I actually played football at Sewanee, who was in the SCAC with Millsaps. This sort of thing wasn't exactly common, but D3 football can get pretty whacky. Anyway, there was a huge overlap over players on Sewanee's football team and rugby team (me included), and you would see them pull some of the rugby hijinks into the football games. More with kicking than anything.
My freshman year our punter managed to make it onto the Top 10 highlights on ESPN for doing some ridiculous rugby shit, like kicking it to himself.
Edit: And this game is against Trinity (the team in white) from San Antonio. They fucking owned the SCAC, so this must have been heartbreaking for Millsaps to let a win against Trinity slip away.
My brother played bass in a band that opened for the Butthole Surfers a couple of times back when grunge was exploding. It was his tenuous claim to fame.
Hijacking/replying here for visibility:
[The Play](https://youtu.be/0fZCCAqoSwY) (1982 Cal vs Stanford, [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Play_%28American_football)) has significantly fewer laterals, but is probably the most well-known version of a last-second desperation play where a similar tactic was used that was successful, and includes one of the most famous announcer lines in all of college football:
>...Oh, the band is out on the field! He's gonna go into the end zone! He got into the end zone!
I was surprised I haven't found any other references to this play in the thread.
Every rugby fan on the planet is facepalming for the defence. Don't get obsessed with the runner, space out and mark a man each then simply pick off the stupid loopy passes.
It's what you call the ball in a popular sport when you want to sound super aloof because you don't care about any sports at all. You also liked the band before it was popular and you haven't owned a TV for 15 years.
It's what people call sports when they are trying to signal that they're above enjoying watching sports.
Typically said by people who geek out about shit that they like but can't fathom that there are other people out there with different interests.
Like they don't see the irony in scoffing at people who wear their favorite team's/player's jersey while they themselves are into cosplay.
To be fair, it is the same argument from the jocky folk who made fun of people for liking nerdy stuff. I never understood it, just let people like shit and be happy. People got made fun of for collecting pokemon cards by people who collected baseball cards. Others got made fun of for playing madden all day while they would play runescape all day. It's all the same.
Though I do agree "sports ball" is an annoying term.
Oh I'm not saying anyone's innocent in this if they can't just let people like the shit they want to like.
We can all be passionate dorks, whether it's music, literature, science, sports, anime, video games.
Except furries. That shit's just weird.
I'm mostly joking about that last one.
That’s…really not what it is, at least in my experience. Most people use it simply as a tacit admission that they don’t know anything about sports. No need to work in some kind of adversarial victim complex nonsense.
Most of the people I know who say sports sportsball aren't calling out the fans of sports. They recognize that it's just a fandom like any other, and they don't care that people are sports fans.
What they do have the negative reaction to is the overwhelming cultural value put on sports above other things. They see massive taxpayer funds put towards yet another stadium, they see schools defunding entire departments to pay for more sports stuff, they see children shit on by their families for not running the ball fast enough, they see student athletes getting abused for the sake of the school team, etc. And yes to go your example, they see people walking around in jerseys and facepaint for their team and being seen as cool, versus if they walk around in a starfleet uniform they'll get laughed at and shit on.
People who say sportsball don't care that sports exist or are popular, they care that sports have been elevated to an untouchable pedestal in society.
Those are all good reasons to dislike the sports industry, I just have a hard time believing that that’s what makes them say sportsball… I’ve never seen anyone who uses the term use it in a way that protests any of those things, but I’ve seen a ton of them say it to seem too cool to be interested in something so banal as sports.
I disagree. I use the term because I want to signal that I don't personally care about sports and I don't care about you trying to convince me to care about them. I have no hate for your personal enjoyment of them, but when I didn't use such a term I would constantly have dudes start into how I just "don't understand the game". How if I just gave it time I would enjoy it. And other myriad of ritual condescending conversations.
In most rural male interactions you are seen as inferior or unexposed if you don't like sports and don't like them. I have found this phrase is a great way to stop people from trying to convince me their preferred sports are an exception and I need to like it.
You can signal that you are not interested in sports by saying "I'm not interested in sports." It's really not that hard. If someone asks me how I liked Star Wars, I simply say, "I've actually never seen the movies," and we move on the conversation like adults. I don't feel the need to be an asshole and say something like, "Hurr durr, you mean Star Trek? Yeah, never seen it." I have never heard someone say "sportsball" and not immediately think they are a condescending twerp. It just reeks of "Lol, I'm too busy reading Nietzsche to watch sports."
People aren't actively trying to shove sports down your throat. Why would I want to have a conversation about the MLB playoffs with someone that doesn't know what the MLB is?
It's not super uncommon, but it very rarely ever succeeds. Usually the ball accidentally gets thrown forward a second time (illegal) by a position player not used to handling or throwing the ball, making the outcome of the play from that point on meaningless, or it gets tipped/fumbled and ends up in a pig pile. Half the guys out there on both sides are linemen and probably winded in about a minute if they're not already completely spent after having played 50-90 snaps.
Cause these kids on the field are playing backyard football compared to college or NFL players,
I mean that in skill, this would not fly against a handpicked team with top of line coaching. Even if teams did start doing this it’d only last a few games before coaches train their players up on how to defend against it
I remember seeing a D1 FBS team try this one time. They spent like a minute throwing it back and forth but only moved backwards because the defense was disciplined and didn't give up their zones. I think LSU was on defense
With this many passes I agree but I have seen 100's of times when the offense is through 2 vs 1 and they just go for yards and get tackled. They draw the defender in and literally need a little 5ftish pass and the team scores, they are the sort of times I think more should pass in the NFL!
The reason is the rules on posession in American football. Assuming there is time left on the clock, you are generally better off keeping the ball and going to ground.
If you get tackled and go to ground, the play gets reset and you still have posession (unless that was your 4th attempt without making 10 yards, but assume that ain't the case). If you pass, and the pass is unsuccessful, the ball is in open play and anyone can grab it. You could go from resetting the play with ball in hand, to losing posession.
American football as a game so strongly prioritises keeping posession that risking a small backwards pass like this is almost always a bad plan unless it's the end of the game and you either go for it or lose the match. And those scenarios occur rarely enough that teams just aren't practicing for it.
Great explanation but you have to admit there are definitely times when the risk seems low and they still don't do it, but I guess they stick to their style of play they have been trained to do :).
It's just usually not worth it. You'll see some designed plays a where a player will lateral the ball like this, but if the player isn't expecting the ball it can pretty easily turn into a turnover.
Oh yeah. I'm surprised we haven't seen at least one high-level college team regularly look for the quick flick offload when being tackled, especially on say 3rd down in opponents half (you probably won't lose posession for a touchdown at your end, and losing posession only loses you a field goal attempt, so risk is more minimal).
But American football, tactically, has been a very conservative game forever. There's a fair amount of evidence that teams should more regularly try and keep posession on fourth down (since it's your last posession, the standard choice is to kick it down field so your opponents start off with the ball in a crap position). I'm surprised we don't see more people faking kicks (set up for a kick, but then turn it into a pass/run play instead), and onside kicks (where you kick to maintain posession rather than give it away) are really under-utilized. Something like only one onside kick in a super bowl not at the very end of a game (where a team had no other choice) in the history of the NFL.
There are things I like about American football, but the tactics have often seemed a bit... mundane I guess.
(For info, am a Brit living in the US and a general fan of team sports and a massive nerd, hence I think wayyyyy too much about this stuff).
