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Atrick play, also known as agadget play,gimmick play ortrickeration, is aplay ingridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or atouchdown if it is successful, but with the chance of a significant loss of yards or a turnover if not. Trick plays are rarely used not only because of the riskiness, but also to maintain theelement of surprise for when they are used.
Trick plays take advantage of defenses' expectations andconventional wisdom, the set of basic principles to which most offenses adhere. Most offenses follow a basic set of conventions in that once the ball issnapped to thequarterback, it seldom changes hands more than once: a hand-off or pitch to arunning back, or aforward pass, and the players with the best skill sets for those particular plays are the ones that will execute them.
For example, the quarterback is by far the best passer on the field in most situations and would thus be relied upon for the vast majority of forward passes; likewise,kickers are, in the modern era, seldom relied upon for anything other than kicking. The typical American football playbook relies on simple, relatively low-risk plays with high odds of gaining yardage and low odds of catastrophe (aturnover, loss of yardage or, in the worst-case scenario, the other team scoring points). Trick plays eschew these principles: trick plays can easily exploit a defensive weakness if it is not foreseen, but if the trick is foreseen, it can be easily foiled and the play will often yield catastrophic results.
In most conventional forms of American football, the quarterback receives the ball during thesnap and then either throws it or hands it off to another player. That player, the "receiver", attempts to move the ball forward past theline of scrimmage. If they are successful, the line moves forward to that point and the process continues through a series of "plays", eventually (ideally) to atouchdown.
Due to a variety of interacting rules, offensive plays generally fall into two distinct groups. Plays where the (planned) source of gains are through the quarterback throwing the ball forward are known as "passing plays", while those where the gains are due to the player running with the ball are "rushing plays". Rules governing which players are eligible to receive a pass results in the offensive team being split into groups; the offensive linemen protect the quarterback, wide receivers and tight-ends are positioned at the line to run forward to receive passes, and the backs are positioned behind the line to receive the ball in a hand-off and then continue running forward for a rush.
The defensive team is not privy to which type of play will develop. To protect against common plays, their line ends up divided up much the same way as the offense, with thedefensive tackle at the front both holding the line as well as attempting to threaten the quarterback, thedefensive backs positioned behind the line to protect against pass plays, and thelinebackers positioned to counter a rush. Once the play starts, the defensive players tend to collapse towards the action, preventing forward motion of the rush, or blocking a pass. This commitment to a course of action is typically safe; there is only one forward pass allowed per play, so once the ball is passed the rushers are out of the action and all the defenders can attempt to block the receiver, and while anyone can throw the ball forward, doing so is so specialized that once the quarterback hands off the ball or tosses to a runner, the possibility of a forward pass is generally eliminated.
Trick plays attempt to cause the defense to commit to a play in order to leave them badly out of position for the play that actually develops. A simple example is theend-around play, where one of the eligible receivers runs parallel to the line of scrimmage (seeman-in-motion), takes the ball from the quarterback in a handoff or lateral toss, and then starts a rush. As the receiver would normally be expected to run down the field in order to catch a forward pass, thedefensive back assigned to cover that motion starts opposite him some distance behind the line. If the back does not move laterally to match the motion of the receiver, the receiver may find themselves unopposed on the opposite side of the line once the play develops.
More dangerous trick plays normally combine multiple passes or hand-offs. In theFlea Flicker, the ball is handed-off orlaterally passed to a player in what appears to be a rush play. The player then passes the ball back to the quarterback, who throws it to the receivers. Properly timed, the defensive team will have started responding to the rush by moving forward, leaving the receivers wide open. However, timing the play is difficult, and with two lateral passes and a forward throw, the chances for error are great. A failure leaves the ball behind the line of scrimmage in what will almost certainly be a loss of yards. The play also requires all passes prior to the final one thrown by the quarterback to be either parallel to the line of scrimmage or backwards, since only one forward pass is allowed per play. Multiple forward passes will result in a penalty.
