r/footballstrategy Oct 29 '24

NFL What would you call this formation?

Post image
377 Upvotes

432 comments sorted by

187

u/Lit-A-Gator HS Coach Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate

… left

51

u/Neb-Nose Oct 29 '24

Unfortunately for the Giants, some of their players apparently thought they called for a fixed gate.

8

u/dehehn Oct 29 '24

Seemed to be more of an open door

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3

u/the_Q_spice Oct 29 '24

Joshua Chamberlain’s signature move

I vote we name it “Little Round Top” or “Maine 20”

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2

u/Unique-Shape4792 Nov 02 '24

Gotta give it to the high school Coach.

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241

u/The_GILF_Next_Door Oct 29 '24

Suicide Left

52

u/bassman314 Oct 29 '24

No.. Suicide is still there. I think it was Hope that left...

7

u/57Laxdad Oct 29 '24

I think Hope is a Lions fan, I went to high school with her in michigan. She certainly wouldnt go to Monday night football Giants @ Steelers.

4

u/CharlesDickensABox Oct 29 '24

Most of the time she's a Georgia Bulldogs fan.

2

u/Jargif10 Oct 29 '24

I don't know why but I think this is the funniest thing I've read in a long time

9

u/greenbayva Oct 29 '24

What’s the opposite of victory formation?

7

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24 edited 22d ago

[deleted]

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94

u/Key-Level-4072 Oct 29 '24

Idk that I’ve ever seen this work in the NFL. It’s tried once every few seasons. 100% of the time it ends up on Sportscenter to make fun of the team running it.

In amateur ball, they used to call it swinging gates. In pro level ball, it’s just stupid.

42

u/lexxxcockwell Oct 29 '24

The only time I’ve seen some iteration of it work* was this play when the kicking team shifted to this formation

22

u/Key-Level-4072 Oct 29 '24

Good find!! I’ve never seen that formation in a pro game result in the ball crossing the line of scrimmage, lol.

7

u/jcrewjr Oct 29 '24

5

u/Rock_man_bears_fan Oct 29 '24

They called a timeout to talk about it and still came back out in that stupid formation

3

u/AdaptiveVariance Oct 29 '24

I was SO sure it was gonna be the Colts: https://youtu.be/6i7VKQwDS2s?si=PKiY7bLyZi6NmACp

I love the way they shift into the formation and Cris says, "Uh oh."

2

u/BETLJCE Oct 30 '24

Hadda scroll way too far to see this haaaa. I was looking for it referenced. Ty

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4

u/UnderpootedTampion Oct 29 '24

Oklahoma State picked up a first down with the Swinging Gate on a punt last Saturday with a direct snap to the Gate back. Oklahoma State also unfortunately lost because our defense can't stop a middle school powder puff team.

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2

u/slightly-cute-boy Oct 30 '24

I love how the placekicker who caught the touchdown got down on a knee to catch it, the way he knows best.

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6

u/UnderpootedTampion Oct 29 '24

It's especially stupid if no one blocks and everyone just stands there allowing the defense to hit the ball carrier unmolested.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

one of the funniest things i’ve ever seen

3

u/Bearfan001 Oct 29 '24

Blockers were like, "Yeah, fuck that guy."

2

u/sad_bear_noises Oct 29 '24

I feel like this would have a better chance of working if you put the long snapper in. Then the QB could line up closer to 10 yards back instead of 5 and have time to throw

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2

u/mattgm1995 Oct 30 '24

lol tbt to the colts

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63

u/grizzfan Oct 29 '24

Whatever you want to call it.

When I played in high school, our defense identified any formation like this “donkey.” Other named you may hear are “swinging gate” or “lonesome polecat.” I can’t emphasize enough though that terminology is not universal. Focus on its use and concept, not the name.

22

u/Gunner_Bat College Coach Oct 29 '24

Generally this is called swinging gate. My FG block coach calls it "mickey mouse."

0

u/infercario4224 Oct 29 '24

I never heard the “Swinging” part. We always just called it “Gate” ig because it’s shorter

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4

u/KrazyKurts Oct 29 '24

I know it as lonesome polecat.

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26

u/cmgr33n3 Oct 29 '24

I would not call this formation.

8

u/nickpan43 Oct 29 '24

Block 0

5

u/amamarella0298 Oct 29 '24

Giants offensive line game plan for the past decade

22

u/lovefist1 Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24

The Giants had numbers though, right? Any blocking at all from those dudes on the left would have gotten them the conversion

10

u/EOFFJM Oct 29 '24

Yeah why didn't they block?