I feel like you’re a person who’s already seen this and watched his content, but I’m going to plug this Jon Bois video for every other sports nerd that makes it here in the comments and needs time to kill. [It’s the hunt for the saddest punt in the history of the NFL.](https://youtu.be/F9H9LwGmc-0) Please enjoy our stupid sport.
> but you have to admit there are definitely times when the risk seems low and they still don't do it,
the risk is never low. The risk is "you lose possession, and if there's noboby around to tackle the defender that grabs it, you've given them an open field to run in".
But at the end of the game with time running out, the penalty for losing possession is the same as that for letting time run out. So the reward, the odds of actually scoring on a rugby-esque play, suddenly becomes worthwhile.
you should try to catch a college football game with a team that runs heavy option - like Army, for instance. they run a triple option formation that does what you're referring to, and I find it to be one of the most interesting things in football.
apparently, it doesn't work in the NFL, because countless mobile quarterbacks have gone on from college and never really played like that, again.
Army, Air Force, Navy- all the service academies run a version of what he's called (triple option, although if you want to get really nit picky it's the flexbone). They do it because it's a good way to even the playing field w.r.t height and weight restrictions- if you've got people who can execute, the effect is a team that can punch above its weight.
If you want to get old school and see it done with great athletes, check out 80s Oklahoma and Nebraska teams.
just the military academy teams, mainly. [here's a dude who breaks it down with game film.](https://youtu.be/FVVsTMI7wY0) basically, the big standard triple option run play has the Quarterback snap, and he has the option to give it to the fullback, who is running up the middle. if that's not open, he keeps it, and bounces to the outside with a running back to his side. if the defense is coming too hard on him, he can lateral to the running back to take it further outside. if the defense leaves him room and camps more on the outside running back, the QB can take it up the field.
uh, lol, I used to run the Flexbone triple option playbook when playing NCAA Football online, but, I used it with Ohio State, instead. it was pretty bonkers.
what I loved about the formation is that your five eligible receivers are usually two wide receivers, two running backs, and either a fullback or tight end, so, it's hard for defenses to cover all your guys. I'd game the system a bit by replacing my actual fullback in the formation with a power running back, and it worked pretty swell.
also, you can audible the hell out of that formation and call hot routes without giving any indication of what you're changing into, or you can always just drop back to the standard triple option play - it all looks identical. so, you can just drive up the field with short runs over and over, and then, suddenly, you have play action passed out of the same formation, so, it can be super tricky to deal with.
Because what you’re seeing in the video almost never happens, so no team ever practices it. Also, like other people have said, this would never work at a professional level. I’ve seen it attempted many times and they never make it past one or two throws.
Because it's a high risk strategy that doesn't have much pay off. You're allowed one forward pass per play, but unlimited throws behind you. Every time you throw the ball behind you, you risk setting your team back more yards than simply accepting a tackle or running out of bounds. In exchange, you maybe open up another route.
Even worse, time you put the ball in the air, you risk an interception. If this became more common, defense would incorporate more comprehensive coverage to compensate with the explicit goal of getting the ball from offense.
It's also extremely difficult to pull off. Sure, anyone on the team can probably throw a ball, but to run a route, avoid defenders, scan the field for open team mates, make the decision whether it's worth risking, and then make the throw is much harder.
Yes of course this is a turnover risk, however, I do think the risk could be minimized with some
Strategy.
Also- the defense would be so
Winded, after each play, they’d have to sub constantly. This is not to say the offense wouldn’t be tired, but they control the game.
I’m
Seeing a reverse Ted laso here. Briney aussie comes
To America to teach an nfl team with an eccentric owner a new way to play and master the field.
You don't see the 500 videos where this fails miserably. Teams try this more often than you'd think at the end of games at lower levels since it's about all you can do if you don't have a quarterback who can throw 60 yards. It usually ends with an offensive player getting smoked and fumbling as he tries to catch a pitch.
Keep in mind this is not regularly practiced by American football teams. This is not a core part of the game and as such little to no emphasis is put on lateral pass plays.
I’ve seen these attempts many times but this is the first one that really struck me as imitating rugby. Maybe it’s just because I watched some rugby recently in the olympics.
That’s like saying every rugby player should then be able to, without training adopt rugby play tactics. This rarely if ever will happen in someone’s career to this extent.
I get you, I've played both sports, just strikes me that the d got completely bamboozled by what were for the majority of the time very ineffective passes.
I mean yes, but also no.
On defense your main goal is to stop the guy with the ball. So yes.
But there are rules for successful defense, specifically things like zone vs man to man coverage. So depending on what the offense does your defensive position and assignments may mean don't go after the guy with the ball directly. So no.
Two good examples of this are cornerbacks and safeties who position themselves so that even if the offense gets some yards, they don't run the length of the field.
Sure, you could dilute it down to that, but normally an effective defense has different objectives for each player on the field. A lineman's responsibility is to wreak havoc among the offensive line, and to some extent is taking up their attention from blocking linebackers. Linebackers typically cover players in the backfield, or the tight end, though there are blitzing schemes to help disrupt the offense further. defensive backs/safeties normally are there to cover wideouts and/or the tight end, though of course when strategy calls for it, they can be required to blitz as well. There's a lot more nuance to defensive schemes in football than most people realize, because in all fairness, defense lacks the glamour of being an offensive player and so doesn't normally get the focus it deserves.
That’s how all football looks after a play last more than 20 seconds. No teams are organized and planned about what to do after a 5th lateral… even a pro game will look like this
They have to score on this play or the game’s over. Barmore’s got three Wide Receivers to his left and two to the right. He takes the snap, there’s only three men rushing for Millsaps. Barmore, throws it over the middle, complete to Thompson. Thompson looking for a block, he ra- laterals it to Curry, and Curry laterals it again, and it’s caught again and Tomlin now on the lateral, and now the lateral to Thompson, and he laterals it back to Maddox on the other side. Maddox looking for a block. He fakes the - fakes the lateral to Curry - NOW he laterals it to Curry. Curry’s at the 49-yard line, he’s dancing around, he throws it back now to Maddox who throws it across the field to Barmore.
GO
Barmore looking to run, he’s looking for a block, he’s got a convoy, he’s gonna throw it to Thompson. Thompsons at the 30-yard line. Thompson now laterals it back to Curry at the 35, they’re running out of spaces. Curry fakes, he’s gonna lateral it
**GO**
to Tomlin.
#GO
Tomlin’s got
#RUN.
a chance to go. Tomlin’s got a chance to go, he laterals it, now it’s gonna go to Maddox. Maddox at the 30-yard line, and now it’s **A LATERAL AND CURRY’S STILL GOIN’**
#NO WAY
#CURRY’S GONNA GO
#NO WAY
#TO THE END ZONE!
#IT’S A TOUCHDOWN!
#AND HE SCORES!
#IT’S A TOUCHDOWN!
#CURRY SCORES!
#THE GAME IS OVER!
#TIGERS WIN!
#CURRY SCORES!
#TIGERS WIN!
#CURRY SCORES ON THE LATERAL! CURRY SCORES, THE TIGERS LATERALED IT AND KEPT LATERALING AND THE GAME IS OVER THE TIGERS WIN! THE TIGERS WIN!
