10 replies to this topic

[Johnp2]

I imagine most of you have seen this trick play that has been all over the news.



Personally, I don't think it is that creative--but it is hilarious how the d-line just watches him walk past them.

I don't think this is a legal play, myself. I say this because I played Center for many, many seasons, and I always knew the rule to be that the ball must go backward and up--NOT up and then backward. Said differently, the Center cannot "lift" the ball (although it is close in this case. I could be wrong, however, and I'm sure every league has its own rules on the matter (if they even exist). Regardless, I think the officials did the right thing by NOT blowing the whistle. I imagine they huddled after the play and deemed it legal.

Thoughts?

p.s. I am of the mindset this is not unsportsman-like. Now, if the team who pulled this off was winning by a large margin--that is a different story. This is middle school football, however--and I remember middle school football being as cut-throat as HS football.

[Texas_D_Coach]

John I agree with you. I didn't think it was legal because the ball was not snapped between the centers legs.

It was funny though.

[rushbuster70]

ehh...i'd never run that.some coaches will pull out all the stops when it comes to winning though.i dont like it either.i think it would only work with kids that age or younger.

[rushbuster70]

and the snap is legal.you dont have to snap the ball between your legs in tackle ball.nfhs rules state as long as the football player is facing the goaline they are headed too and it is 1 motion then it doesnt have to be snapped between the legs

[yurirdgz]

Legal or not it´s not a trick play, it´s a mocking play, I don´t like and I think it hurts such a disciplined sport.

[Coach Rob]

It's similar to this one:

Personally, I'm not a big fan of stuff like this. Reverses and fakes no problem. The kids should've been coached that as soon as the center picked up the ball, they hit.

[GeorgeC]

Both of those plays are sort of funny and cute. Fun to talk about. But really not in the spirit of the game. IMO.

[Coach Rob]

Here's what would've happened if Orange was coaching against that team:

[GeorgeC]

Here's what would've happened if Orange was coaching against that team:

Now, that is freakin' hilarious.

On Youtube, you can find an interview with ABC's Harry Smith and the coaches of the junior high team from Johnp2's original post. They call it the "penalty play". First, a hard count draws the penalty against the defense. Then, the offensive coach yell's to his QB: "Joey, mark off another 5 yards". So the center hands the ball to Joey, who marks 5 yards, and then takes off. The tricky team did lose the game.

[Johnp2]

It's true the ball does not need to be snapped between the legs. It's the motion of the ball that makes it borderline legal. Regardless, I am okay with it.

We have executed the "wrong ball" play (although we call it "I forgot the play") twice. Once many seasons ago against a good friend of mine on the last play (we were down by 2 or 3 TDs) and made a nice gain. The second time was three seasons ago. The ref got confused and blew the whistle as my player was scoring--even though I told one of the officials before the play what we were doing. Ugh!

[Orange]

Here's what would've happened if Orange was coaching against that team:

Lol, I wish.