3 Problems With Football Trick Plays
You are going to dial up a trick play with your football team this fall and you know what? I’m talking here to youth football coaches and NFL coaches alike. That play is probably not going to work. Let me take it a step further. There’s a chance that it results in a big play…for the other team. “How dare you FirstDown PlayBook?” I can hear you now. Let’s calm down and let’s look at football trick plays and why they normally do not work.
Before I jump into three main reasons football trick plays don’t usually work, consider this. The fact is that trick plays are complicated. Ninety percent of the time a trick football play involves multiple players handling the football. Often it dictates that players do something unusual like a receiver throwing a pass or a quarterback (or an offensive lineman) catching one.
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Let’s face it, if it was a normal uncomplicated football play, it would not be a trick play. This is across the board too. If you think executing a trick play at the NFL level is any easier than at the Pop Warner level, you are wrong. The higher the level of football the better chance the opponent will smell a rat.
So let’s get to it. What are the 3 problems with trick plays, no matter what level you coach?
1. Running A Trick Play You Saw On TV Or Social Media
You see this great NFL or college football trick play and you can’t get to your favorite play drawing tool fast enough. You draw every detail of what you just saw grown men execute. The only problem is you are drawing it up for high school or youth football players. Don’t do this. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Look, there is nothing wrong with jotting that play down to look at later. That is what football coaches do, but don’t barge into the next week with a certain touchdown. Odds are, that trick play was studied for months, if not years, and designed specifically for that team’s personnel against that exact defense.
2. You Installed It That Week & Then Ran It In A Game
Trick plays are complicated. (See above) Most good trick plays are practiced for the entire season before they are run. A good football coach has to trust that it will be executed properly.
Keep in mind that good trick plays , just like defensive pressures, have an escape clause. The players can abort the trick play and convert to a safe exit plan play. Think about that for a moment. Maybe a years worth of work for a trick play that you sensibly abort because disaster looms. If you are a youth football coach you have to consider is the practice time required worth it?
3. You Run The Trick Play At A Bad Time In The Game
Don’t expect a trick play to save you if you are in a crunch. Your opponent understands you are in a crunch too. At the heart of all trick plays is a surprise. Up by 10 points…good time for a trick play. Second quarter in a close game…another good time. In a fourth quarter and a close game… don’t do it. In case you scoff, I once worked for a coach, who worked for Nick Saban. My head coach said that Saban wanted all special teams fakes run in the first half, or not at all.
So should you ever run a trick play with your football team? Of course. Football trick plays are fun. However, understand that you will need to practice this play longer than you do any of your other plays or special teams fakes. You will also do yourself a favor by considering your personnel and when you actually call the trick play during the course of the game.
FirstDown PlayBook has hundreds of trick football plays that you can edit to fit your football team. I will guarantee you we have more than any NFL or college football program. Help yourself but please do yourself a favor, read this blog first.
