The Best Fake Punts We Could Find, and Why They Work
There is nothing in football quite like a fake punt that hits. The whole stadium is settling in for a change of possession. The coverage team is already leaning downfield, the returner is ready to field a kick that is never coming, and then the ball goes sideways and the building loses its mind. It is the rare play that beats a defense with a formation before it ever beats them with an athlete. Line up to punt and the math quietly tilts. The gunners drag their coverage men out wide, the return man is stranded forty yards away, and suddenly the punting team has more bodies at the point of attack than the defense does. A good fake does not just steal a first down. It steals a possession the other team already had one hand on, and it swings the field and the momentum in the same three seconds. That is why we keep coming back to these. Below are the best fake punts we could find, along with a breakdown of what makes each one work, from the alignment that sets the trap to the trigger that pulls it off.
So how does one design a great fake punt? Is it a normal play adapted to a punt formation, or is it a trick play the defense could not have possibly seen coming? The honest answer is both.
Kick
We define a kick as any fake punt scheme where the entire offensive line down blocks and one or two players kick out the remaining defenders.
Arizona State runs kick to their unbalanced side and the math just is not there for the punt return team. The return team cannot adjust quickly enough to the extra blockers to one side, and the Sun Devils snap the ball and pick up a huge gain and a new set of downs.
We have got to show the punters some love too, right? Here we have a similar blocking scheme, but this time it is delivered for the kicker. If you watch the end zone shot, #21 does a great job coming back to get a block on a defender with perfect technique.
Here is one by Mississippi State, but unlike Arizona State they run it to the short side of the line of scrimmage. Pre-snap they realize Tennessee only has three defenders for four blockers, and the Bulldogs get an easy first down.
Many punt block designs are built to overwhelm the front by overloading a side. Here Ohio just runs kick the other way, and the advantage is so great that one blocker ends up sprinting downfield with the runner because he has no one to block. That is how badly they out leveraged Buffalo.
Shoot
Make it look like rugby, draw in the defenders, then dump it behind them. Easy toss and catch for the punter and the upback.
Here is another funky formation, but the idea is the same. Let the defenders rush what they think is a rugby kick and create an easy throw in the flat for your punter.
Tricky formation here with both gunners on the line of scrimmage. After motion we get a variation of that slider shoot concept, bringing a player behind the line of scrimmage into the opposite flat. Great design here, hard to track, and legal because he catches it behind the line of scrimmage.
Reverse
This almost feels like the G/H Counter Bluff Reverse we have seen so much lately, but in punt form. It is not, but the idea is still there. Create the flow one direction, get the defense panicked about a fake, then flip it the other way on a reverse for a first down.
Shield punt variation on a reverse. Great example here of making sure you hand it to an athletic guy who can make someone miss.
Reverse Pass
This is where things get fun. We get the reverse, but the down blocker releases after selling the block and is wide open because of the chaos of the fake punt plus a reverse.
Different variation, but the same result. The blocker may have sold the block a little too well, but it works out for the Flashes.
Tricks
This is similar to that slider concept, but a little more like the Y-Under Screen that offenses run. Regardless, it is a great concept for a fake punt. Everything about this looks like a punt until the punter stops and throws the ball back across the field.
A swinging gate variation was not on my bucket list, but here it is. Funky formations are always a high risk, high reward endeavor, but it works out here. I absolutely love the old school nature of this fake.
Another wild formation that, if you look closely enough, leaves the snapper eligible. And this feeds right into how punt return is structured. We do not block the long snapper, ever. It is the punt returner’s job to make that guy miss, but what happens when he becomes a receiver? A first down.
Direct snap with a pop pass? Sign me up. Great design, great execution, and somehow they get the defense to fly to the ball on a direct snap dive look on 4th and 8. First down.
How about that kick look, but we release the nub tight end? Again this feels like the Q Counter Rail we have seen a lot lately. It is certainly different, but it gives that same flow. Not sure how you defend this. If the defender fits, they throw. If he drops, they run for an easy first down. Great job putting the return team in a lot of conflict.
Final Thoughts
The best fakes in here all share one thing, and it is not the trick. It is the alignment. Punt return pulls the gunners wide, strands the returner, and rushes what it thinks it recognizes. Every one of these designs wins the numbers before the ball is snapped. The formation does the work. The athlete just finishes it.
That is the answer to the question we opened with. A great fake is both a normal play in disguise and a wild trick at once. The kick schemes are just base blocking dressed up in punt formation. The rugby fakes, sliders, reverses, and eligible snapper looks attack the exact rules a return team lives by. We do not block the snapper, so make him a receiver. We fly to the direct snap dive, so throw it behind us. Every one puts a defender in conflict and dares him to be wrong.
Want a fake in your package? Start with your own punt return rules and ask what happens when you break each one. That is where these live. Steal the ones that fit your personnel, rep the sell until it is clean, and pick your spot.
But ultimately, if you have a punter with an absolute laser just let him throw an out route.