SACKS SHOULDN'T COUNT IF THE RUSHER WAS LEFT UNCOVERED! LINEMEN AND LINEBACKERS SHOULD HAVE TO FIGHT THROUGH TWO GUYS FOR EVERY TACKLE! FOOBAW!

Just another version of the Sleeper Play, and its as old as the game

kronicfeld: The moral is: PAY ATTENTION.

That, and coaches and playcalling do matter. If a player blatantly cheated and it wasn't called, and mind you that happens, that's something else. But if two teams are evenly matched and one won thanks to a "trick play", it's not "dirty" or "tricky" or a "weenie touchdown". It means one coach was better than the other, and that was the difference. You own your own lack of preparation or awareness.

I'm not big or fast or strong. If outsmarting the other guy is the only way I can win, it's the stupid asshole that insists I rraargh anyway.

I think it's a legit question to ask why in the living hell they'd use that play against the f*cking Rams and now have the whole world looking out for that formation from here on out when they could've saved it for the Saints or something.

No, jackass, it's saying, if you guys can't count to 10 and realize there HAS to be an extra guy somewhere, you lose points.

Also, it's saying, we believe our ten guys can stop your 11 from blocking our play.

Petit_Merdeux: A weenie is a guy who shaves his head to hide his receding hair line.

Better than a comb over. Plus a weenie is a guy who makes fun of a dude cause he is losing his hair not because the guy makes a pansy argument.

Yeah, I hate fun and excitement too.

Gregg Doyel molests chihuahuas.

Hey, I did that in an intramural game in college about 20 years ago. It was my idea so I got to catch the pass. (I was a lineman all through high school and never could catch for shiat, but yes, I was able to reel it in when there was no one else near me.) I should, like, charge a royalty for this idea.

Killer Cars: I think it's a legit question to ask why in the living hell they'd use that play against the f*cking Rams and now have the whole world looking out for that formation from here on out when they could've saved it for the Saints or something.

Agreed. Trick plays are fine to use, but you should really only use them in games where you absolutely need to in order to win. That's a play you bust out against a quality opponent, not against a 2-win team that you should beat based on talent alone. Trick plays should be used to balance out talent and/or coaching advantages, not to pound on a shiatty team. In this case I understand using it because the 49ers needed to win but it's a shame that they needed to waste it on the Rams.

Sigh. Once upon a time -- maybe a decade ago -- Doyel was a decent, contrarian sports scribe. Now he just does the jock tough guy pose thing on sports radio spots while beating out this kinda non-sense in his cols.

To wit: OF COURSE you don't want your youth league coach running trickeration (pretend fumble anyone, where ALL THE ADULTS scream "FUMBLE!" at the opposing kids) because they. are. kids. They don't know the game.

College and pro players are total fair game.

pute kisses like a man: if they'd have been paying attention and just put one guy on him the play would have failed. although crabtree might get open on man to man coverage, the passer is not their starting quarterback (I'm assuming, didn't watch it, and no one said who threw it). Thus, it is an extremely risky play, you've got an inexperienced passer trying to make a pass with only one go-to receiver and 10 defenders poised to join him in the backfield very soon.

it's more risky than a regular play and it only works if the other team is not paying attention, if they are paying attention, it's a failed play or a timeout waiting to happen. I say, tough cookies for not covering a good receiver.

And when trick plays go bad, they go REALLY bad. The QB sees the coverage, knows the play fails, and makes a better decision. You stick a different guy in there and it's his only chance to try the trick play he's been practicing for three years, he's going to throw the damn ball no matter what. You're lucky to just turn the ball over.

I'm with Gregg Doyel. If you don't declare where all 11 of your men on the field are and who is going to line up where to the defense, then it's a B.S. wienie play. Sure these douchebags are playing within the written rules of the game. But every NFL player knows there are unwritten rules as well. We all know how Dan Marino faking like he was going to throw the ball into the ground was within NFL rules but completely broke the unwritten rules, right? Well what's with all these douchebag quarterbacks these days faking like they are throwing the ball to a receiver. They say "pump fake," I say pussy unwritten rule breaker.

And I'm farking sick of all of these fake handoffs. Look, either hand the ball off or don't. Don't be a pussy, if you can't handle the pass defense without a fake handoff then you shouldn't be playing in the NFL.

