How can you gain a permanent advantage?

Flagg the Wanderer

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Okay, so football is a matchup sport. Personnel groupings the offense uses have to be appropriately matched or countered by the personnel of the defense. Fairly often, you'll hear talk of the defense getting caught with the wrong personnel, and/or running someone on/off the field, getting caught with too many men, etc.

The hurry up offense was designed, in part, to force the defense to not be able to easily substitute.

I had a brainstorm. Next gen chess.

As far as I know, there are rules that say you can't have more than 11 on the field when the ball is snapped. But what about before that?

Scenario 1: I put, say, 16 guys into the huddle - QB, 6 OL, 3 TE, RB, FB, 4 WR. The defense is on the field, and based on their personnel the OC calls the personnel and play into the QBs headset. The QB calls the personnel grouping, then the play, in the huddle. They break the huddle, and 11 line up while the 5 not needed run off the field. As soon as they're off the field, the ball is snapped.

Scenario 2:. All 16 guys line up, but do not set. QB audibles the personnel and play.

Scenario 3, simplified version: 13 guys in the huddle. A big receiving TE, a speed WR, and a scat back all line up wide next to our sideline. Depending on what sort of defender goes wide with them, two run off the field at the last second - rock, scissors, paper FTW.

Note that with this last scenario, the defense had no options: it can't bring multiple defenders to that side, because there's no chance to get them all the way across the field before the snap. They can't run someone on their side of the field off instead without abandoning coverage on that side. They are stuck lining up 11.

Talk about forcing an isolation mismatch!

Hell, you could run that last thing with 5 WR, plus the big TE and the power back, and split 4 WR to the far side of the field to really force the issue.

Or maybe I'm missing a rule? I don't think I am... Am I missing something logically or strategically?

I mean, this doesn't even qualify as a trick play. You could run it repeatedly. With scenario 1, once the issue is forced and you're happy with your personnel advantage, roll right into a hurry-up to lock it in.

Why hasn't this been done already? In this age of matchups and hyper-specialization, it seems like the obvious next step, doesn't it?
 
What about huddling up with 7 and running 4 on at the last moment? Would that be illegal? Line all extra personnel on our sidelines and let them guess who is coming on.

Of course, even if legal that might be against the spirit of the rules.

BB3.jpg
 
I bet no-huddle was against the spirit of the rules when first run...
 
Don't you see refs standing over the ball stopping the play to allow the defense to substitute because the offense did? Think that would happen every play in any of the proposed scenarios.
 
How about a wide receiver has anal sex with a TightEnd while lined up. If that doesn’t cause the other team to be distracted I don’t know what would. :coffee:

Edit. That might be construed as a false start.🤣🤣🤣
 
Looks like someone got into the hooch last night. lmao
 
How about a wide receiver has anal sex with a TightEnd while lined up. If that doesn’t cause the other team to be distracted I don’t know what would. :coffee:

Edit. That might be construed as a false start.🤣🤣🤣
Someone watches too much porn...
 
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