Inspired by that thread last week about stacking an entire team with elite offensive linemen and running for 3 yards every single play.
What other crackpot strategies would you like to see an NFL team try? I’ve got two…
1: A rugby-style offense that’s the polar opposite of the tush push. get your speedsters in a Flying V formation in the open field and let them lateral it to each other.
2: An offense that starts 2 mobile QBs (one lefty one righty) in shotgun every play. ball could get snapped to either one to run a somewhat normal offensive scheme, or just max out the gimmicks and do a bunch of flea-flicker, double-pass type stuff with the two guys back there
A donkey to kick field goals.
I want more madden cheese in the NFL. Like a team that literally only has 3 personnel packages, 6 unique formations and maybe like 8 plays per formation, many of which are duplicative from one formation to another. And each game they just find the plays that are working that day and just spam them to hell in hurry up.
I always wanted to see a team take OL out and put more speed on the field in late game lateral play situations. Then the Cowboys put Zeke at center and I learned why they don’t do that.
As a person who love both Rugby and American Football, I am all for the idea of having a lot more laterals. I personally think that neither of the two sports is perfect, but something in between would be really cool. American football, but with more on-field kicking (either to other players or for drop-kick field goals) and more laterals. Also make the PAT kick attempt align with where the TD was scored like rugby does.
The problem with lateraling in American football is that the person you’d toss it to would be far more effective as a blocker, which is illegal in rugby. If he’s blocking instead of positioning for a lateral, the ball never goes backwards, never has that fairly high chance of becoming a fumble of some kind, and if the player lateraling doesn’t time it right, the defender doesn’t commit to the tackle and just runs right by, gaining nothing.
A planned lateral in football is extremely situational, success almost completely relying on catching the defense off guard, and it’s almost always better to just block. If it occurs regularly and the defense isn’t surprised, it’s objectively worse.
RB’s being trained to throw out of bounds if they’re gonna get tackled for a loss
This!! Only problem is you may have lineman downfield on a run play and that would be a penalty.
Good idea but the rules don’t allow anyone but the player that received the snap to throw the ball away.
If this happens they’ll quickly adopt the college rule that would make it intentional grounding
More frequent laterals after catches. With more defensive philosophies emphasizing shell coverages for big-play prevention and then rallying to tackle, it seems like a counterpunch for the offenses to run a couple hook-and-ladder-type plays each game.
always take the field goal, the second your on the 40 yard line, get your kicker out. Do this everytime to get the points (especially if your offense is terrible).
Have more back passes, if you have wr1 with the ball deep, have a wr2 behind them so they can throw the ball behind and go onto score a touch down.
Rugby type maul, get 3 O lineman behind a TE, give the ball to the TE and then get the O line to hold them up and keep pushing forward.
Another rugby style, on the restart, have your kicker kick high and semi deep so that your 2 fastest guys have a chance of catching it, I reckon you get a better % of keeping the ball than those silly on-side kicks.
Go for it on 4th and 4 and under every time and never kick extra points. Onside kick ever seems to be dead with the new rules though.
No punting. Ever. EVER!
More downfield laterals
Recruitment gimmick. NFL scouts going to Japan & Korea (Republic of not DPRK) seeing if Sumo wrestlers can play O line tackles.
Westerners tend to think of Sumo wrestlers as just obese guys trying push eachother around by leaning into eachother. The truth is they really are skilled athletes. Successful ones are able to focus and maintain there center of gravity on par with ballerinas. For such big guys they have incredible athleticism, tremendous balance and their reflexes are as impressive as any athlete in any sport.
Would be insane run blockers, but not sure how they’d handle pass blocking
Yeah, wonder how well they’d move laterally. Then again, at 6’6" & 450lbs, they wouldn’t have to move to far.
DT…. A 400 pounder in a 3-4 D. Would eat double teams
Looking at the Dolphins schedule I can’t see Tua back in the MVP conversation unless they rattle off 4 decisive multiple score wins over their last 4 games. Jets are gonna murder his stats though.
More hook and ladders.
I want to see more teams use running QBs in a jack-knife role more often, alongside a pocket passer QB on the field. Taysom Hill style unleashed.
Guys like Fields, Hurts, Allen, and Lamar can still be the QB1 on their teams, sure, but sometimes they lineup at RB or in the slot. I think it would add a massive wrinkle into the playbook that a lot of defenses wouldnt be ready for.
If you’re down a TD, you just scored, there is 2:15 minutes remaining you have two timeouts, and you need a stop, go for the onside. You need a stop or it’s over anyway so who cares where the ball is on the field? It drives me crazy how many coaches refuse to take the flier of an onside rather than wasting the kick into the endzone.