# Things/strategies you wish sports teams/competitors should do more often **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659 "2011-12-28T19:33:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/41 "2011-12-30T17:16:38Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > [sub]\* And that was actually pretty cool and brilliant.[/sub] The hell you talkin’ 'bout? What’s “that”? ---
**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:** [December 30, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/42 "2011-12-30T17:20:58Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > I’d love to see a team put a seven-footer or two immediately behind the defensive line just to try to block kicks. If you’re worried about injuries, instruct them to just stay the hell away from the inevitable scramble for the ball if they do block it. If it turns out to be a reasonably successful strategy your future opponents will be forced to adjust by moving their kicker back a couple of yards, which can only lower their kick conversion success rate. I’m a bit suprised that this doesn’t hapen more often as well. Why wouldn’t a big tight end or a reciever like Calvin Johnson be lined up to block the kick? I suppose there’s a possibility for injury, but that possibility is there for the defensive ends and linebackers lining up as well. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/43 "2011-12-30T17:37:56Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > The hell you talkin’ 'bout? What’s “that”? In the 2006 Wisconsin / Penn State game, the Badgers scored near the end of the first half. Not wanting to allow Penn State to take advantage of the few seconds left in the half to attempt a quick scoring drive, Wisconsin took advantage of a then-new NCAA rule (not sure if it still exists) which started the game clock on kickoffs as the ball was kicked, rather than as it was caught by the receiving team. The Badgers intentionally went offsides on the kickoff – twice – thus running off nearly all of the remaining time in the half. [USA Today article on it.](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-11-06-clock-loophole_x.htm) ---
**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:** [December 30, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/44 "2011-12-30T17:39:00Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I’m a bit suprised that this doesn’t hapen more often as well. Why wouldn’t a big tight end or a reciever like Calvin Johnson be lined up to block the kick? I suppose there’s a possibility for injury, but that possibility is there for the defensive ends and linebackers lining up as well. I know that the NFL recently changed the rules about what defenders can do on field goal attempts; I believe that jumping is restricted, if not outright prohibited. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/45 "2011-12-30T17:49:14Z")
Jumping is not restricted. Getting leverage from a teammate is. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/46 "2011-12-30T17:52:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In the 2006 Wisconsin / Penn State game, the Badgers scored near the end of the first half. Not wanting to allow Penn State to take advantage of the few seconds left in the half to attempt a quick scoring drive, Wisconsin took advantage of a then-new NCAA rule (not sure if it still exists) which started the game clock on kickoffs as the ball was kicked, rather than as it was caught by the receiving team. The Badgers intentionally went offsides on the kickoff – twice – thus running off nearly all of the remaining time in the half. > > [USA Today article on it.](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-11-06-clock-loophole_x.htm) This was one of the dumbest rule changes in college football, ever. Luckily for fans and for the integrity of the game, the rule was changed back. Your quoted scenario is one of the main reasons–a team could manipulate the kickoff and the clock to essentially stall out the other team. Clarification: I _think_ the rules were changed back–I don’t recall any recent controversies or outcries. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/47 "2011-12-30T18:08:40Z")
I came in here just to say fake punt/field goals. Seems like they are only used in the most dire of circumstances, and sometimes not even then. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/48 "2011-12-30T19:53:28Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > Huh. I didn’t know you could decline a dead ball penalty (I’ve never seen it). I see in the rules that it says an aggreived team can decline any penalty with some exceptions, but I can’t find any of those exceptions. > > Still, I bet it’s so automatic – for both the refs and the coaches – to whistle, flag, and march off five yards when an offensive player flinches, I bet it’d work more often than not. (And I suppose a punting team could keep doing it until the defense finally accepts, but that’s chintzy ball and no one except Bret Bielema\* would do it). > > [sub]\* And that was actually pretty cool and brilliant.