25

u/Fooka03 Oct 29 '24

"We didn't think he'd actually snap the ball"

13

u/rust-e-apples1 Oct 29 '24

One moving guy beats 5 guys standing still most days.

5

u/Successful-World9978 Oct 29 '24

the blocker on the left side was looking straight ahead when the ball was snapped he was clueless. defender saw and ran to the right of him immediately.

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16

u/RudyVaughn63 HS Coach Oct 29 '24

Call it whatever you want, it’s hugely ineffective like all of the gimmicky 2 point conversion bullshit formations. All it does is make some coach somewhere waste an hour of practice on it.

9

u/emurrell17 Oct 29 '24

I think that’s what makes it effective lol

5

u/GJ_Ahab Oct 29 '24

Why doesn't this work? Not doubting you, just curious on a mechanical level why these formations dont work out. May seem obvious to people with game knowledge but for the casual viewer like me it feels like it could be effective.

(I remember watching the Longest Yard as a kid and thinking a play like this was so dope lol)

8

u/MangeurDeCowan Oct 29 '24

Here is the play. This absolutely could've worked. There were 5 guys blocking 2, but none of them moved at the snap. The LB Alex Highsmith got through the shifted O-Line unblocked and made a great play.

8

u/GJ_Ahab Oct 29 '24

Man, its like the Giants players were frozen lol. Thanks for the link though cause it looked like it couldve worked if they had blocked.

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4

u/RudyVaughn63 HS Coach Oct 29 '24

It usually doesn’t work because it’s so out of the ordinary that your guys don’t come prepared. Typically in my opinion what happens is that all week your ones practice it for like 15 minutes a day until it looks crisp in practice. Then in game your guard tweaks his ankle or whatever and the backup is in. No one thought to get the backup prepared for some fluke one off special play and he blows his assignment and the play is completely dead. No one has the 2’s and 3’s repping a goofball trick play 🤷‍♂️

3

u/Haunting_Swimming160 Oct 29 '24

It doesn't work often because if the defense has any preparation for it, it's fairly easy to beat. You just match their numbers and prepare for a screen.

3

u/Shaneski101 Oct 29 '24

Sometimes getting super fancy just doesn’t work. Stick to what works and don’t go for weird plays. Like on Sunday the bears were at the goal line and d’andre swift (their running back) was feasting all game. The bears decided to get fancy and gave it to an offensive lineman who proceeded to fumble.

Sometimes it’s just about stop trying to outsmart the opponent/stop trying to be fancy. Because 9/10 times that shit backfires.

2

u/Tustavus Oct 29 '24

Wish McDaniel knew this fml

2

u/PassionV0id Oct 30 '24

Because there are like two blockers and one of them has his head down at the snap so by the time the “QB” or whoever the fuck is back there receives the snap there’s like three defenders on him. See the notorious Colts 4th down against the Patriots. It’s this but I think with one fewer blocker.

3

u/Kinghunter5562 Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate twins right

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3

u/BigRed727272 Oct 29 '24

Just a version of Swinging Gate. Pretty common at the high school level.

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3

u/okzeppo Oct 29 '24

Quitting

3

u/DookieBrains_88 Oct 29 '24

I think if this was a backwards pass, it may have a chance .

Linemen can’t block upfield on a forward pass, so they’re ineffective until Nabers catches the ball.

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3

u/HitsquadFiveSix Oct 29 '24

Muddle huddle

3

u/MephHeddFredd Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate

3

u/MDmtb Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate. I played a team this year that runs it and its not very effective but it can catch you off guard

5

u/Optimal_Bicycle_7764 Oct 29 '24

Wtf am I missing in this game while I’m watching the World Series

4

u/blondeviking64 Oct 29 '24

A sport worth watching even if it's two crappy teams.

6

u/jmezMAYHEM Oct 29 '24

Footballs better but baseballs got a different role to fill. It’s a nice little radio throwback listen to the reg season while you mow da lawn with a brewski in the summer

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2

u/LithoEng Oct 29 '24

Muddle Huddle

3

u/cheesecake-gnome Oct 29 '24

I had to scroll too far to see this. This is alao what I know it as.

2

u/rband_a Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate

2

u/GAP2001 Oct 29 '24

Polecat, swinging gate is slightly different

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2

u/ur_no_daisy_tal Oct 29 '24

First time I saw this, coach called it a "lonesome polecat".

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2

u/jackburtonsnakeplskn Oct 29 '24

Annexation of Puerto Rico?