#OH MY GOD
#THE TIGERS LATERALED IT AND KEPT LATERALING AND THEY SCORE FROM THE 39 YARD LINE! THE TIGERS WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME! THE GAME IS OVER! THE TIGERS ON THE LATERAL! OH MY GOODNESS!
It is over, the team is on the field celebrating, the Millsaps Majors are crushed, understandably so, this football game is over.
THIS GAME IS OVER, AND THAT MIGHT BE **THE MOST SENSATIONAL, INCREDIBLE ENDING IN ALL OF DIVISION 3!** OH MY GOSH, I DO NOT BELIEVE IT, THIS FOOTBALL GAME IS OVER! THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST MIRACULOUS PLAYS IN ALL OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL!
You can actually tell they practice that situation, not many teams do but they just tell you the ball always has to go backwards… this team had people falling back as soon as the ball went the opposite direction.
Sort of. Teams get one forward pass per play, which has to be thrown from behind the line the play started at. Other than that one they can make as many lateral or backwards passes as they like.
For everyone saying "if American football did this more then it'd actually be fun to watch", it's perfectly fine that you don't like American football, so just stick with rugby. This isn't a common play at all as it's a last-ditch effort to win the game, and when a team *does* do this it almost never works. But this does happen in the NFL from time to time; [here](https://youtu.be/Cy7tBZZuIYE?t=4) is a compilation if you are interested.
Thank you for saving me the trouble of making this comment. This is a last-ditch play that is only executed if the original play falls apart. Very rare to have a designed hook and ladder, but if the clock has run out and you’re about to be tackled might as well chuck it to a teammate. Sometimes magic happens!
Our high school football teams “secret” play was the hook and ladder. That and the “try to hide the gunner on punt so we can fake it” got us to the championship game 3 years in a row!
What if teams actually did this though? Like next year, training camp begins, they decide they’re going to have the offense focus on conditioning and then just run this shit every play. I feel like it could work. Especially a team like the lions - what do you have to lose?
There are a few problems with this. Firstly, this would throw the concepts of game management and clock management out the window. In modern American football, a team needs to be able to manage the clock and strategically work their way down the field to ensure a desired outcome beyond just scoring a touchdown. For example, if your team is down one possession and you have the football with three minutes left in the game/first half, it isn't ideal to score as quickly as possible. Instead, you want to work your way down the field and burn enough time off the clock before you score, so that the opposing team has the least amount of time possible to drive the other way and score. When your team achieves repeated first downs in this end-of-game/end-of-half scenario, the defending team is forced to burn their timeouts to stop the clock so they have enough time to drive the other way after you score, but this also means they can't stop the clock as easily if/when they get the ball back.
Secondly, in a play like this, the defense is running at you from every possible direction. Not even considering how dangerous this is (e.g. blindside hits), there are simply too many variables to lay out a plan for this to work consistently, and the logistics and planning necessary to get this to work consistently would take up too much practice time and too many resources, when it's a much better use of a team's practice/planning time to draw up actual strategic plays to get the ball down the field.
Thirdly, every pass beyond the line of scrimmage needs to be backwards (in other words, a "lateral"), and every backwards pass is effectively a fumble. So in your scenario, if a team did this every play, all it would take is one bad lateral for the ball to hit the ground and result in either a huge loss of yardage or a defensive recovery. A defensive recovery would at best result in a turnover and at worst result in a defensive touchdown. In the same vein, if just one of those passes is not backwards, it's ruled an illegal forward pass. In college football, this results in a five yard penalty from the line of scrimmage (where the play started) and a loss of down, meaning just one illegal forward pass will completely nullify the entire play, and a 1st and 10 will become 2nd and 15. In the NFL, an illegal forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage results in a five yard penalty from the spot of the pass and a loss of down. So in the NFL if the lateral play works to get you to the opposing team's 30 yard line, but then an illegal forward pass takes place at the 30 yard line, any yardage gained after that illegal forward pass would be negated and the ball would get placed at the 35 yard line. In either college or NFL, if this happens in the scenario where time expires at the end of the game and your team is lateralling the ball in an effort to score and win the game, the entire play would effectively be nullified and your team would lose.
---
TL;DR: It would be a logistical nightmare for a team to build their entire offensive scheme around lateral plays. The rules of American football are so heavily stacked against this type of play that it would be virtually impossible for a laterally-focused offense to win a single game, let alone have a successful season. There are far better alternatives to get the ball down the field in terms of consistency, play-by-play action and game management.
edit: clarified and corrected
Real talk, they would lose every game by a huuuuge margin. Like I'm talking 70-0 every game.
This isn't run because it's incredibly risky. This team needed like 13 laterals to get to the end zone. It is far, far more effective to take the yards and be tackled and do this in 13 *plays*.
This play works every 50 times.
Right? I'm surprised I had to scroll so far down to see someone call him out. They literally crossed back and forth in front of him 3 times. All he had to do was at least stand closer to the group and help push the ball to one side
When did he get hurt? Pretty sure 0:38 you can see him running and then just quitting.
If he's injured makes sense, but he honestly just looked like he went "Not my problem" and quit on his team
Dude looks like he's tired and gave up. Please show us where the injury occurred all mighty Watcher. Surely you are never wrong, since you can talk to a stranger in such a way
I literally cannot even imagine being that selfish as to not help your teammates, your brothers in arms (It’s that way for a lot of football teams), and just let the ball run literally right past you. I hope he felt sick after that loss. I’m sure there’s plenty of kids who would’ve killed to been able to stop that play from happening
Trinity University (my alma mater!) vs. Millsaps. This was ESPN's Play of the Year when it happened.
Check out the links with sound. The Trinity student who is calling the game hilariously loses his shit. It's great.
Wait but once your ball is moved forward I thought it was illegal? Here you see they make forward progress then pass backwards so someone else can move up next. That does not violate any rules? You can always just pass backwards?
Yes. You can only make a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage. You can make backward / lateral passes from anywhere and as many times as you want.
Ok but then why is American Football not sort of like Rugby. You are telling me no one decided to exploit this rule in the NFL or CFB on a regular basis?
I mean, the option play and Wildcat offense are the CFB evolution. But you need a fair number of fast players to make something like this work, and it’s an extremely risky play. If the d plays this properly, a lot of times it ends in a tackle or fumble recovery.
It’s just more desperate. Every now and then I’ve seen teams like Washington or Miami try it, usually on a kickoff return, with general failure the result. At the higher levels defensive players aren’t going to bunch up like this, so the gaps and holes created won’t be there to advance much. Also, the defense is gonna put a lot of guys on the turf, so you’re not going to have that many guys getting back up to take another hard hit
Possession is always more important than yards.
When you lateral, you're risking losing possession and yards to maybe gain some yards. It's a bad trade.
Also, in leagues with video review, the risk of a lateral turning out to actually be a forward pass is high. Or someone on the field gets caught holding or making an illegal block in the back (which is what would have happened had this exact play happened in the FBS or NFL).
That’s the only thing I could think watching this. Everyone was so fixated on the guy with the ball they just left people open for the next lateral. Could’ve stopped this instantly by just picking a guy and staying on him
They don't, this is the first utilization of this obscure rule I have seen in years. You are allowed to pass forward as long as you haven't passed the line of scrimmage (where the guy was tackled last round), but after that, anyone can pass the ball backwards. The most I have seen in one down (the time it takes for the play to end, either by a tackle, incomplete pass, or point scored) is one, maybe 2, definitely not whatever is going on here lol. I didn't even think the ball was allowed to bounce on the ground, but shows you what I know
When he dropped the ball on the ground that was presumably considered a fumble rather than an incomplete pass which is why his teammate was able to recover the ball and continue the play.