Common trick plays attempt to place the defense out of position by starting action in one direction, then completing it in another. They often appear to be a conventional play at first. There is no real "trick" being played in terms of deception, the defense simply reacts without considering the possibility of the ball carrier changing mid-play. Some of these plays are so common as to not be recognized as trick plays, instead being a regular part of the American football playbook.
Statue of Liberty
The "Statue of Liberty play", named for its resemblance to theStatue of Liberty, starts with a snap to the quarterback, who falls back, preparing for a pass. Normally the snap is caught in two hands, and then the ball is moved to the throwing hand (typically right) while the non-throwing arm moves lower. In this trick, the quarterback carries out the same motions, but moves the ball to the non-throwing hand. When he fakes the pass, the non-throwing arm is moved behind his back, hiding the ball. One of the backs, running in the direction opposite the fake pass, takes the ball and starts a rush. Like the reverse, the goal is to catch the defense on the wrong side of the line, and can be a high-value play when executed successfully. However, the movements and timing required are difficult and can easily lead to blown plays.
Fumblerooski
In thefumblerooski, the quarterback takes the snap and immediately places the ball, unseen by the defense, on the ground. This is technically afumble, and thus the name of the play. The quarterback then moves away from the ball, faking a pass or setting up for a fake hand-off to one side of the line. Meanwhile, one of the backs picks up the ball and starts a rush in the opposite direction. In general terms the play is very similar to the Statue of Liberty, although it gives the quarterback more room for motion. There is some dispute as to whether the fumblerooski is legal.[3]
Bouncerooski
After taking the snap, the quarterback drops back slightly and pretends to pass to one of the receivers near the line of scrimmage. However, he deliberately passes short, so the ball bounces off the ground near the intended receiver. The receiver then catches the ball nonchalantly as it bounces up again. If the ball had moved forward, hitting the ground would trigger the end of the play as anincomplete pass. However, this is not the case for a lateral pass, where the bounce is technically a fumble, and play continues.
Key to the bounce rooski is that everyone on the offensive team has to pretend that it is an incomplete pass. This typically happens with the receiver never starting motion, all of the offensive players stopping and leisurely returning to their places on the line, and everyone basically relaxing. If the fake is successful, when the defense does the same, the receiver can run off unopposed, or, as it was a lateral pass, make a forward pass after the receivers have had ample time to move far down the field.
The trick only works if the offensive team "plays it" well, none of the defenders notices exactly where the ball hit the ground, and the defense stops at the sight of the ball hitting the ground instead of playing until they hear the official's whistle (as most coaches teach). In the event the defense notices the fakery, they can simply grab the ball from the stationary receiver, making this a dangerous ploy. Although the name implies great similarities with the fumblerooski, the two are very different in terms of on-field action. The play is also dangerous for the receiver since the trajectory of the football's "bounce" is unpredictable due to the oblong shape of the ball. A football thrown in one direction may bounce off the ground in a completely different one.
One of the famed examples of the bouncerooski was Nebraska vs Oklahoma in 1982, although it didn't fool the defenders, it was still executed well enough that the wide receiver who took the backward bouncing pass was still able to complete the trick play with a wide receiver pass to a team-mate for a significant gain.
Fake procedure
Going by a variety of names, this trick, a variant of the dual-quarterback scenario listed above, involves the quarterback getting up and walking away from his position behind the center before the snap, apparently in order to hear the call from the coach or to call a timeout.
However, as one player is allowed to be in motion before the snap, play is not technically stopped. If the defense relaxes, believing the quarterback is about to walk to the sidelines, the ball can be snapped to one of the other players and played against a defense that is unprepared. If the defense is not fooled, the quarterback can simply complete the fake task, and return to the center to call the snap.
TheIndianapolis Colts,New Orleans Saints,Pittsburgh Steelers, andSt. Louis Rams have used variations of this play in the NFL, and it was also used in the movieThe Longest Yard (2005) for a winningtwo-point conversion. Under some state high school rules, if the quarterback or coaches on the sideline say anything that may lead the defense to believe that a snap is not imminent, then the play is an illegalunfair act.
