# QB fake taking a knee **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 20, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783 "2009-09-20T02:20:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/1 "2009-09-20T02:20:57Z")
Mike Leach is upset because he tried a little trickery at the end of the first half of the TT - UT game. His QB faked taking a knee and then got up to run a play. Unfortunately for Tech fans, the officials also bit on the fake and blew their whistles. Play over. I say cry me a river. You tried to fool everyone and it worked. The officials are trying to keep the QB safe. Do you really want the officials to not stop the play if they aren’t positively sure that your QB’s knee touched the ground? Do you really want your QB in that position? I know that Dan Marino did the same thing once and got away with it. I think the NFL changed their rules making that illegal. I still think it’s a dick move. ---
**Author:** ![Stringer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Stringer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/2 "2009-09-20T03:40:54Z")
You should really clue the refs in to the fake before this type of trickery, even a “watch our guy’s knee closely on this kneel” is enough. ---
**Author:** ![peekercpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/3 "2009-09-20T03:49:05Z")
Yep playing by the rules and having a ref bonehead a call. Bad stuff, that. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/4 "2009-09-20T03:52:20Z")
So will Mike Leach have the same feelings if in the next game his QB **does** take a knee and an opponent wipes him out in the belief that “he was just faking again?” ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/5 "2009-09-20T06:42:58Z")
The announcers corrected this later in the game. During halftime, they talked to the refs and they quoted the rule for the announcers. The gist of the rule is that "once the quarterback \*begins the motion \*of kneeling, it is considered a kneel-down and the play can be blown dead. So the fake kneel wouldn’t have worked anyway. It is illegal in Big XII ball. So nyah nyah nyah, Tech. Go home. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/6 "2009-09-20T14:03:21Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > The announcers corrected this later in the game. During halftime, they talked to the refs and they quoted the rule for the announcers. > > The gist of the rule is that "once the quarterback \*begins the motion \*of kneeling, it is considered a kneel-down and the play can be blown dead. > > So the fake kneel wouldn’t have worked anyway. It is illegal in Big XII ball. So nyah nyah nyah, Tech. Go home. That’s what I get for fast forwarding through halftime. Sounds like a good rule to me. I surprised that Leach didn’t know it. He’s supposed to be a brainiac. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/7 "2009-09-20T16:18:36Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I know that Dan Marino did the same thing once and got away with it. I think the NFL changed their rules making that illegal. I still think it’s a dick move. Actually, the Dan Marino play was a fake spike. Same idea, though. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/8 "2009-09-20T19:47:20Z")
Did the NFL change their rules on fake spikes? I seem to recall Payton Manning attempting one a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/9 "2009-09-20T20:03:42Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Actually, the Dan Marino play was a fake spike. Same idea, though. Hmmm. I thought that Marino actually took a knee and then got up since the NFL required contact to be down. I could be misremembering. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/10 "2009-09-22T00:04:54Z")
Definitely a fake spike [NYTimes link](http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/28/sports/pro-football-the-spike-was-a-fake-but-the-damage-to-jets-season-is-real.html) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/11 "2009-09-22T12:13:38Z")
Marino’s fake spike was a great play, and if the NFL ever passed a rule against it, I didn’t hear about it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/12 "2009-09-22T13:58:12Z")
I can’t find a video of the fake spike, but from the articles it sounds like Marino did all the faking _before_ the snap - yelling “Clock! Clock!” and miming that he was going to spike the ball. I don’t think you could pass a rule against that - faking out the defense for what play you’re going to call is just part of the game. If he took the snap and then faked throwing the ball into the ground, I can see where you’d want to pass a rule against that for QB protection purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/13 "2009-09-22T14:04:34Z")
There’s nothing wrong with a fake spike, because it’s obvious if the ball is still in the quarterback’s hand or not. It may not be so obvious whether the quarterback’s knee ever touched on a fake kneel-down. Plus, the rule as interpreted by the officials seems to fit in perfectly with the way the game is usually called; when a quarterback scrambles, then “gives himself up”, the play is over from the point where he begins to slide. By kneeling, the quarterback has given himself up. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/14 "2009-09-22T17:22:01Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > The announcers corrected this later in the game. During halftime, they talked to the refs and they quoted the rule for the announcers. > > The gist of the rule is that "once the quarterback \*begins the motion \*of kneeling, it is considered a kneel-down and the play can be blown dead. > > So the fake kneel wouldn’t have worked anyway. It is illegal in Big XII ball. So nyah nyah nyah, Tech. Go home. Here’s [the NCAA](http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/Football_Rules_5_2204c0005d-845f-4813-8391-54f15136079d.pdf) rule book (PDF, page 82): > [@NCAA rules](#): > > ARTICLE 3. A live ball becomes dead and an official shall sound his whistle or declare it dead: > . > . > . > o. When a ball carrier simulates placing his knee on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/15 "2009-09-23T04:59:16Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > The announcers corrected this later in the game. During halftime, they talked to the refs and they quoted the rule for the announcers. > > The gist of the rule is that "once the quarterback \*begins the motion \*of kneeling, it is considered a kneel-down and the play can be blown dead. > > So the fake kneel wouldn’t have worked anyway. It is illegal in Big XII ball. So nyah nyah nyah, Tech. Go home. IIRC, the NCAA instituted this rule in the late 1980s after Rodney Peete tried the same trickeration (vs UCLA?). Oh,and thanks, BRICKER, for the actual rules cite. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/16 "2009-09-23T13:08:48Z")
Just FTR, I love football announcer words like trickeration. You made my morning **SleepyDuck**. I’m easily amused though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/qb-fake-taking-a-knee/510783/17 "2009-09-23T14:11:56Z")
He only faked that he was going to fake taking a knee.