Anyone else not notice the Rutgers player laying down on the opening kick?

From the article I posted - sounds like it would have been flagged

“One of the things they put in a year or two ago was you cannot take a player and lay him down to decoy like he’s not on the field,” Lemonnier said on the ABC broadcast. “And he laid down in the end zone to blend in with the end zone so the kicking team couldn’t see him. Then he got up. He’s the guy that caught the backward pass. That’s why it’s an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. It was instituted a couple years ago because so many of the teams were doing deceptive things in relation to the color of their jerseys laying in the end zone.”
 
I hadn't noticed that. What a buzz kill to make that a penalty. I don't even think it's rational: have they also outlawed the fumblerooski? I mean, that's very deceitful. Have they outlawed a player standing just inside the out-of-bounds line, trying to blend in with other team members? Very deceitful. Heck, the read/option play is very deceitful almost every play of every game. I say if the opposing team can't count to 11 to identify how many players are on the other team, their problem.
 
I saw the guy getting up on TV after the kick but thought he might have fallen down or something. This explains it! Weeeeird.
 
I hadn't noticed that. What a buzz kill to make that a penalty. I don't even think it's rational: have they also outlawed the fumblerooski? I mean, that's very deceitful. Have they outlawed a player standing just inside the out-of-bounds line, trying to blend in with other team members? Very deceitful. Heck, the read/option play is very deceitful almost every play of every game. I say if the opposing team can't count to 11 to identify how many players are on the other team, their problem.

I think the fumblerooski and the "sleeper" (that is what we used to call it) are illegal.

We used to run the "sleeper" as our first play of the game EVERY GAME in 8th grade. We receive the kick, the return team jogs off (except one guy who stops just short of the sideline), the offense jogs on (one player short), and we line up and throw it to the wide-open guy over by the sideline.

And it was wide open, every time. And I don't think we ever completed it.

Thinking back, I don't think that was very sporting. These trick plays in lower-level sports are basically an adult coach trying to prove he is smarter than 10-12 year olds who are just learning a sport, which I don't like.

If I remember correctly, the sleeper has essentially been eliminated by a rule that says everyone on the offense needs to start inside the numbers, and they can then move wider.
 
Thinking back, I don't think that was very sporting. These trick plays in lower-level sports are basically an adult coach trying to prove he is smarter than 10-12 year olds who are just learning a sport, which I don't like.

One of my colleagues got tapped to coach youth flag football because no parent on his kid's team was willing to do it. Their practices were 30 minutes before the game. I drew this dude up a playbook that was 6 plays, option right, option left, option right with jet sweep option back the other way, option left with jet sweep option back the other way, option right with pass, option left with pass. Dude was so stoked, he identified his best player, got him at QB, practiced it up for 30 minutes, then when the game started they ran one play and the ref said "sorry bro, you can't run the quarterback unless they rush" and once the other coach realized this dude's entire playbook was option runs he stopped rushing. My colleague's team got absolutely destroyed.

Point is that while I agree with your sentiment, people effectively banning the option for 9 year old football is totally not cool.
 
I hadn't noticed that. What a buzz kill to make that a penalty. I don't even think it's rational: have they also outlawed the fumblerooski? I mean, that's very deceitful. Have they outlawed a player standing just inside the out-of-bounds line, trying to blend in with other team members? Very deceitful. Heck, the read/option play is very deceitful almost every play of every game. I say if the opposing team can't count to 11 to identify how many players are on the other team, their problem.

Iowa better hope they never ban the counter run to the short side of the field.
 
One of my colleagues got tapped to coach youth flag football because no parent on his kid's team was willing to do it. Their practices were 30 minutes before the game. I drew this dude up a playbook that was 6 plays, option right, option left, option right with jet sweep option back the other way, option left with jet sweep option back the other way, option right with pass, option left with pass. Dude was so stoked, he identified his best player, got him at QB, practiced it up for 30 minutes, then when the game started they ran one play and the ref said "sorry bro, you can't run the quarterback unless they rush" and once the other coach realized this dude's entire playbook was option runs he stopped rushing. My colleague's team got absolutely destroyed.

Point is that while I agree with your sentiment, people effectively banning the option for 9 year old football is totally not cool.

Lol. Yea, I remember that very same rule when my boys played youth football. You did the correct thing though having a small number of plays for them, which they really only needed to memorize 3 as the plays flipped sides.

Moral of the story, NEVER ask a lawyer to design your offensive plays.
 
Lol. Yea, I remember that very same rule when my boys played youth football. You did the correct thing though having a small number of plays for them, which they really only needed to memorize 3 as the plays flipped sides.

Moral of the story, NEVER ask a lawyer to design your offensive plays.
I guess forget Mike Leech then.
 
Top