And what's with all the goddamn defenses faking blitzes and whatnot. And teams not declaring if they are going to pass the ball or run the ball before hand?

Look, it's a man's game. Not some trickery whiney bullshiat. All coaches should be given this same playbook:



And they should have to inform the other coach which play they chose. Because if you can't win doing that, then you're just a pussy.

How about this: EVERY play is a trick play. Some are just more observable to the casual observer. Way to take yourself out of the "legitimate footballer writer" and into the "casual observer" category.

lennavan: I'm with Gregg Doyel. If you don't declare where all 11 of your men on the field are and who is going to line up where to the defense, then it's a B.S. wienie play. Sure these douchebags are playing within the written rules of the game. But every NFL player knows there are unwritten rules as well. We all know how Dan Marino faking like he was going to throw the ball into the ground was within NFL rules but completely broke the unwritten rules, right? Well what's with all these douchebag quarterbacks these days faking like they are throwing the ball to a receiver. They say "pump fake," I say pussy unwritten rule breaker.

And I'm farking sick of all of these fake handoffs. Look, either hand the ball off or don't. Don't be a pussy, if you can't handle the pass defense without a fake handoff then you shouldn't be playing in the NFL.

And what's with all the goddamn defenses faking blitzes and whatnot. And teams not declaring if they are going to pass the ball or run the ball before hand?

Look, it's a man's game. Not some trickery whiney bullshiat. All coaches should be given this same playbook:

[www.consoleclassix.com image 256x224]

And they should have to inform the other coach which play they chose. Because if you can't win doing that, then you're just a pussy.

Haha, much better said.

pute kisses like a man: if they'd have been paying attention and just put one guy on him the play would have failed. although crabtree might get open on man to man coverage, the passer is not their starting quarterback (I'm assuming, didn't watch it, and no one said who threw it). Thus, it is an extremely risky play, you've got an inexperienced passer trying to make a pass with only one go-to receiver and 10 defenders poised to join him in the backfield very soon.

it's more risky than a regular play and it only works if the other team is not paying attention, if they are paying attention, it's a failed play or a timeout waiting to happen. I say, tough cookies for not covering a good receiver.

David Akers (the kicker) through the touchdown. I imagine if the defense covered Crabtree they would just kick the FG as usual therefore there's very little risk.

Wow this author is a dbag. Trick plays, are Trick frigging plays. The point of a football game, and any sport in general, is to be on your toes, at attention prepared for anything at any time. If your not, theres no excuse, its your fault. If one team can exploit anothers teams lack of preparedness, or awareness, not only can they do it, THEY ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. Its not like this is some trick play in madden that will work every time you do it (Randy Moss Fly route from 2008), its a play that should only work one time. The only issue i had with it, is why didnt they save it for the playoffs.

downstairs: Also, realize trick plays are the opposite of easy.

Actually, that's a pretty good assessment I hadn't thought of. Trick plays are mostly trick because they are pretty high risk, so you don't look for them often to happen. At some in the not-too-distant-past, I would consider things like the no huddle offense and the onside kick to be trick plays, except that they are so common now that it's has become a part of the general game plan.

To some extent, the forward pass could be considered a trick play in the early history of football.

///I'm surprised more teams haven't messed around with the "fake kickoff/punt return" the Bears would've pulled off this season if they didn't commit a penalty on it

Ban the forward pass! It's unmanly!

Gregg Doyle will say anything in a column to get attention/hits. Anything at all. He doesn't care about informed opinions or analyzing stats or any of that nonsense, because Gregg Doyle knows that the key to being a good sports writer is being bombastic, and having a writing style that draws the reader in.

Like this one.

So Gregg Doyle has no problems saying stupid things like "Joe Montana would be the 5th best QB in the NFL right now" or "College football players should be paid NFL-level wages, but be forced to play a 32 game season". These are wrong and completely ludicrous examples, but it doesn't matter because it made for a great headline link and you clicked on it and you'll submit it to your favorite news aggregator and forward it to several of your friends, and one of these days I'll be able to parlay this into a sweet gig on a nationally syndicated radio show.