Fake spike
When the clock is running low, it is not uncommon for a quarterback tospike the ball to stop the clock, either to set up for the next play or bring on thespecial teams. Here too, the objective is to trick the defense into believing that no downfield play will be run—but not fool the officials into thinking the same, which can also ruin the play.
A famous example occurred in 1994 with theClock Play, whenDan Marino's Dolphins were playing the Jets. From the account ofPat Kirwan, former Jets defensive coach and executive,[4]
With little time left, Marino had driven the Dolphins near our goal line and lined up as if he were going to spike the ball to stop the clock. But instead, he faked the spike, and as our defense let up for a split second, Marino threw the winning touchdown.
Another famous example occurred in 2013 during a Week 8 game between theDallas Cowboys and theDetroit Lions. With a minute left in regulation, Lions quarterbackMatthew Stafford drove 80 yards downfield, including a 22-yard pass toCalvin Johnson that stopped 1 yard short of the goal line with 33 seconds left with the Lions out of timeouts. Stafford then jumped over his lineman for the game-winning touchdown.[5]
Peyton Manning was also a frequent user of the fake spike, and "sold it" so well in a 2001 game againstNew Orleans that the refereeJeff Triplette blew the whistle to stop the play, costing theColts a probable touchdown.[6]
Tackle-eligible
Atackle-eligible play involves placing anoffensive tackle in the position of atight end. Because of numbering restrictions, the offensive team must report the positioning to the official, who announces to everyone that the ineligible-numbered player is an eligible receiver, reducing the element of surprise. (The exact mechanism of the tackle-eligible play varies by league; college football andCanadian football, for example, require a lineman to physically change his jersey to become eligible.) Often, the trickery involves an unbalanced offensive line, such that there are two players (including the tackle-eligible) on one side of thecenter and four on the other, making it appear that the tackle-eligible is in a normal position.
Famous tackle-eligible plays include a play in theJanuary 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic involving LaQuan McGowan, a 410-pound offensive lineman who changed jerseys to run a tackle-eligible play;[7] andJumbo Elliott's touchdown-scoring play in theMonday Night Miracle.[8]
Fake punt
This play can take a number of different forms. Usually the punter will simply take the snap and look to throw a pass or run with the ball after the defenders have turned downfield to block for the punt return. In another variation, the ball may be snapped directly to anupback who then runs downfield or throws.
Fake field goal
As with a fake punt, there are a number of different forms for a fake field goal. Usually the holder (often the punter or backup quarterback on most teams) will throw or run as with the fake punt.Danny White was bothquarterback andpunter for theDallas Cowboys in the 1980s and often executed this play. Less frequently, theplacekicker, who virtually never handles the ball in an American football game, will serve as the passer or rusher on a fake field goal. Examples include then-New England kickerAdam Vinatieri receiving a direct snap and throwing a touchdown pass during an NFL game in 2004, andLSU kickerColt David rushing for a 15-yard touchdown in 2007 after receiving the ball on a blind lateral from holder (and starting QB)Matt Flynn. The Seattle Seahawks also used this trick play in the2014 NFC Championship against theGreen Bay Packers. The play resulted in a touchdown (to eligible rookie offensive lineman Garry Gilliam from holder Jon Ryan) and helped Seattle recover from a 16–point deficit en route to aSuper Bowl XLIX appearance.
Surprise onside kick
Anonside kick, in general, is akickoff attempt that is positioned in a way that is intended for the kicking team to recover, retaining possession of the football. Increasing restrictions on the onside kick have made it harder to use; even before these rules were imposed, a successful onside kick when expected was rare. The onside kick is more successful as a trick play, conducted when the receiving team does not expect it and does not have their "hands team" (an assembly of wide receivers and other players adept at recovering loose balls) on the field.[9][10] The most famous example of a surprise onside kick is when theNew Orleans Saints used it on the second half kickoff inSuper Bowl XLIV against theIndianapolis Colts, a game the Saints eventually won 31–17.
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