Counter Read with a Double "Bluff"
A mobile quarterback provides more ways for an offense to attack in the run game (No need to thank me for that groundbreaking insight).
That’s because it turns the run game from 10-on-11 to 11 vs. 11. The defense must account for the quarterback at all times, which means offenses can use him to occupy or remove defenders and attack with more effective misdirection. Of course, there is also the read-option element that can be added to just about any run play.
The counter read run with a double “bluff” combines all of these elements.
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Since we’re talking about runs that feature mobile quarterbacks, we of course have to show one involving Lamar Jackson. Let’s use an example from the 2024 season against the Bills.
Below, you can see the play concept illustrated with the Ravens offense using a “full house” backfield/ “diamond” formation:
The right guard and tackle pull in one direction with the running back following (the counter element of the play) while the two tight ends in the backfield block in the other direction (the double bluff).
Jackson’s read is the end man on the line of scrimmage (EMOL) to his right:
On this play, the EMOL went inside enough (it doesn’t take much for Lamar Jackson to be able to outflank a defender), which told Jackson to keep it:
The right guard and tackle pulling to the left held or influenced multiple defenders in that direction:
That helped the two tight ends releasing to the right get leverage to the outside, and Jackson followed his 2-man escort to the end zone:
There’s a lot of information for the defense to sift through with this play. And that makes them a step or two slower than the offense, which is not where you want to be against Lamar Jackson.
Unfortunately for the Bills, the NFL is a copycat league. The Chiefs noticed the trouble this run gave Buffalo and called it twice for touchdowns against them in the AFC Championship Game that season.
Notice the same formation and design illustrated below. The right guard and tackle would pull in one direction (the counter part of the play), and tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray would block in the other direction (the double bluff):