Deadliest Trick Plays The Silent Snap

This play is a great play to start a game.

You line up in 5 wide receivers. These can be any five players you want. Even put in the younger kids that never play. The play is very simple. Their job is to stand in their formation and never move.

Notice the very wide gaps between the offensive linemen. We have 1-yard gaps. In most leagues defenders must line up helmet over helmet and will line up over the corresponding offensive lineman giving you very wide lanes in the defensive line.

The linemen are already down when they walk up to the line of scrimmage and get in position. The quarterback steps up under center. We don’t want him to say, “Down” because this will startle the defense or at least alert them that the play is about to start. We want to avoid that and surprise everyone. He waits for the defense to get into their stances and adjust to the 5 wide: trips on one side and twins on the other. This will spread out the safeties and linebackers.

He taps the inner thigh of the center. The center hands him the ball slowly. Not fast. We don’t want to startle them. No one else moves. Not a single person moves. He sprints through the very wide A gaps. Pick the side that looks easier to run through based on the linebackers or safeties. By the time the defense realizes it’s a live play, it’s too late. He is halfway down the field.

Notice the safeties will shade to the side of the 3 wide receivers. You could put all your wide receivers on that side to get the safeties and linebackers to all shade to that side if they are playing a zone over top or man coverage.

Super easy play. Only the snapper and quarterback do anything.

Now that you have the defense in this very wide alignment, you can go back to any formation that runs up the middle like Wedge, Off Tackle, Dive, and Blast.