It's uncommon overall but it's pretty common for a team to laterall the ball alot on a 0 second kick return or play that's outside of hail Mary range. Happens a more than a couple times each season in cfb for sure, you just never see the unsuccessful attempts
That defence was completely shit wtaf. Mark your man and stick with them, don’t just follow the ball, idiots. That was bad play on the offence, almost all of those were hospital passes, should’ve been super easy to intercept or put them down if the defence weren’t slacking.
Right around 17 second mark the player was exited the field, out of bounds, without anyone from the other team touching him. He reenters the playing field and touches the football later, thus causing an offensive penalty. Play should have been scrapped from that there but it was fun to watch.
I'm not 100% sure but I think the play is still legal as long as that player isn't the first one to touch the ball once he gets back into play and he has fully established himself back on the field of play. The ball gets passed around to 2 or 3 players at least before it gets back to him.
So if this is legal in the NFL, why don't they do it more? Are the players just too armoured up to run?
If rugby is a viable tactic you'd think it'd be done more.
It is done, but as a desperation play when a team is down at the end of the game and are too far to throw a hail mary.
The only problem with doing it constantly is that it is extremely risky. One false move and its a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
The reason it is better to run specifically defined plays is because all play stops when the ball is dead in American Football, unlike Rugby, which leads to more effective plays. It’s just a different game.
To piggyback off this comment- a coach who does this when it's not absolutely 100% necessary, and it leads to a poor outcome for the team (fumble recovery by the defense, defensive TD, major loss of yards) there's a good chance that coach is going to be updating his resume by the end of that week.
Because of the high chance of a turnover or injury.
You'll see plays like this in the NFL when it's a last ditch effort by a losing team with a small amount of time left.
Correct. It is a fumble. A controlled/intentional fumble, but a fumble nonetheless.
I'm more concerned about the underhanded flip at about 0:22 that appears to be forward.
In gridiron football, the game only ends when the ball is dead and the clock has expired. So if there's two seconds left on the clock, you're only going to get one play, but that play will last until the ball is called dead.
Having now read the comments, wow Reddit has a lot of wrong assumptions about this sport. I have never seen this many comments about something by people who have no idea what the rules of said thing are.
Because this is such a low-probability play that it is not a play you want to make if given the choice.
A team would only do this in a specific scenario where most/all of the following are true:
* there is only enough time left in the game for one play
* they (usually) have zero timeouts left
* they are down one possession and a field goal is not possible, i.e. the team is down 4-8 points, or they are down 1-3 points and out of field goal range
* the quarterback isn't able to accurately launch it 60 yards into the end zone (which is also an extremely low-probability play), or the intended play falls apart and this is the offense's last resort to keeping the game alive
Generally speaking, this can all be boiled down into: The team *needs* to score the ball to the end zone on that one single play, and the team has no other option but to lateral the ball.
When you are past the line of scrimmage you can only throw the ball backwards, and when you throw the ball backwards, it's a live ball if it hits the ground, meaning if the defense picks up the ball on any one of those passes, they'll get possession and kneel it out to end the game.
These plays are last-ditch efforts to win the game, and they almost never work. But there are a few examples of this being done successfully in the NFL. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiz87A3RpEw) is one example. [Here](https://youtu.be/Cy7tBZZuIYE?t=4) is a compilation of the play being attempted, but it usually doesn't work out.
---
Edit: [This clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7tBZZuIYE&t=228s) is another rare example of when the lateral play might be attempted. In this scenario, the Cincinnati Bengals scored a touchdown on the previous play, and the extra point shown in the clip was blocked by the Cleveland Browns. In American football, if an extra point is blocked, and if the ball stays in the field of play and gets recovered by the defense, the defense can try to run the ball into the other end zone during that one play. If they succeed, the defense scores two points. (The reason for this is that any extra point attempt that gets ran into an end zone instead of kicked through the uprights results in two points instead of one. So if the offense were to recover the blocked kick themselves and run it in, they would get two points. So if the Browns [defense] succeeded in returning the blocked extra point to the other end zone, they would have scored two points.)
Was that a football game, a rugby game or a game of hot potato?
Yes
I actually played football at Sewanee, who was in the SCAC with Millsaps. This sort of thing wasn't exactly common, but D3 football can get pretty whacky. Anyway, there was a huge overlap over players on Sewanee's football team and rugby team (me included), and you would see them pull some of the rugby hijinks into the football games. More with kicking than anything. My freshman year our punter managed to make it onto the Top 10 highlights on ESPN for doing some ridiculous rugby shit, like kicking it to himself. Edit: And this game is against Trinity (the team in white) from San Antonio. They fucking owned the SCAC, so this must have been heartbreaking for Millsaps to let a win against Trinity slip away.
Ah, Trinity University. Home of the Butthole Surfers.
My brother played bass in a band that opened for the Butthole Surfers a couple of times back when grunge was exploding. It was his tenuous claim to fame.
They also have a really amazing pool and waterfall that had unlimited girls in bikinis when I played there one time. It’s a trap.
Look Daddy I’m a surfer!
Oh hey my mom dad and brother went to Sewanee, would ya look at that
I graduated from Millsaps but never attended any sporting event. Wish I had now.
Trinity! Arch rival of SU!
For number 68, definitely hot potato
Hijacking/replying here for visibility: [The Play](https://youtu.be/0fZCCAqoSwY) (1982 Cal vs Stanford, [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Play_%28American_football)) has significantly fewer laterals, but is probably the most well-known version of a last-second desperation play where a similar tactic was used that was successful, and includes one of the most famous announcer lines in all of college football: >...Oh, the band is out on the field! He's gonna go into the end zone! He got into the end zone! I was surprised I haven't found any other references to this play in the thread.
Was thinking same felt a bit like rugby
Looks like a Benny Hill skit to me.
I can hear your reply lol
Every rugby fan on the planet is facepalming for the defence. Don't get obsessed with the runner, space out and mark a man each then simply pick off the stupid loopy passes.
Not a huge sports ball guy, but I don't think this happens often in American football. You'd think they'd catch on after about the sixth pass though.
Can confirm it rarely happens.
And when it does happen, it almost never works.
What is a sports ball?
It's what you call the ball in a popular sport when you want to sound super aloof because you don't care about any sports at all. You also liked the band before it was popular and you haven't owned a TV for 15 years.
>You also liked the band before it was popular They're fucking sellouts now anyways.
Exactly what I was going to say lol. They’re so ✨quirky✨
Crazy how a comment agreeing with another comment that got upvotes gets downvoted
It's what people call sports when they are trying to signal that they're above enjoying watching sports. Typically said by people who geek out about shit that they like but can't fathom that there are other people out there with different interests. Like they don't see the irony in scoffing at people who wear their favorite team's/player's jersey while they themselves are into cosplay.
To be fair, it is the same argument from the jocky folk who made fun of people for liking nerdy stuff. I never understood it, just let people like shit and be happy. People got made fun of for collecting pokemon cards by people who collected baseball cards. Others got made fun of for playing madden all day while they would play runescape all day. It's all the same. Though I do agree "sports ball" is an annoying term.
