Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 15 playbooks
Breakdown
HB Counter Wk is a weakside power run out of I Form's Y Off Close 21 personnel look. The diagram shows the fullback and pulling linemen kicking out the edge to seal a lane while the HB takes a counter step opposite the flow before cutting back to the weak side, following his lead blockers through the hole. This is a pure run play with no route concept to read, so the primary progression is a pre-snap fill count on the weakside defenders followed by a post-snap track of the pulling guard and fullback to find the cutback lane.
Defensive Reads
Watch for user-controlled defensive linemen shooting gaps since counter's delayed handoff timing is vulnerable to fast penetration before the pullers arrive. A stacked box with linebackers creeping to the weak side pre-snap signals the defense has diagnosed the counter direction and will fill the cutback lane quickly. Cover 3 and Cover 4 shells with safeties staying deep leave light boxes that this play exploits well since run support is limited to linebackers and corners. Look for a scraping middle linebacker who reads pulling guards immediately, as a disciplined MLB can beat the blocking scheme to the hole and blow up the play. Man coverage looks with linebackers in run-blitz alignment or a nano blitz package can overwhelm the counter's blocking assignments before the fullback reaches his kick out target.
Usage Tips
Check the weakside defensive end and outside linebacker alignment before the snap since a wide 9 tech or crashing DE can blow up the counter timing.
Use this play on early downs like 1st and 10 or 2nd and medium when defenses are sitting in base fronts expecting standard I Form runs.
Pair HB Counter Wk with HB Zone Toss and PA Deep Read from the same set so linebackers cannot key on pulling linemen without risking a play-action shot behind them.
If the defense stacks the box with 8 defenders or shows heavy blitz pre-snap, check into Mtn PA Counter or SFT Mtn PA Sprint HB Flat instead to punish overaggressive fronts.
Manually control the fullback or lead blocker with the right stick to help seal the edge defender when facing an aggressive user DE crashing hard down the line.
