# Best designed punt return, trick play I've seen in a long time. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418 "2018-09-16T00:13:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/21 "2018-09-17T01:38:49Z")
I’m not a fan of any trick football play that results in half the players not realizing they’re still involved in a football play. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/22 "2018-09-17T02:34:44Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > This. This type of trick play is taking advantage of a rule specifically designed to protect players and if it’s not followed in good faith it puts players at risk. > I can totally imagine the next team they play thinking “I’d rather get a penalty than get burned on TV so I’m hitting the shit outta this guy” Yeah, I’m not particularly comfortable with this type of trick play that takes advantage of rules there for safety reasons. I do like the punt fake-out style of return, though, when it works. Punter kicks to the left, but all the players of the return team run to the right to fake-out the punting team, like [this Rams-Seahawks one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fioVbt7eF8) (although I’ve seen a number of versions of this. [Here’s the Bears pulling it off against the Packers, except it was taken back on a penalty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxO6f5YSBk).) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/23 "2018-09-18T16:22:22Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Or more simply if the returner appears to give up an attempt to move forward the ref could blow the play dead. I think the player does not make a football move within 2 seconds of catching the ball, the ball should be blown dead. Or let the defender pat the guy on the shoulder pads if he isn’t moving and have it count for a tackle. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/24 "2018-09-18T18:06:38Z")
Play works a lot better in college, with their rules on targeting. What if the Arkansas guy blew him up? You know the Razorback would have been ejected for targeting. Even if the Razorback had just rugby-tackled him, if the North Texas return man had made a furtive fair catch signal, out goes the Razorback for the rest of that game too. And probably the next one. Lot of fun to watch though, I have to admit. You probably get around this by ruling that a fair catch signal has to be made for something like a continuous second or two, with one hand unambiguously waved above the head. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/25 "2018-09-18T18:47:47Z")
Maybe the returner has to pull out a flag, like a challenge flag, but make it bright neon pink. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/26 "2018-09-18T19:58:25Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > Risky in the long term isn’t it? The whole point of a fair catch is to prevent injury. Pretending to fair catch is sort of exploiting a rule designed for player safety. Fun to watch, but the consequences might not be so fun. I agree with this assessment and I did not like the play when I saw it. I’m all for trickery, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not sure what the coverage team is supposed to do there. Not give him the benefit of the doubt and just blow him up, risking injury and penalty? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/27 "2018-09-22T11:42:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > what rule change can prevent this? You could use the [no-yards rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Canadian_football) that the Canadian Football League uses. > [@](#): > > no yards > A penalty against the kicking team: all offside (sense 2) players must be at least five yards from the ball when it is first touched by a member of the receiving team. In amateur rules, no yards is always a 15-yard penalty; in CFL rules, the penalty is reduced to five yards if the ball hits the ground before being touched. This forces the kicking team to slow down just prior to contact, giving the returner a fair chance to catch the ball, but also avoids the risk of injury. It also means that every kick return is an actual run, with all the possibilities that includes. In a lot of cases, the fair catch rule has meant that the kickoff is barely more than a ritual, this rule keeps it as an actual play, that can affect the game. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/28 "2018-09-22T17:44:09Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > You could use the [no-yards rule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Canadian_football) that the Canadian Football League uses. The NCAA used to have a similar rule – they called it the “halo” rule, and members of the punt coverage team needed to be at least 2 yards away from the receiver until he caught the ball. They got rid of the rule in 2003, stating ''The 2-yard restricted area provided a sense of false security for the kick receiver." > **[ESPN.com: NCF - NCAA drops 2-yard 'halo' rule on punt returns](http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/news/2003/0218/1510936.html)** > > The NCAA Football Rules Committee has > eliminated the 2-yard ''halo'' rule on punt returns. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/29 "2018-09-22T21:05:36Z")
I’m having a hard time seeing how that actually managed to work. There was only a second or less between the receiver catching the ball, and the other team deciding not to tackle him, and his range of options in that second was very subtle. In a real fair catch, there’d be more time, since the other team would make their decision as soon as they saw the signal, but not so here. Or is it just that fair catches have become so common that everyone just always assumes that it’s going to be a fair catch? If that’s the case, then any play where the receiver decides to run with it would always be a trick play. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/30 "2018-09-23T02:53:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There was only a second or less between the receiver catching the ball, and the other team deciding not to tackle him . . . It’s a little more comprehensible from the end zone camera view (second half of the video). You can sense the defender reading the return man’s body language, and it’s the body language of a guy making a fair catch. (Square up, both hands on the ball, not eyeballing the field.) It’s subtle but enough to be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/31 "2018-09-23T03:59:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think the player does not make a football move within 2 seconds of catching the ball, the ball should be blown dead. Or let the defender pat the guy on the shoulder pads if he isn’t moving and have it count for a tackle. That sounds good. I imagine if the AK guys lit that fucker up, clean legal hit, they still would have got the wrath of the stripers for hitting a “defenseless player”. Bullshit Trick Play. Should be not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/32 "2018-09-23T04:21:41Z")