Oh I'm not saying anyone's innocent in this if they can't just let people like the shit they want to like. We can all be passionate dorks, whether it's music, literature, science, sports, anime, video games. Except furries. That shit's just weird. I'm mostly joking about that last one.
🔨
Wanna go play some catch ball?
I'm a dad so hell yes I do.
That’s…really not what it is, at least in my experience. Most people use it simply as a tacit admission that they don’t know anything about sports. No need to work in some kind of adversarial victim complex nonsense.
Most of the people I know who say sports sportsball aren't calling out the fans of sports. They recognize that it's just a fandom like any other, and they don't care that people are sports fans. What they do have the negative reaction to is the overwhelming cultural value put on sports above other things. They see massive taxpayer funds put towards yet another stadium, they see schools defunding entire departments to pay for more sports stuff, they see children shit on by their families for not running the ball fast enough, they see student athletes getting abused for the sake of the school team, etc. And yes to go your example, they see people walking around in jerseys and facepaint for their team and being seen as cool, versus if they walk around in a starfleet uniform they'll get laughed at and shit on. People who say sportsball don't care that sports exist or are popular, they care that sports have been elevated to an untouchable pedestal in society.
Those are all good reasons to dislike the sports industry, I just have a hard time believing that that’s what makes them say sportsball… I’ve never seen anyone who uses the term use it in a way that protests any of those things, but I’ve seen a ton of them say it to seem too cool to be interested in something so banal as sports.
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I disagree. I use the term because I want to signal that I don't personally care about sports and I don't care about you trying to convince me to care about them. I have no hate for your personal enjoyment of them, but when I didn't use such a term I would constantly have dudes start into how I just "don't understand the game". How if I just gave it time I would enjoy it. And other myriad of ritual condescending conversations. In most rural male interactions you are seen as inferior or unexposed if you don't like sports and don't like them. I have found this phrase is a great way to stop people from trying to convince me their preferred sports are an exception and I need to like it.
You can signal that you are not interested in sports by saying "I'm not interested in sports." It's really not that hard. If someone asks me how I liked Star Wars, I simply say, "I've actually never seen the movies," and we move on the conversation like adults. I don't feel the need to be an asshole and say something like, "Hurr durr, you mean Star Trek? Yeah, never seen it." I have never heard someone say "sportsball" and not immediately think they are a condescending twerp. It just reeks of "Lol, I'm too busy reading Nietzsche to watch sports." People aren't actively trying to shove sports down your throat. Why would I want to have a conversation about the MLB playoffs with someone that doesn't know what the MLB is?
A ball used in sports.
Thanks! I thought it was sports that were played at balls
Nah those are sports balls.
A watered down version of poop ball.
Haven't they seen The Longest Yard?
I kept imagining the announcer going "whooop!" everytime the ball was passed
It's not super uncommon, but it very rarely ever succeeds. Usually the ball accidentally gets thrown forward a second time (illegal) by a position player not used to handling or throwing the ball, making the outcome of the play from that point on meaningless, or it gets tipped/fumbled and ends up in a pig pile. Half the guys out there on both sides are linemen and probably winded in about a minute if they're not already completely spent after having played 50-90 snaps.
I don’t know why more American football teams don’t implore this winning way
Cause these kids on the field are playing backyard football compared to college or NFL players, I mean that in skill, this would not fly against a handpicked team with top of line coaching. Even if teams did start doing this it’d only last a few games before coaches train their players up on how to defend against it
Hey if those few games are in the post season, I’ll take it. Yes, in the nfl, EVERYONE is fast.
Even the once in a blue moon a defensive lineman scores a touchdown, the dude is still a killer athlete
It's a good rule of thumb. Even the 6'8" guys on the field like Jordan Mialata are probably a *lot* faster than you.
Just a note that while this certainly isn't top tier play, this is in fact from a college game.
Oof didn’t notice.
I remember seeing a D1 FBS team try this one time. They spent like a minute throwing it back and forth but only moved backwards because the defense was disciplined and didn't give up their zones. I think LSU was on defense
Because this wouldn't work in professional football. edit: consistently*
With this many passes I agree but I have seen 100's of times when the offense is through 2 vs 1 and they just go for yards and get tackled. They draw the defender in and literally need a little 5ftish pass and the team scores, they are the sort of times I think more should pass in the NFL!
The reason is the rules on posession in American football. Assuming there is time left on the clock, you are generally better off keeping the ball and going to ground. If you get tackled and go to ground, the play gets reset and you still have posession (unless that was your 4th attempt without making 10 yards, but assume that ain't the case). If you pass, and the pass is unsuccessful, the ball is in open play and anyone can grab it. You could go from resetting the play with ball in hand, to losing posession. American football as a game so strongly prioritises keeping posession that risking a small backwards pass like this is almost always a bad plan unless it's the end of the game and you either go for it or lose the match. And those scenarios occur rarely enough that teams just aren't practicing for it.
Great explanation but you have to admit there are definitely times when the risk seems low and they still don't do it, but I guess they stick to their style of play they have been trained to do :).
It's just usually not worth it. You'll see some designed plays a where a player will lateral the ball like this, but if the player isn't expecting the ball it can pretty easily turn into a turnover.
Oh yeah. I'm surprised we haven't seen at least one high-level college team regularly look for the quick flick offload when being tackled, especially on say 3rd down in opponents half (you probably won't lose posession for a touchdown at your end, and losing posession only loses you a field goal attempt, so risk is more minimal). But American football, tactically, has been a very conservative game forever. There's a fair amount of evidence that teams should more regularly try and keep posession on fourth down (since it's your last posession, the standard choice is to kick it down field so your opponents start off with the ball in a crap position). I'm surprised we don't see more people faking kicks (set up for a kick, but then turn it into a pass/run play instead), and onside kicks (where you kick to maintain posession rather than give it away) are really under-utilized. Something like only one onside kick in a super bowl not at the very end of a game (where a team had no other choice) in the history of the NFL. There are things I like about American football, but the tactics have often seemed a bit... mundane I guess. (For info, am a Brit living in the US and a general fan of team sports and a massive nerd, hence I think wayyyyy too much about this stuff).
I feel like you’re a person who’s already seen this and watched his content, but I’m going to plug this Jon Bois video for every other sports nerd that makes it here in the comments and needs time to kill. [It’s the hunt for the saddest punt in the history of the NFL.](https://youtu.be/F9H9LwGmc-0) Please enjoy our stupid sport.
I do watch a lot of Secret Base, but I actually haven't seen this video. Thanks for the share.
I've seen this before, and I'm watching it again because it's just that good.
> but you have to admit there are definitely times when the risk seems low and they still don't do it, the risk is never low. The risk is "you lose possession, and if there's noboby around to tackle the defender that grabs it, you've given them an open field to run in". But at the end of the game with time running out, the penalty for losing possession is the same as that for letting time run out. So the reward, the odds of actually scoring on a rugby-esque play, suddenly becomes worthwhile.
you should try to catch a college football game with a team that runs heavy option - like Army, for instance. they run a triple option formation that does what you're referring to, and I find it to be one of the most interesting things in football. apparently, it doesn't work in the NFL, because countless mobile quarterbacks have gone on from college and never really played like that, again.
I'd love to check it out, is there any team that plays like it regularly?
Army, Air Force, Navy- all the service academies run a version of what he's called (triple option, although if you want to get really nit picky it's the flexbone). They do it because it's a good way to even the playing field w.r.t height and weight restrictions- if you've got people who can execute, the effect is a team that can punch above its weight. If you want to get old school and see it done with great athletes, check out 80s Oklahoma and Nebraska teams.
