYQBRBYXEMS

    The conflict

    The edge defender keeps outside leverage and refuses to be beaten wide. He is not trying to make the tackle — he is trying to turn the run back inside to his help, and against a disciplined edge the sweep becomes a cutback.

  3. vs Contain3 / 3
    SWEEPRUN HIM OFFOCCUPYRBYXQBRBYXEMS

    The corner

    Everything is decided at the corner. Get there first and the sideline does the rest of the work; get there second and it is a loss, because there is nothing behind it.

Why it works

  • It needs no blocking, which is why it travels

    Flag football allows no blocking of any kind, and the sweep does not ask for any. It is a race to a spot, so it is the same call at five players as at eleven — one of the few run concepts that genuinely is.

  • It attacks the one defender who cannot be helped

    Everybody inside can be supported by somebody else. The man setting the edge is on his own out there, and the whole play is aimed at making his decision the wrong one.

  • It sets up everything else you run

    A defense that has been beaten wide starts flowing early, and a defense that flows early is what makes the counter, the reverse and the end around work. The sweep is the call that pays for the rest of the run game.

How it gets run badly

  • Turning upfield too early

    The most common error by a distance. Cutting up at the first opening puts the runner back into the pursuit he just ran away from. He has to get to the corner first and turn second.

  • Running it into the boundary

    A sweep into the short side has no room to work — the sideline finishes the job the defense started. Run it to the field, and if you are on the hash, run it away from it.

  • Calling it when the edge is already outside

    If the defense is aligned wide before the snap they have taken the corner away for free. That is the pre-snap picture that says run something inside instead.

Who can run it, and how

All six formats. The sweep asks for no blocking, and flag football allows none — which is exactly why it is one of the ten run calls that survives every format on this site, while Inside Zone and Power do not. What changes is what your other players are doing while the ball goes wide.

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

    Nobody blocks — it is illegal, and a receiver who moves into a defender gets flagged. Your other players take defenders AWAY from the corner by running at them and past them. A receiver may also screen by standing still and letting a defender run into him; what he may not do is move to obstruct.

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

    Nine blockers, and the T-bar on each one is the assignment. The linemen reach playside, the tight end and receivers stalk the men over them, and the back follows all of it. Same idea as the flag version and a completely different set of jobs.

Draw a sweep for your own team

Set the alignment, put the back in motion, and save it to your playbook.

Open the designer