You just watch.

it wasn't wasted. the next time the 49's dance around and don't plan on really doing a trick play the other team may hesitate a bit and a non trick play kinda becomes one. kind of like a i know you know i know. wasted trick plays are in situations like you are a real underdog and you think a ton of trick plays by your 0-10 team is going to beat the powerhouse.

oryx: Ban the forward pass! It's unmanly!

Agreed.

I think Gregg Doyel sucks, except when I don't. And when I don't is never.

lennavan: I'm with Gregg Doyel. If you don't declare where all 11 of your men on the field are and who is going to line up where to the defense, then it's a B.S. wienie play. Sure these douchebags are playing within the written rules of the game. But every NFL player knows there are unwritten rules as well. We all know how Dan Marino faking like he was going to throw the ball into the ground was within NFL rules but completely broke the unwritten rules, right? Well what's with all these douchebag quarterbacks these days faking like they are throwing the ball to a receiver. They say "pump fake," I say pussy unwritten rule breaker.

And I'm farking sick of all of these fake handoffs. Look, either hand the ball off or don't. Don't be a pussy, if you can't handle the pass defense without a fake handoff then you shouldn't be playing in the NFL.

And what's with all the goddamn defenses faking blitzes and whatnot. And teams not declaring if they are going to pass the ball or run the ball before hand?

Look, it's a man's game. Not some trickery whiney bullshiat. All coaches should be given this same playbook:

[www.consoleclassix.com image 256x224]

And they should have to inform the other coach which play they chose. Because if you can't win doing that, then you're just a pussy.

Winnar!

lennavan: I'm with Gregg Doyel. If you don't declare where all 11 of your men on the field are and who is going to line up where to the defense, then it's a B.S. wienie play. Sure these douchebags are playing within the written rules of the game. But every NFL player knows there are unwritten rules as well. We all know how Dan Marino faking like he was going to throw the ball into the ground was within NFL rules but completely broke the unwritten rules, right? Well what's with all these douchebag quarterbacks these days faking like they are throwing the ball to a receiver. They say "pump fake," I say pussy unwritten rule breaker.

And I'm farking sick of all of these fake handoffs. Look, either hand the ball off or don't. Don't be a pussy, if you can't handle the pass defense without a fake handoff then you shouldn't be playing in the NFL.

And what's with all the goddamn defenses faking blitzes and whatnot. And teams not declaring if they are going to pass the ball or run the ball before hand?

Look, it's a man's game. Not some trickery whiney bullshiat. All coaches should be given this same playbook:



And they should have to inform the other coach which play they chose. Because if you can't win doing that, then you're just a pussy.

Fine. I'll take that playbook but I will need some Bo Jackson.

What would this guy say if a quarterback took the snap from the shotgun and then dropkicked the ball through the uprights? It counts as 3 points, and no one would be expecting it.

pute kisses like a man: I would not give my kicker the option to read a defense and decide whether to run the trick play or kick the field goal. that's way too much choice and novel pressure on a kicker

There's no "reading a defense" to be made. All Akers had to do was see if there was a defensive player lining up near Crabtree. If yes, they kick the field goal. If no, they throw the fake. He's not looking for man vs zone coverage, he's looking if there's any coverage at all.

WhyteRaven74: What would this guy say if a quarterback took the snap from the shotgun and then dropkicked the ball through the uprights? It counts as 3 points, and no one would be expecting it.

downstairs: Is that true? Can you legally do that?

Yes. The drop kick rule is still in the books. In fact, I think anyone can do it anywhere from behind the line of scrimmage (the last drop kick that wasn't a gimmick was actually off a fumbled snap). The reasons it's not done today are:

1) I think the ball has to touch the ground first, so it's not like a punt. The classic drop kick was to literally let the ball drop to the ground, then kick it off the rebound. This makes it slow to execute.
2) Because of #1, it's hard to do. Kickers could get pretty reliable, but someone probably figured out using a holder was more accurate. Getting a feel for the drop is almost as involved as the kick itself (one smooth motion, really).
3) Doyel will shiat his pants, but. . . trick plays. If the holder is your QB, then you have fake FG options. The drop kick meant any hope of a trick play would mean your kicker IS the QB, and while that's nice to have, you'd rather have your QB practicing the passing game than drop kicks.

Mentat: Why are we wasting time talking about a Gregg Doyel article? The guy's a hack.

And apparently a whiny-crybaby-twatwaffle.