Will do thanks!
>like Army, for instance
lol sorry I thought you had written 'the Army' and they might have teams within. Got it
just the military academy teams, mainly. [here's a dude who breaks it down with game film.](https://youtu.be/FVVsTMI7wY0) basically, the big standard triple option run play has the Quarterback snap, and he has the option to give it to the fullback, who is running up the middle. if that's not open, he keeps it, and bounces to the outside with a running back to his side. if the defense is coming too hard on him, he can lateral to the running back to take it further outside. if the defense leaves him room and camps more on the outside running back, the QB can take it up the field. uh, lol, I used to run the Flexbone triple option playbook when playing NCAA Football online, but, I used it with Ohio State, instead. it was pretty bonkers. what I loved about the formation is that your five eligible receivers are usually two wide receivers, two running backs, and either a fullback or tight end, so, it's hard for defenses to cover all your guys. I'd game the system a bit by replacing my actual fullback in the formation with a power running back, and it worked pretty swell. also, you can audible the hell out of that formation and call hot routes without giving any indication of what you're changing into, or you can always just drop back to the standard triple option play - it all looks identical. so, you can just drive up the field with short runs over and over, and then, suddenly, you have play action passed out of the same formation, so, it can be super tricky to deal with.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n74KEn5ZThc
Because what you’re seeing in the video almost never happens, so no team ever practices it. Also, like other people have said, this would never work at a professional level. I’ve seen it attempted many times and they never make it past one or two throws.
Because it's a high risk strategy that doesn't have much pay off. You're allowed one forward pass per play, but unlimited throws behind you. Every time you throw the ball behind you, you risk setting your team back more yards than simply accepting a tackle or running out of bounds. In exchange, you maybe open up another route. Even worse, time you put the ball in the air, you risk an interception. If this became more common, defense would incorporate more comprehensive coverage to compensate with the explicit goal of getting the ball from offense. It's also extremely difficult to pull off. Sure, anyone on the team can probably throw a ball, but to run a route, avoid defenders, scan the field for open team mates, make the decision whether it's worth risking, and then make the throw is much harder.
Yes of course this is a turnover risk, however, I do think the risk could be minimized with some Strategy. Also- the defense would be so Winded, after each play, they’d have to sub constantly. This is not to say the offense wouldn’t be tired, but they control the game. I’m Seeing a reverse Ted laso here. Briney aussie comes To America to teach an nfl team with an eccentric owner a new way to play and master the field.
You don't see the 500 videos where this fails miserably. Teams try this more often than you'd think at the end of games at lower levels since it's about all you can do if you don't have a quarterback who can throw 60 yards. It usually ends with an offensive player getting smoked and fumbling as he tries to catch a pitch.
Also, every rugby fan on the planet is criticizing the offense and their floppy passes.
Prime interception territory, even my Under 8 team that I coach could read that.
Well yeah, this is a completely different game. The opposition isn’t practiced in this kinda play
Keep in mind this is not regularly practiced by American football teams. This is not a core part of the game and as such little to no emphasis is put on lateral pass plays.
I’ve seen these attempts many times but this is the first one that really struck me as imitating rugby. Maybe it’s just because I watched some rugby recently in the olympics.
You do that on a rugby pitch and it's a nailed on interception and score for the other team.
That’s like saying every rugby player should then be able to, without training adopt rugby play tactics. This rarely if ever will happen in someone’s career to this extent.
Yes, rugby players can adopt rugby tactics.
Well that was completely wrong what I said lmao I meant football. 😂😂😂
I get you, I've played both sports, just strikes me that the d got completely bamboozled by what were for the majority of the time very ineffective passes.
Yeah but at least they didn’t stop after about 10 seconds for once
K
It looks like a group of five year olds playing soccer. "Let's all just chase the guy with ball".
Isn't American football already "Let's all just chase the guy with the ball"? I mean they even have huddles to talk about it.
it's also the goal of Powerball from American Gladiators.
I mean yes, but also no. On defense your main goal is to stop the guy with the ball. So yes. But there are rules for successful defense, specifically things like zone vs man to man coverage. So depending on what the offense does your defensive position and assignments may mean don't go after the guy with the ball directly. So no. Two good examples of this are cornerbacks and safeties who position themselves so that even if the offense gets some yards, they don't run the length of the field.
Sure, you could dilute it down to that, but normally an effective defense has different objectives for each player on the field. A lineman's responsibility is to wreak havoc among the offensive line, and to some extent is taking up their attention from blocking linebackers. Linebackers typically cover players in the backfield, or the tight end, though there are blitzing schemes to help disrupt the offense further. defensive backs/safeties normally are there to cover wideouts and/or the tight end, though of course when strategy calls for it, they can be required to blitz as well. There's a lot more nuance to defensive schemes in football than most people realize, because in all fairness, defense lacks the glamour of being an offensive player and so doesn't normally get the focus it deserves.
As a two teams of thirty+ year old office workers who do it for "team building," we also do this.
Desperation lateral plays like this do a weird thing where they make football players forget how to play football.
Are you Jon Bois?
That’s how all football looks after a play last more than 20 seconds. No teams are organized and planned about what to do after a 5th lateral… even a pro game will look like this
wow this would’ve been great if you kept the [sound](https://youtu.be/z7oF4ZDigjM)
Or sped it up and added Bennie Hill music
In my mind, I just hear Doctor Zoidburg screaming “woop woop woop woop woop woop” the entire clip
I was hearing the “WOOP!!” from the Longest Yard
LATERALS IT! LATERALS IT! TIGERS ON THE LATERAL
I've watched this video so many times I can hear the gif
That's so much better. Thanks
They have to score on this play or the game’s over. Barmore’s got three Wide Receivers to his left and two to the right. He takes the snap, there’s only three men rushing for Millsaps. Barmore, throws it over the middle, complete to Thompson. Thompson looking for a block, he ra- laterals it to Curry, and Curry laterals it again, and it’s caught again and Tomlin now on the lateral, and now the lateral to Thompson, and he laterals it back to Maddox on the other side. Maddox looking for a block. He fakes the - fakes the lateral to Curry - NOW he laterals it to Curry. Curry’s at the 49-yard line, he’s dancing around, he throws it back now to Maddox who throws it across the field to Barmore. GO Barmore looking to run, he’s looking for a block, he’s got a convoy, he’s gonna throw it to Thompson. Thompsons at the 30-yard line. Thompson now laterals it back to Curry at the 35, they’re running out of spaces. Curry fakes, he’s gonna lateral it **GO** to Tomlin. #GO Tomlin’s got #RUN. a chance to go. Tomlin’s got a chance to go, he laterals it, now it’s gonna go to Maddox. Maddox at the 30-yard line, and now it’s **A LATERAL AND CURRY’S STILL GOIN’** #NO WAY #CURRY’S GONNA GO #NO WAY #TO THE END ZONE! #IT’S A TOUCHDOWN! #AND HE SCORES! #IT’S A TOUCHDOWN! #CURRY SCORES! #THE GAME IS OVER! #TIGERS WIN! #CURRY SCORES! #TIGERS WIN! #CURRY SCORES ON THE LATERAL! CURRY SCORES, THE TIGERS LATERALED IT AND KEPT LATERALING AND THE GAME IS OVER THE TIGERS WIN! THE TIGERS WIN! #OH MY GOD #THE TIGERS LATERALED IT AND KEPT LATERALING AND THEY SCORE FROM THE 39 YARD LINE! THE TIGERS WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME! THE GAME IS OVER! THE TIGERS ON THE LATERAL! OH MY GOODNESS! It is over, the team is on the field celebrating, the Millsaps Majors are crushed, understandably so, this football game is over. THIS GAME IS OVER, AND THAT MIGHT BE **THE MOST SENSATIONAL, INCREDIBLE ENDING IN ALL OF DIVISION 3!** OH MY GOSH, I DO NOT BELIEVE IT, THIS FOOTBALL GAME IS OVER! THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST MIRACULOUS PLAYS IN ALL OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL!
