Trick play
A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or a touchdown if it is successful, but with the chance of a significant loss of yards or a turnover if not.
Trick plays take advantage of defenses' expectations and conventional wisdom, the set of basic principles to which most offenses adhere.
If they are successful, the line moves forward to that point and the process continues through a series of "plays", eventually (ideally) to a touchdown.
Once the play starts, the defensive players tend to collapse towards the action, preventing forward motion of the rush, or blocking a pass.
A simple example is the end-around play, where one of the eligible receivers runs parallel to the line of scrimmage (see man-in-motion), takes the ball from the quarterback in a handoff or lateral toss, and then starts a rush.
As the receiver would normally be expected to run down the field in order to catch a forward pass, the defensive back assigned to cover that motion starts opposite him some distance behind the line.
Properly timed, the defensive team will have started responding to the rush by moving forward, leaving the receivers wide open.
There is no real "trick" being played in terms of deception, the defense simply reacts without considering the possibility of the ball carrier changing mid-play.
This typically happens with the receiver never starting motion, all of the offensive players stopping and leisurely returning to their places on the line, and everyone basically relaxing.
In the event the defense notices the fakery, they can simply grab the ball from the stationary receiver, making this a dangerous ploy.
Usually the punter will simply take the snap and look to throw a pass or run with the ball after the defenders have turned downfield to block for the punt return.
Less frequently, the placekicker, who virtually never handles the ball in an American football game, will serve as the passer or rusher on a fake field goal.
Examples include then-New England kicker Adam Vinatieri receiving a direct snap and throwing a touchdown pass during an NFL game in 2004, and LSU kicker Colt David rushing for a 15-yard touchdown in 2007 after receiving the ball on a blind lateral from holder (and starting QB) Matt Flynn.
The play resulted in a touchdown (to eligible rookie offensive lineman Garry Gilliam from holder Jon Ryan) and helped Seattle recover from a 16–point deficit en route to a Super Bowl XLIX appearance.
The Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, and St. Louis Rams have used variations of this play in the NFL, and it was also used in the movie The Longest Yard (2005) for a winning two-point conversion.
Under some state high school rules, if the quarterback or coaches on the sideline say anything that may lead the defense to believe that a snap is not imminent, then the play is an illegal unfair act.
But instead, he faked the spike, and as our defense let up for a split second, Marino threw the winning touchdown.Another famous example occurred in 2013 during a Week 8 game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions.
[7] Peyton Manning was also a frequent user of the fake spike, and "sold it" so well in a 2001 game against New Orleans that the referee Jeff Triplette blew the whistle to stop the play, costing the Colts a probable touchdown.
Because of numbering restrictions, the offensive team must report the positioning to the official, who announces to everyone that the ineligible-numbered player is an eligible receiver, reducing the element of surprise.
