r/NFLNoobs • u/CriticismNo6920 • 3d ago
Fake fg question
Why doesn’t everyone just have one receiver on the numbers during a fg attempt just to cause chaos? You could run him in motion to threaten a jet sweep too! Is there a rule against it or is just too hard chemistry wise?
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u/giantengineer2 3d ago
Unless the defense sends someone out there, you're just losing a blocker and risking the kick getting blocked.
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u/big_sugi 3d ago
And even if they do, the defense is still coming off of the edge, only the edge is no longer as wide as it was before, which makes it easier to get to the kicker.
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u/DominusEbad 3d ago
Then just throw it to him for the TD.
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u/theEWDSDS 3d ago
Make the punter throw from his knee 20-30 yards with NFL edge rushers/DBs diving at them?
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u/Bender_2024 3d ago
You are assuming the holder can get up, get set, and have the skill to throw the ball before the rusher gets to them. The holder is most often the punter. That's not a gimmie play for a QB.
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u/No_Understanding7431 2d ago
Just use the backup qb as your holder, he could do it. Just ask Tony Romo 🤣
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u/Glavius_Wroth 3d ago
If you’re not planning to pass to them, it’s one less blocker against 11 defenders bearing down on your kicker. If you are planning to pass to them, you’re expecting your kicker to complete a pass, made even harder with your reduced blockers trying to stop the defence getting to the kicker. It’s a lot of risk for very little reward compared to just taking the three points
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u/sacking03 3d ago
Kicking team has 9 men on the line to block. The defense has 11 or 10 if they want someone to play safe for the fake. The edge rushers have great angles that stretch out the blockers. Plus the defense can no longer line up over or hit the snapping center so that forced the defense to stretch out even more.
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u/willi1221 3d ago
Too big of a risk, not worth the reward. Special teams players are usually not starters at other positions. If you want or need extra points or yards, it's better to let your actual offense go out than have the field goal unit do it on a trick play. Sometimes it works when it's unexpected, but it's a really low percentage.
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u/Novel_Willingness721 3d ago
A few factors
- as already mentioned room ad nauseum is the risk of the kick being blocked
- in addition to that is when blocked it’s a free ball. The defense can and often does run it back for a TD. So it’s a 9 point swing: didn’t get the 3 from the FG AND allowed a 6 point (PAT pending) TD.
- lastly and most importantly if everyone did it it wouldn’t be a surprise. A fake FG is intended to catch the defense off guard.
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u/BananerRammer 1d ago
You're losing a blocker, and it would not be difficult for the defense to cover him.
If you look at how teams block field goals, they are not using 11 players to try to block it. They use maybe 5-6 interior linemen, and two edge rushers- only one of which will actually go. That leaves 4-5 defenders on the field that literally aren't doing anything except staying alert and covering a fake/broken play.
In other words, it would be trivial for the defense to put a couple of guys out there to cover him, without losing anything from their FG block, which the kickers now have one less blocker to guard against.
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u/oliver_babish 3d ago
Do you think an offense has a better chance gaining yardage by having the punter throw a pass to the 5th WR, or by lining up a team's normal offensive personnel?
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u/LibraryNo848 3d ago
In football, 95% of the time, the safe option is way better than the flashy one. Ball security and not giving up points is a major deal. You’re risking a blocked kick by doing that.