[/sub] I can provide a good example of why you would want to decline it and actually saw it happen. The offensive team was up by something like 4 points late in the fourth quarter and it was fourth down with the ball somewhere around the 40. The kicker wasn’t too accurate so taking a 50 yard FG was fairly risky and the other team would still be aiming for a touchdown in either case and the risk of missing was giving up excellent field position. So they elected to let the clock run and take the delay of game to back up a bit to give the punter more room to try pin them, so the other team declined the penalty. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/49 "2011-12-31T00:22:54Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > I came in here just to say fake punt/field goals. Seems like they are only used in the most dire of circumstances, and sometimes not even then. The potential for disaster is high. At least on a fake field goal you can have a quarterback throw a pass. Fake punts where the punter throws usually look awful, and only a few punters are fast enough to make a run fake work. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/50 "2011-12-31T00:58:19Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Yes, what you want to do it modify the RBI leader’s game into one where he stops doing what drives in more runs than just about anyone. Howard usually doesn’t have anyone in scoring position when they use the shift on him. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/51 "2011-12-31T03:01:53Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > And finally, a completely personal pet peeve: > > 1. Club-level curling: When you’re skip and it’s your last rock, and you don’t have a shot, throw the rock into the wall. Don’t waste ten minutes planning an impossible carom triple-promote and then throw a brick that takes out your own rock or promotes the other team. In my pickup league last Thursday, my team was getting slaughtered. Those pickup games are very casual, so the skip was deliberately trying some difficult shots just to get the practice. And we only lost by one. I’m pretty new at this and haven’t skipped yet. I am trying to get a feel for which shots are difficult and which risk making things worse. They’re not always the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/52 "2011-12-31T03:22:52Z")
In football, I’d like to see more fleaflickers. A team will generally do one, maybe two in an entire season. I’d like to see 3-5 a game. I see it as a more effective play action pass. On a PAP, maybe the linebackers take a step or two forward before they drop back (or maybe not even that – sometimes, it seems a QB will fake a handoff on every play, even when it’s 2nd and 25 and his team is down by 21. Totally worthless fake there, and probably done more by rote than anything else). On a fleaflicker, it seems to me that the secondary is so out of position to defend a pass by the time the ball is pitched back to the QB that coverage downfield is very soft, and big gains result with surprising regularity. (I also don’t think you have to go for the home run ball with every fleaflicker – find your suddenly uncovered tight end on a medium route). I think a team ballsy enough to run three fleaflickers in a game will have the secondary hesitating just a second on every handoff thereafter. Obviously, a fleaflicker takes a little time to develop, and so is dependent on the performance of the respective lines. But generally the worst that’ll happen is the RB gets smushed before he can pitch it back, or the QB takes a sack. Also, on 2nd and short, take a shot downfield for Tebow’s sake! Why run a play designed to get 3 yards on 2nd down when you can run it on 3rd down after an incompletion? ---
**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:** [December 31, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/53 "2011-12-31T04:47:53Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m pretty new at this and haven’t skipped yet. I am trying to get a feel for which shots are difficult and which risk making things worse. They’re not always the same thing. Correct. The calls that really annoy me are the ones that are _both_! Or the ones that are just ridiculously difficult, but still take a ten-minute coffee klatch to plan. ---
**Author:** ![flex727](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@flex727](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flex727)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/54 "2011-12-31T14:26:59Z")
I want to see the conclusion to this analysis implemented in pro football: [http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009/09/4th-down-study-part-1.html](http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009/09/4th-down-study-part-1.html) It basically says that you have a statistically positive outcome from going for it on 4th down FAR more often that what coaches currently do. There was a high school football team that made it a policy to NEVER punt on 4th down. They won the state championship. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/55 "2011-12-31T18:04:28Z")
It would probably be more optimal in the HS level because the level of competition is so disparate (a powerhouse could probably make it on 4th down most of the time playing various patsy teams), but even in the NFL they’ll punt 4th and 3 from the opposing 43, and I always wonder what is the point. ---