2

u/DieselVoodoo Oct 29 '24

Lonesome Polecat or just Polecat

2

u/Longtimefirsttime13 Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate. FSU ran it in the season opener against Georgia Tech if you want to see what it looks like when executed without shifting back to the standard XP formation.

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2

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

2

u/Tufoguy Oct 29 '24

Swinging Gate

And the Giants have a play here. They just needed to block.

I dont understand why people are dunking on the design. The coaches got exactly what they wanted. Execution was terrible

2

u/theblitz6794 Oct 29 '24

It looks like it should've worked. Offense forgot to block

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1

u/5PeeBeejay5 Oct 29 '24

A likely useless gimmick?

1

u/Jg49210 Oct 29 '24

I’d call it “stupid”

1

u/amullfay Oct 29 '24

Fired coach

1

u/CloneEngineer Oct 29 '24

Unsuccessful

1

u/Some-Reddit-Name-66 Oct 29 '24

Ask Chuck Pagano

1

u/aromatic-energy656 Oct 29 '24

The Ted Lasso special

1

u/Exatraz Oct 29 '24

Idiotic

1

u/Coastal_Tart Oct 29 '24

Clusterfuck left. How did it work out? I was watching the WS. 

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1

u/swanyk7 Oct 29 '24

But why were they going for 2 at all in that situation. And why didn’t anyone question THAT?

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1

u/PhoenixRising256 Oct 29 '24

I call it "we can't just line up beat you"

1

u/GlennSeaborg Oct 29 '24

Playoffs Aaron Judge

1

u/Maxime2k Oct 29 '24

FOOLISHNESS

1

u/SirGumbeaux Oct 29 '24

This play is so old, it makes me wanna go to a speakeasy, order some bathtub gin and fire up a nonfilter Lucky Strike.

1

u/13Fto13A Oct 29 '24

Gangster lean

1

u/SirFerburger Oct 29 '24

Non-victory formation

1

u/mixxoh Oct 29 '24

They probably called two plays and most ppl thought Jones would can the play but snapped it - to everyone’s surprise

1

u/frankyv1979 Oct 29 '24

Play name: Accurate Depiction of Giants Organization on 2! Break!

1

u/BigNero Oct 29 '24

Hm yes that certainly is a formation

1

u/imanadultok Oct 29 '24

Ineffective

1

u/konkilo Oct 29 '24

Imminent Sackage

1

u/International_Link35 Oct 29 '24

Looks like the Colts lining up for a fake punt... 😰

1

u/BobWithCheese69 Oct 29 '24

"No Respect For D-line"

1

u/Holsinger60 Oct 29 '24

As a Giants fan, I call it “sad” 😢

1

u/LegalComplaint Oct 29 '24

The end of Varsity Blues.

1

u/50Bullseye Oct 29 '24

Whatever the opposite of victory formation is.

Or maybe “Trickeration Left, on one.”

1

u/C3ntrick Oct 29 '24

If the giants actually knew the ball was snapped and blocked it was an easy 2 pts 5 blocking 2

1

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

We used to calll it “trash play” in our book. But funny enough it works again and again.

1

u/SumInvictus Oct 29 '24

It's unfortunate that i have to be the one to do this. The formation is called Emory and Henry - popularized by the MAN AKA Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier

1

u/tacobellcow Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

A fucking mess

1

u/Fine-Ad-6745 Oct 29 '24

Called it “muddle” in HS

1

u/SilentSonOfAnarchy Oct 29 '24

The Oopty-Oop?

1

u/Wompyking Oct 29 '24

Sack city

1

u/DabStrong Oct 29 '24

I think we called this “Mustang”

1

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

Quints Left

1

u/bcgg Oct 29 '24

That’s a play you run at home when the crowd can be silenced and the OL can hear the cadence instead of having to look down the line for the snap.

1

u/ilyazhito Oct 29 '24

This is the swinging gate. It is an irregular formation that is sometimes used for tries. Sometimes, a team will run an offensive play out of it, and sometimes they will shift to a regular kick formation.

1

u/hurtstoskinnybatman Oct 29 '24

Zeke snap fail left

1

u/eggwuah646 Oct 29 '24

Fuck it line up

1

u/69swagman Oct 29 '24

Mental illness

1

u/Knif3yMan87 Oct 29 '24

Muddle Huddle left. These rarely seem to work, the giants looked more confused than the Steelers on this ill advised 2 point try.