Here is a link (albeit a bad YouTube one) of Terrell Buckley doing this for FSU in 2011. I could have sworn it was Deion Sanders. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jxnqee-IEoY/hqdefault.jpg "Terrell Buckley - Fake Fair Catch Punt Return For a Touchdown") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxnqee-IEoY) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/33 "2018-09-23T05:24:54Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Here is a link (albeit a bad YouTube one) of Terrell Buckley doing this for FSU in 2011. I could have sworn it was Deion Sanders. > [https://youtu.be/jxnqee-IEoY](https://youtu.be/jxnqee-IEoY) The video was posted in 2011, but the play itself would have been from sometime between 1989 and 1991 (Buckley’s years at FSU). Interestingly, in that video, there weren’t any defenders near him (unlike the play this year), so I’m assuming that his “fake” served to make the oncoming coverage team (who were still some distance away from him) slow down or relax. I mostly remember Buckley for being a total bust when the Packers drafted him. They picked him #5 overall, then, after two seasons, traded him to Miami for “past considerations” (i.e., “please take this fool off of our hands”). ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/34 "2018-09-23T06:15:51Z")
The better one was in the NFL, where the return man ran to the wrong side of the field, looking like he was following the ball and another player on the opposite side of the field caught the ball and took off with it. Coverage was drawn away from the player who was actually returning the ball. I saw this happen twice. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/35 "2018-09-23T14:56:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > The better one was in the NFL, where the return man ran to the wrong side of the field, looking like he was following the ball and another player on the opposite side of the field caught the ball and took off with it. Coverage was drawn away from the player who was actually returning the ball. I saw this happen twice. If I’m understanding you right, I reference it in post #22 with two examples (one that was a touchdown; the other went back because of a penalty.) Here are the links again, for anyone interested: > [@](#): > > like [this Rams-Seahawks one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fioVbt7eF8) (although I’ve seen a number of versions of this. [Here’s the Bears pulling it off against the Packers, except it was taken back on a penalty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXxO6f5YSBk).) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/36 "2018-09-23T15:36:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The NCAA used to have a similar rule – they called it the “halo” rule, and members of the punt coverage team needed to be at least 2 yards away from the receiver until he caught the ball. > > They got rid of the rule in 2003, stating ''The 2-yard restricted area provided a sense of false security for the kick receiver." > > [ESPN.com: NCF - NCAA drops 2-yard 'halo' rule on punt returns](http://a.espncdn.com/ncf/news/2003/0218/1510936.html) I can see 2 yards not making much difference, but in the CFL, it’s 5 yards. It seems to work well, we don’t see the returners getting plastered very often. You can see a couple of no-yards situations in this rather odd play: > **[The Internet Is Loving The Bombers & Als Punt-Off - CFL.ca](https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/26/internet-loving-bombers-als-punt-off/)** > > Tie Game. Final Play…. Only needing a single to win…. The Bombers & Als gave us this glorious series of events. To a CFL fan, it’s just one of those amazing things that makes the CFL what it is. For those not familiar with the CFL rules, it’s... ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/37 "2018-09-24T15:22:01Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If I’m understanding you right, I reference it in post #22 with two examples (one that was a touchdown; the other went back because of a penalty.) > > Here are the links again, for anyone interested: > [@](#): > > like this Rams-Seahawks one (although I’ve seen a number of versions of this. Here’s the Bears pulling it off against the Packers, except it was taken back on a penalty.) Seahawks pulled this on the Bears two years ago: Bears did it to the Vikings last year: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY0PNxEEEvE/hqdefault.jpg "Chicago Bears Crazy Trick Punt Return! | Bears vs. Vikings | NFL") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY0PNxEEEvE) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/38 "2018-09-24T15:38:39Z")
Were I the captain of Arkansas’ special punt team, I would have made him pay dearly for that with the very next punt he fielded. Yeah, I know a 15 yard personal foul penalty is normally a very bad thing to take, but sometimes you have to send a message. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/39 "2018-09-24T17:39:50Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Seahawks pulled this on the Bears two years ago: > > Bears did it to the Vikings last year: > > [https://youtu.be/XY0PNxEEEvE](https://youtu.be/XY0PNxEEEvE) I find it interesting how often this actually seems to work (OK, I guess four examples is not “often,” but I mean, I don’t remember seeing the opposite. Are there any examples of it going wrong, as in the receiving team fakes one way but the entire kicking team is not fooled and swarms around the correct player. I guess if it did happen, it wouldn’t be as dramatic or noticeable as when there’s a complete fake-out.) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418/40 "2018-09-24T18:50:34Z")
I think the return fake has to happen on a tall, fairly short punt. The fake receiver has to be farther upfield from the actual receiver so that the coverage team mostly gets pulled past him. And if the hang time is too short or the ball comes down closer to the center of the field, coverage will have less ground to cover to get to the actual receiver – fortunately for the return team, punters are frequently vying for the coffin corner, so center-field punts are somewhat uncommon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-designed-punt-return-trick-play-ive-seen-in-a-long-time/821418.md?page=3)