**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:** [December 31, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/56 "2011-12-31T21:54:38Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > but even in the NFL they’ll punt 4th and 3 from the opposing 43, and I always wonder what is the point. I suspect it’s because coaches are very rarely fired for being too conservative, but they do get fired for taking chances that don’t work out. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/57 "2011-12-31T23:07:38Z")
> [@flex727](#): > > I want to see the conclusion to this analysis implemented in pro football: > [Advanced Football Analytics (formerly Advanced NFL Stats): The 4th Down Study - Part 1](http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009/09/4th-down-study-part-1.html) > > It basically says that you have a statistically positive outcome from going for it on 4th down FAR more often that what coaches currently do. Professional coaches/managers do not do what maximizes their chances of winning. They do what maximizes their chances of keeping their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/58 "2012-01-01T02:44:13Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > For example, fake punts. I’ve been noticing lately on punts in football that everyone often will start running down the field BEFORE the punter has kicked the ball, actually all turning their backs on him in a lot of cases. All he would need to do is slap the ball hard to mimic the sound of an actual punt and he could just take a casual stroll for the first down. At the very least you’d think the offensive coordinator would notice this stuff and tell the punter than he can run the fake if they do it again. And, at the very very least, it would make the opposition play actual punts more honestly, thus giving an advantage to the coverage. But nope, the number of fake punts in the NFL across the league in one year can probably be counted on one hand. I just wanted to come in here to point out that Wisconsin did exactly this against Iowa in the 2010 season, and it was a key play in the Badgers’ win. Iowa screwed up royally - even in high school, I remember coaches constantly telling us, “Make sure they kick the ball!” Well, in this key situation, as Wisconsin snapped the ball in punt formation, the Hawkeye defenders basically gave the Badger linemen a quick shove and then immediately ran downfield to set up the return. I swear, they had their backs to the punter before he even fielded the snap. So, he just tucked the ball and ran for an easy first down. Wisconsin finished that drive with the game-winning touchdown. I can still hear Coach Gerard yelling at our football practice: “Make 'em kick the ball!” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/59 "2012-01-03T17:44:04Z")
Basketball I wish more players would miss the free throw at the end of the game when its under 3 seconds. I believe the difficulty of tossing up a prayer 3 pointer from across the court outweighs the benefits of getting one extra point This happened over the weekend in the LA vs. Denver game. Kobe missed a free throw with 1.1 seconds on the clock and the Lakers up by 2. He made the next free throw to make the Lakers up by 3 with the Nuggets having the ball. The coach took a couple of time outs and set up a play where they got a desperation 3 pointer off at the last second that still hit the backboard and was in danger of kind of bouncing in. With 1.1 seconds, I think Kobe should have purposefully missed the shot. The scramble for the ball itself will take at least half a second off the clock, and that’s if the Nuggets grab the ball. They could call a time out, but with under a second to go, they’re not going to have time to get a decent look. I also think more players should toss the ball in the air at the end of the clock to waste a couple of seconds. Pretty much every time I see one of these last second scrambles for the ball, a player grabs it and holds on to it, gets fouled, and has to make a couple of shots but the other team ends up getting the ball. Don’t they know that tossing the ball straight up in the air will kill at least 3 seconds? Just grab the ball, toss it, and in the scramble to get the ball, another second might be lost. Don’t grab it and hold on to it and wait for the foul The only player I’ve ever seen throw the ball away was Magic in the 1991 Finals against the Bulls. I think it was game 1. The Lakers got the ball with mere seconds to go and Magic, instead of holding it and getting fouled, tossed the ball down the court. It took at least 4 seconds to roll out of bounds, by which time it was pretty much too late. Football Too many people just run up through the middle of the field trying to get through. I think its stupid. The middle’s going to be congested, go around the damn pile up! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659/60 "2012-01-03T19:48:28Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Football > Too many people just run up through the middle of the field trying to get through. I think its stupid. The middle’s going to be congested, go around the damn pile up! Easier said than done. We have a bird’s eye view and can tell when the outside is more open, but from ground level when you have just beenhanded the ball it is not so east to see how open other parts of the field are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-strategies-you-wish-sports-teams-competitors-should-do-more-often/607659.md?page=4)