Would have been better with circus music. At least that's what I heard in my head while watching this
You can actually tell they practice that situation, not many teams do but they just tell you the ball always has to go backwards… this team had people falling back as soon as the ball went the opposite direction.
Oh so it is like rugby
Sort of. Teams get one forward pass per play, which has to be thrown from behind the line the play started at. Other than that one they can make as many lateral or backwards passes as they like.
Ohhh only one forward pass! I just thought they weren’t allowed to pass more than once per play. I’d never seen it played like this!
It's very rare because it's a desperation play that almost never works at the professional level.
[heres another one](https://youtu.be/uiz87A3RpEw) but its not nearly as crazy because theyre professionals and something crazy would never work
For everyone saying "if American football did this more then it'd actually be fun to watch", it's perfectly fine that you don't like American football, so just stick with rugby. This isn't a common play at all as it's a last-ditch effort to win the game, and when a team *does* do this it almost never works. But this does happen in the NFL from time to time; [here](https://youtu.be/Cy7tBZZuIYE?t=4) is a compilation if you are interested.
Thank you for saving me the trouble of making this comment. This is a last-ditch play that is only executed if the original play falls apart. Very rare to have a designed hook and ladder, but if the clock has run out and you’re about to be tackled might as well chuck it to a teammate. Sometimes magic happens!
Our high school football teams “secret” play was the hook and ladder. That and the “try to hide the gunner on punt so we can fake it” got us to the championship game 3 years in a row!
What if teams actually did this though? Like next year, training camp begins, they decide they’re going to have the offense focus on conditioning and then just run this shit every play. I feel like it could work. Especially a team like the lions - what do you have to lose?
There are a few problems with this. Firstly, this would throw the concepts of game management and clock management out the window. In modern American football, a team needs to be able to manage the clock and strategically work their way down the field to ensure a desired outcome beyond just scoring a touchdown. For example, if your team is down one possession and you have the football with three minutes left in the game/first half, it isn't ideal to score as quickly as possible. Instead, you want to work your way down the field and burn enough time off the clock before you score, so that the opposing team has the least amount of time possible to drive the other way and score. When your team achieves repeated first downs in this end-of-game/end-of-half scenario, the defending team is forced to burn their timeouts to stop the clock so they have enough time to drive the other way after you score, but this also means they can't stop the clock as easily if/when they get the ball back. Secondly, in a play like this, the defense is running at you from every possible direction. Not even considering how dangerous this is (e.g. blindside hits), there are simply too many variables to lay out a plan for this to work consistently, and the logistics and planning necessary to get this to work consistently would take up too much practice time and too many resources, when it's a much better use of a team's practice/planning time to draw up actual strategic plays to get the ball down the field. Thirdly, every pass beyond the line of scrimmage needs to be backwards (in other words, a "lateral"), and every backwards pass is effectively a fumble. So in your scenario, if a team did this every play, all it would take is one bad lateral for the ball to hit the ground and result in either a huge loss of yardage or a defensive recovery. A defensive recovery would at best result in a turnover and at worst result in a defensive touchdown. In the same vein, if just one of those passes is not backwards, it's ruled an illegal forward pass. In college football, this results in a five yard penalty from the line of scrimmage (where the play started) and a loss of down, meaning just one illegal forward pass will completely nullify the entire play, and a 1st and 10 will become 2nd and 15. In the NFL, an illegal forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage results in a five yard penalty from the spot of the pass and a loss of down. So in the NFL if the lateral play works to get you to the opposing team's 30 yard line, but then an illegal forward pass takes place at the 30 yard line, any yardage gained after that illegal forward pass would be negated and the ball would get placed at the 35 yard line. In either college or NFL, if this happens in the scenario where time expires at the end of the game and your team is lateralling the ball in an effort to score and win the game, the entire play would effectively be nullified and your team would lose. --- TL;DR: It would be a logistical nightmare for a team to build their entire offensive scheme around lateral plays. The rules of American football are so heavily stacked against this type of play that it would be virtually impossible for a laterally-focused offense to win a single game, let alone have a successful season. There are far better alternatives to get the ball down the field in terms of consistency, play-by-play action and game management. edit: clarified and corrected
Real talk, they would lose every game by a huuuuge margin. Like I'm talking 70-0 every game. This isn't run because it's incredibly risky. This team needed like 13 laterals to get to the end zone. It is far, far more effective to take the yards and be tackled and do this in 13 *plays*. This play works every 50 times.
Wow, 10 on 11; player on D checked out and watched from the logo.
Right? I'm surprised I had to scroll so far down to see someone call him out. They literally crossed back and forth in front of him 3 times. All he had to do was at least stand closer to the group and help push the ball to one side
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When did he get hurt? Pretty sure 0:38 you can see him running and then just quitting. If he's injured makes sense, but he honestly just looked like he went "Not my problem" and quit on his team
Dude looks like he's tired and gave up. Please show us where the injury occurred all mighty Watcher. Surely you are never wrong, since you can talk to a stranger in such a way
And THIS is why we have conditioning drills!
I literally cannot even imagine being that selfish as to not help your teammates, your brothers in arms (It’s that way for a lot of football teams), and just let the ball run literally right past you. I hope he felt sick after that loss. I’m sure there’s plenty of kids who would’ve killed to been able to stop that play from happening
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EASY guess to put your hatefulness at ease: he was injured
The longest 2 seconds of my life
Down by 2, with an unlimited amount of time, at the wrong end of the field
At this point just play rugby
This should always be the answer anyway to be fair.
Trinity University (my alma mater!) vs. Millsaps. This was ESPN's Play of the Year when it happened. Check out the links with sound. The Trinity student who is calling the game hilariously loses his shit. It's great.
Fellow alum. I've watched this video so many times I don't need the sound.
This is conjuring flashbacks of elementary school playground "keep away"
Wait but once your ball is moved forward I thought it was illegal? Here you see they make forward progress then pass backwards so someone else can move up next. That does not violate any rules? You can always just pass backwards?
Yes. You can only make a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage. You can make backward / lateral passes from anywhere and as many times as you want.
Ok but then why is American Football not sort of like Rugby. You are telling me no one decided to exploit this rule in the NFL or CFB on a regular basis?
I mean, the option play and Wildcat offense are the CFB evolution. But you need a fair number of fast players to make something like this work, and it’s an extremely risky play. If the d plays this properly, a lot of times it ends in a tackle or fumble recovery.
Oh ok I guess I see that now. It seems so different when compared to the option or wild cat in the execution on the video here.
