Heads-up football plays that look like trick plays

Posted by John T. Reed on Jun 17, 2019

Except for the first play, these are all in my books on football coaching. I was not aware of the rule in the first two..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZgICeN3Oc8

My punt returners practiced picking up an ignored scrimmage kick and running it back for TD. But the only game where I saw it happen was on of my youngest son’s freshman games where I was in the stands as a father. I kept screaming “Live ball” to the players after a field goal attempt fell short of the end zone and stayed in the field of play. One of the other fathers on our them stood up and screamed “Dead ball” at me. Eventually, the refs blew it dead for lack of interest. In HS, a failed PAT kick is dead. But not a failed field goal or an undowned punt.

I also made my offense my KOR team. They were taught to amble up to the LOS not looking important, after the KOR play was blown dead, then, when the ref blew the ready-to-play whistle. After one second, we would snap from a legal formation and run a student body away from the enemy sideline sweep.

Refs did not like that, but it is legal. Opposing team was in the process of getting the KO team off the field and putting the defense on the field.

Flutie’s drop kick makes no sense in the NFL which Flutie himself said after he did it. But it can make sense in youth because a kicked PAT is 2 points and a run or pass is only one. You could fake a run or pass then do the drop kick, but it is extremely difficult to master. Given today’s artificial surfaces, you would think it would be way easier than back in the day on grass when they still did it. Not so. Very hard to drop kick consistently.

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