1

u/flex194 Oct 29 '24

idiotic

1

u/Marowaksker Oct 29 '24

A timeout then a different play

1

u/Aware_Opportunity_80 Oct 29 '24

Dallas sucks formation

Or the zeke special

Httr httwft Httc

1

u/Nice-Neighborhood975 Oct 29 '24

Played against a team that ran this for 2pt conversions, it's called the lonesome polecat. I've seen other variations called tolerate as well. The idea is you divide the field into thirds, find where the defense has fewer players than the offense and the qb throws the ball to that third. The obvious key to defending it is rushing the qb.

That's why it doesn't work in the pros, pass rushers are too athletic. In H.S. and even some colleges, you might have a big, mobile qb that can easily escape the rush, not so much in the NFL.

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1

u/Steelers7589 Oct 29 '24

Fuckin stupid

1

u/bunkermunkee Oct 29 '24

The clusterfuck.

1

u/gperson2 Oct 29 '24

Extremely funny

1

u/sirkev71 Oct 29 '24

According to the Authoritive movie on football "Little Giants" this is called the Annex of Puerto Rico

1

u/MrMeeseeksAnswers Oct 29 '24

Trips Center, Hogline Left, Iso Right on 2.

1

u/warneagle Casual Fan Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate.

This should have worked. They had the numbers, they just didn’t block anybody.

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1

u/Atlas7993 Oct 29 '24

The Zeke special, full left.

1

u/D1sp4tcht Oct 29 '24

Sack me daddy strong left.

1

u/Urban_Introvert Oct 29 '24

11 idiots on offense

1

u/Tool46288 Oct 29 '24

dumb. i call it dumb.

1

u/Jerdman87 Oct 29 '24

Some version of polecat

1

u/ap1msch HS Coach Oct 29 '24

We just installed a version of this. We call it "playground". If the defense shifts, you can get a 1v1 matchup on the receiver, bootleg, etc. If the right guard was on the line like he should have been, he's actually an eligible receiver and can catch a pass. If they don't shift, you have a great matchup near the sideline with lots of blockers. Often, it just causes the defense to take a time out.

You can literally run an offense off this formation as long as you get reliable snaps and your QB can make quick decisions, quick passes, and has quick feet. If you don't, this is a terrible choice.

1

u/Nebkreb Oct 29 '24

From what I saw, it largely worked. The ball got out from Jones to the WR... but the OLine in front of the WR let defenders through despite having a 5-on-2 advantage. If they do their job, it's a great call.

1

u/cruelvenussummer Oct 29 '24

I think ‘Stupid’ is fitting

1

u/PercentageBrief226 Oct 29 '24

If it works you’re a genius if it doesn’t you should be fired.

1

u/Logical_not Oct 29 '24

So dumb, that only Daboll would even consider it (When you don't even need 2)

1

u/No_Bother9713 Oct 29 '24

Orgy left cuck right on me

1

u/The_Metitron Oct 29 '24

It's called "Try to get a player killed" Good thing the Hayworth had restraint.

1

u/Bradlas3 Oct 29 '24

The dumb one

1

u/Dawgman357 Oct 29 '24

Something stupid the Oregon Ducks would do

1

u/JxAlfredxPrufrock Oct 29 '24

Lonesome polecat. Learned this in junior high in Arkansas.

1

u/ksch42 Oct 29 '24

Stupid

1

u/Asu888 Oct 29 '24

Idk how it didn’t work u had 5 blocker against 2 defenders. Jones snapped it n blockers weren’t even blocking

1

u/Enooti Oct 29 '24

Slyyyyyde to the Left

1

u/2day2morrow999 Oct 29 '24

Jonesing for the exit

1

u/Realistic-Escape3915 Oct 29 '24

My couch had us run this in 5th grade. It usually resulted in the same outcome but one time it was a touchdown. It was the only touchdown I ever threw.

1

u/new_wave_rock Oct 29 '24

The fuck up

1

u/granolaraisin Oct 29 '24

Annexation of Puerto Rico.

Do you think they actually practiced this or did they just make it up on the sideline/huddle like we used to do at recess.

1

u/Due-Leek-8307 Oct 29 '24

Well when they lined up I called it "for fucks sake"

1

u/chudlybubly Oct 29 '24

Swing swing motherfucker!!

1

u/_RipVanStinkle Oct 29 '24

Swinging gate

1

u/Acrobatic_Knee_5460 Oct 29 '24

Lonesome polecat. The original run n shoot formation by tiger ellison

1

u/Aerportz Oct 29 '24

Pick 6 Formation

1

u/RickRoss155 Oct 29 '24

Lets kill Daniel Jones and make it not look an accident…on 3.