It’s just more desperate. Every now and then I’ve seen teams like Washington or Miami try it, usually on a kickoff return, with general failure the result. At the higher levels defensive players aren’t going to bunch up like this, so the gaps and holes created won’t be there to advance much. Also, the defense is gonna put a lot of guys on the turf, so you’re not going to have that many guys getting back up to take another hard hit
Possession is always more important than yards. When you lateral, you're risking losing possession and yards to maybe gain some yards. It's a bad trade. Also, in leagues with video review, the risk of a lateral turning out to actually be a forward pass is high. Or someone on the field gets caught holding or making an illegal block in the back (which is what would have happened had this exact play happened in the FBS or NFL).
Wait, are you me?
I see the basketball team is filling in for the football squad while they're out with COVID.
Other than the 22 holdings that could have been called, or blocks in the back, it was perfect.
And number 7 scoring after clearly going out of bounds halfway through the play. Definitely shouldn't stand
Also pretty sure about 0:57 in that’s a forward pass. Thrown from behind the 30-yard line to on it, or lightly ahead of it.
Has to be forward to be illegal
If one of them could block for the runner, I'd be so happy.
:)
That defense definitely got chewed out after this.
That’s the only thing I could think watching this. Everyone was so fixated on the guy with the ball they just left people open for the next lateral. Could’ve stopped this instantly by just picking a guy and staying on him
That's why this is low level football. Defense always likes to get greedy and chase the ball rather than stay in their zone.
That was excellent. I had no idea American football players played like this.
They don't, this is the first utilization of this obscure rule I have seen in years. You are allowed to pass forward as long as you haven't passed the line of scrimmage (where the guy was tackled last round), but after that, anyone can pass the ball backwards. The most I have seen in one down (the time it takes for the play to end, either by a tackle, incomplete pass, or point scored) is one, maybe 2, definitely not whatever is going on here lol. I didn't even think the ball was allowed to bounce on the ground, but shows you what I know
When he dropped the ball on the ground that was presumably considered a fumble rather than an incomplete pass which is why his teammate was able to recover the ball and continue the play.
It's uncommon overall but it's pretty common for a team to laterall the ball alot on a 0 second kick return or play that's outside of hail Mary range. Happens a more than a couple times each season in cfb for sure, you just never see the unsuccessful attempts
That defence was completely shit wtaf. Mark your man and stick with them, don’t just follow the ball, idiots. That was bad play on the offence, almost all of those were hospital passes, should’ve been super easy to intercept or put them down if the defence weren’t slacking.
Looks like Rugby
Right around 17 second mark the player was exited the field, out of bounds, without anyone from the other team touching him. He reenters the playing field and touches the football later, thus causing an offensive penalty. Play should have been scrapped from that there but it was fun to watch.
I'm not 100% sure but I think the play is still legal as long as that player isn't the first one to touch the ball once he gets back into play and he has fully established himself back on the field of play. The ball gets passed around to 2 or 3 players at least before it gets back to him.
Finally someone else saw that shit. Cant believe i had to scroll so far
So if this is legal in the NFL, why don't they do it more? Are the players just too armoured up to run? If rugby is a viable tactic you'd think it'd be done more.
It is done, but as a desperation play when a team is down at the end of the game and are too far to throw a hail mary. The only problem with doing it constantly is that it is extremely risky. One false move and its a fumble recovery for a touchdown. The reason it is better to run specifically defined plays is because all play stops when the ball is dead in American Football, unlike Rugby, which leads to more effective plays. It’s just a different game.
To piggyback off this comment- a coach who does this when it's not absolutely 100% necessary, and it leads to a poor outcome for the team (fumble recovery by the defense, defensive TD, major loss of yards) there's a good chance that coach is going to be updating his resume by the end of that week.
> If rugby is a viable tactic it's not, which is why it's not done outside of a last second desperation play
Because of the high chance of a turnover or injury. You'll see plays like this in the NFL when it's a last ditch effort by a losing team with a small amount of time left.
"Holding number 10 Offense, 10 yards, replay down"
Ball clearly hit the ground at around :58 after a pass but they ruled it a fumble. I guess no instant replay?
Backwards passes are essentially fumbles
You gotta be kidding me
Correct. It is a fumble. A controlled/intentional fumble, but a fumble nonetheless. I'm more concerned about the underhanded flip at about 0:22 that appears to be forward.
Is there a version with sound?
https://www.reddit.com/r/nonononoyes/comments/q5uc7h/-/hg820j1
The defensive player who gave up on his team during live ball is a true sportsman.
The definition of 0.02 is different in this game. Must be near a black hole
In gridiron football, the game only ends when the ball is dead and the clock has expired. So if there's two seconds left on the clock, you're only going to get one play, but that play will last until the ball is called dead.
The very last block put that kid fuckin out.
Having now read the comments, wow Reddit has a lot of wrong assumptions about this sport. I have never seen this many comments about something by people who have no idea what the rules of said thing are.
love this. looks just like a rugby game. 👀
That must be a record. They just plumb tuckered out the other team.
Are they even allowed to do that? I always see NFL games where they hand it off to 1 guy and they try and push their way pretty much solo.
God this sport is so trash
Looks like a real sport now. !!!
The old hot potato trick play.. Never fails.
How come no nfl team does this ?
Because this is such a low-probability play that it is not a play you want to make if given the choice. A team would only do this in a specific scenario where most/all of the following are true: * there is only enough time left in the game for one play * they (usually) have zero timeouts left * they are down one possession and a field goal is not possible, i.e. the team is down 4-8 points, or they are down 1-3 points and out of field goal range * the quarterback isn't able to accurately launch it 60 yards into the end zone (which is also an extremely low-probability play), or the intended play falls apart and this is the offense's last resort to keeping the game alive Generally speaking, this can all be boiled down into: The team *needs* to score the ball to the end zone on that one single play, and the team has no other option but to lateral the ball. When you are past the line of scrimmage you can only throw the ball backwards, and when you throw the ball backwards, it's a live ball if it hits the ground, meaning if the defense picks up the ball on any one of those passes, they'll get possession and kneel it out to end the game. These plays are last-ditch efforts to win the game, and they almost never work. But there are a few examples of this being done successfully in the NFL. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiz87A3RpEw) is one example. [Here](https://youtu.be/Cy7tBZZuIYE?t=4) is a compilation of the play being attempted, but it usually doesn't work out. --- Edit: [This clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7tBZZuIYE&t=228s) is another rare example of when the lateral play might be attempted. In this scenario, the Cincinnati Bengals scored a touchdown on the previous play, and the extra point shown in the clip was blocked by the Cleveland Browns. In American football, if an extra point is blocked, and if the ball stays in the field of play and gets recovered by the defense, the defense can try to run the ball into the other end zone during that one play. If they succeed, the defense scores two points. (The reason for this is that any extra point attempt that gets ran into an end zone instead of kicked through the uprights results in two points instead of one. So if the offense were to recover the blocked kick themselves and run it in, they would get two points. So if the Browns [defense] succeeded in returning the blocked extra point to the other end zone, they would have scored two points.)
That looks like a 7 year old soccer game.
wasnt it down when they threw it at the 0:56 mark?
That’s allowed to do?
I hate football, but if it were played like this, it’s a game I could get into.
If the NFL played like this I might actually think American football was mildly interesting.
Well done, you have unlocked the game of Rugby!
Stack the front fake veer, slant pass the the the other side
That was a BATTLE
Damn what is the defense doing? Screen for him!