For someone that watches as much about football as I do, I should know this, but …
Many of you have seen the play (only seen at college and HS levels) where, prior to a FG/XP attempt, the snapper, holder and kicker line up, with everyone else off to one side, only to move into place before the ball is snapped. What’s up with that? I can only guess it’s to help the LS/H/K get all set up and ready without “interference” … but that seems odd. Anyone?
No, this is basically a type of option play. Basically you’re forcing the defense to make a choice, defend the formation to the side which could be used to run a play for a 2 point conversion, or defend the kick.
If the defense chooses to only defend the formation off to the side, then they are basically conceeding the kick and/or a kicker sneak.
If they only defend the kicker, then it’d be easy for the place holder to lateral or pass the ball to a player behind the formation setting up an easy run into the endzone.
The reason you don’t see this often in the NFL is partly because for most of it’s history the 2-point conversion was a non-factor. Without the threat of a 2 point play, the above options are moot. Nowadays, with the NFL having adopted the 2-point play, they could do this but I think that the discipline and speed of NFL defenses would be easy to neutralize it. Though I do recall seeing it used once or twice without much success.
Interesting. I had considered that possibility – I love wacky unbalanced formation plays – but discarded it because I’ve never seen the 2 point attempt made. I guess the idea is to save it for occasions where both the one point difference will matter, and where the defense is napping … but those two things seem contradictory…
You just don’t watch enough football. I see the run or pass thrown at least once a year from the high school teams that run this play on a regular basis on extra point tries. (It’s commonly called the “Swinging Gate”)
They really don’t save it for any particular situation – most teams that run the SG will run it every time. The idea is to catch the defense in confusion and score a quick 2 with a pass to the snapper (who is a legal reciever in this formation) or a run to the non-defended end of the field.