# Football Fans: "Shovel" or "Shuffle" Pass? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863 "2010-11-08T03:10:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/21 "2010-11-09T00:36:33Z")
Wow. I thought it was a “Tuttle Pass” after a misprint of Y.A. Tittle’s name. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/22 "2010-11-09T05:58:14Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by sitchensis > > Palm up when passing = shovel, like the tool > > > > Palm down when passing = shuffle, like the throwing action in shuffleboard > > > > I have no idea if this is true but I just wanted to point out the ridiculousness of using “it mimics shoveling dirt" as an argument > > Huh? Is this a whoosh? Why is it ridiculous? The underhand flip is like a shovel shoveling dirt. No, It’s not a whoosh. When a quarterback is taught the shuffle pass, like on an inside screen play, he is taught to flip it outward from his chest with his palm facing down. Just like when sliding a weight in shuffle board. The only thing that shovels dirt like that is an excavator. The only time a quarterback flings the ball like you would shovel dirt is when he is about to be sacked and that’s the only movement he has left. As I said above I have no idea if it’s true. What I was pointing out is that it’s easy to make up fake entomologies when you have a grain of plausibility, but it does not make them right. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/23 "2010-11-09T06:18:53Z")
It’s called a stubble pass. The first QB who ever did this has not shaved that morning (which was extremely controversial in 1916 and the cause of an NCAA investigation 12 years later) and the name caught on. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/24 "2010-11-10T21:21:02Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > he is taught to flip it outward from his chest with his palm facing down. Just like when sliding a weight in shuffle board. The only thing that shovels dirt like that is an excavator. “Ok, kid, we’ve got a new play for you. What you want to do is wait for the running back to get near that gap in the line, then feed him the ball outward from your chest, like in shuffleboard” “Shuffleboard?” “Yeah, shuffleboard, you know the game all those octogenarians play when they’re on cruises. Deliver the ball just like you would slide the weight in shuffleboard.” “…” “Ok, imagine you’re really old, and on a cruise, and looking to score with that wrinkly lady drinking the banana daiquiri. You’ve got a 5 foot long stick, and you’re pushing a plastic disk towards a triangle 20 feet away. Throw the ball just like that.” “Got it, Coach!” ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/25 "2010-11-10T21:36:43Z")
I thought it was spelled “Raymond Luxury Yacht Pass,” but was pronounced “Throatwarbler Mangrove Pass.” Have I been misinformed? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/26 "2010-11-10T23:23:04Z")
I’ve heard it variously as “shovel”, “shuffle”, or “shuttle”. As far as I can tell, they’re all completely synonymous, and are all correct. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/27 "2010-11-10T23:55:13Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > What I was pointing out is that it’s easy to make up fake \*\*entomologies \*\*when you have a grain of plausibility, but it does not make them right. I can see there’s no [flies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomology)on you… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Anglachel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Anglachel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anglachel)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/28 "2010-11-18T02:33:16Z")
Add one more name to the list, the “Utah pass”. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/29 "2010-11-18T05:14:53Z")
[Shovel pass Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shovel+pass) Shovel. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/30 "2010-11-18T18:17:30Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Or, perhaps worse, that it’s a good thing for a team to get “untracked”. Pet peeve of mine I’ve mentioned in this [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=13029146#post13029146). Hate that. It’s as bad as “should of.” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/31 "2010-11-18T18:25:01Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I thought it was spelled “Raymond Luxury Yacht Pass,” but was pronounced “Throatwarbler Mangrove Pass.” Have I been misinformed? It’s spelled Murkowski if the coach writes in the player’s name in the playbook. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/32 "2010-11-18T18:42:42Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Shovel. While we’re at it, it’s hook and lateral, not hook and ladder. Technically, yes, but I think “hook and ladder” is pretty widely accepted terminology. Look no further than _Varsity Blues_, your football authority, where Lance signals in the play by mimicking the ol’ hook in the mouth followed by climbing the ladder. How he slipped that one past the defense, I’ll never quite know. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/33 "2010-11-18T18:44:36Z")
Wait wait wait. It’s not called a subtle pass? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/34 "2010-11-18T19:58:59Z")
I thought it was stubble pass, as perfected by Ben Roethlisburger and Brett Favre. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/35 "2010-11-18T20:22:02Z")
Or a stumble pass, perfected by Rex Grossman. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/36 "2010-11-18T20:25:34Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I thought it was stubble pass, as perfected by Ben Roethlisburger and Brett Favre. Certainly we could come up with something better for these two dandies. ---
**Author:** ![jaybro7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@jaybro7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaybro7)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/37 "2014-01-04T23:29:58Z")
For all INTENTS AND PURPOSES. ---
**Author:** ![jaybro7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@jaybro7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaybro7)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/38 "2014-01-04T23:31:11Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > For all intensive purposes. For all intents and purposes. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/39 "2014-01-04T23:42:36Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > So any term used by a coach, play-by-by guy, or analyst is necessarily correct? Even Madden? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863/40 "2014-01-05T00:10:53Z")
> [@jaybro7](#): > > For all intents and purposes. No, it’s for all indentured porpoises. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-fans-shovel-or-shuffle-pass/559863.md?page=3)