Flea Flicker and Hook and Ladder / Lateral (1 Viewer)

[Hoss_Cartwright]

In the 70s and 80s you saw the Flea Flicker all the time, and sometimes with success. It's a play you never see anymore. Is it because of today's defenses? Maybe the cover 2?

What about the Hook and Lateral? Why don't teams use this trick play anymore?

 

[zadok]

The Eagles use the flea-flicker several times a year recently...

I'm with you on the hook and lateral, though. That play rules.

 

[MG345]

In the 70s and 80s you saw the Flea Flicker all the time, and sometimes with success. It's a play you never see anymore. Is it because of today's defenses? Maybe the cover 2?What about the Hook and Lateral? Why don't teams use this trick play anymore?

If I recall correctly, Mike Holmgren's first offensive play for the Seahawks was a flea-flicker. It resulted in a sack of about 10 yards.After that, MH never called another trick play (well atleast so rarely you could call it never).

 

[JAA]

chance of a fumble not worth it

 

[senor peso 2006]

I've only seen the Hook and lateral ran well once. It was Boise ST. vs OU 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Pitching the ball to a burner going the opposite direction totaly caught the D out of position tied the game and sent it into over time. I've never seen anyone else run it that way. I'd like to see this more, atleast by my teams.

 

[stickboy]

I've only seen the Hook and lateral ran well once. It was Boise ST. vs OU 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Pitching the ball to a burner going the opposite direction totaly caught the D out of position tied the game and sent it into over time. I've never seen anyone else run it that way. I'd like to see this more, atleast by my teams.

I believe the Boise State winning XP was a Statue of Liberty play. Hook and lateral is when the WR runs a hook pattern, catches the ball, and laterals it to another player running past as the defenders are converging on the initial catch. It is rarely used like most laterals because of the risk of fumbling, but can be particularly effective against a swarming defense like the Ravens.

 

[CalBear]

Jahvid Best had a TD on a hook and ladder play in 2008.

 

[bostonfred]

Not too many NFL plays where the receiver gets enough separation from the defender to safely lateral the ball, but not enough that they could safely gain yards after the catch.

 

[Lord Lucan]

Randy Moss and Moe Williams combined for a hook and ladder TD against Denver in 2003.

 

[Bayhawks]

I believe the Boise State winning XP was a Statue of Liberty play. Hook and lateral is when the WR runs a hook pattern, catches the ball, and laterals it to another player running past as the defenders are converging on the initial catch. It is rarely used like most laterals because of the risk of fumbling, but can be particularly effective against a swarming defense like the Ravens.

Yes, the winning 2pt converions WAS a Statue of Liberty play, but the play that tied it up in with 7 seconds left in the 4th quarter was a hook and lateral, run to perfection. Since the defense was playing prevent, the receiver had time and space to catch the ball, then as the defense converged to prevent YAC, he was able to lateral it. One reason this play isn't often called is because it is very high risk/reward. You can get a huge play, but you can also give a huge play (fumble on the lateral) to the other team.

 

[Lott's Fingertip]

Not too many NFL plays where the receiver gets enough separation from the defender to safely lateral the ball, but not enough that they could safely gain yards after the catch.

This.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

The Eagles use the flea-flicker several times a year recently...I'm with you on the hook and lateral, though. That play rules.

The flea flicker was common in the 70s and 80s, and there's almost no risk to it other than incompleting the pass, but it isn't used a lot anymore, especially compared to the 70s and 80s.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

In the 70s and 80s you saw the Flea Flicker all the time, and sometimes with success. It's a play you never see anymore. Is it because of today's defenses? Maybe the cover 2?What about the Hook and Lateral? Why don't teams use this trick play anymore?

Everyone once in a while you see a Flea Flicker pulled off. Hook and Lateral not so much.Teams use a lot of trick plays still (the Jets in Mangini/Shotty's first year, Pittsburgh under Cowher, the Wildcat last year, etc.), just not the same ones necessarily.

 

[Ernol]

Love the hook and ladder/lateral. I believe it has been used only during desperation times or end of a half or game due to the risk factor. I remembered it as being called the hook and ladder so I googled it and found this interesting piece on Wikipedia.

"Hook and Ladder"

The "hook and lateral" is sometimes referred to as a "hook and ladder," which is a topic of considerable debate among football fans and analysts. Although the terms are used interchangeably by some, others believe this is not technically accurate. "Hook and lateral" may actually be a newer, more descriptive term for the play. However, since it is so commonly referred to as the "hook and ladder", perhaps this is actually an equally correct term for the play.

One well known iteration of the play came in the aforementioned 1981 AFC playoff game, when the Dolphins surprised the Chargers and sent the Orange Bowl crowd into a frenzy.

“We called it 87 Circle Curl Lateral,” says Don Strock, the quarterback for the Dolphins that night (notice the name of their play didn't even include the word "hook"). “And, believe me, the damn thing never worked in practice.”

In current culture, the play is referred to as the "hook and ladder" on the cover of EA Sports NCAA Football 2008, possibly because the term has been used commonly by sportscasters, coaches and fans for years.

Speculation on Origins of Play Names

Some proponents of the term "hook and lateral" claim that the "hook" refers to the pattern run by the receiver who catches the pass from the quarterback. The "lateral" refers to the pitching of the ball by the receiver to his teammate. This is not synonymous with a "ladder", which is a specific route (also called a "chair") in which a receiver cuts out before turning up the field along the sideline. If the "hook" receiver laterals the ball to a teammate running a ladder route, the play could accurately be described as a "hook and ladder."[citation needed] This would not be true of many hook and lateral plays; in the case of the play run by the Boise State Broncos in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the player who received the lateral from the "hook" receiver was running a slant route across the center of the field rather than a ladder route.

On the January 2, 2007 broadcast of ESPN's Around the Horn, sportswriter Woody Paige claimed, perhaps facetiously, that the name "hook and ladder" originated with NYC Firemen Football Team in Hell's Kitchen, New York. This was in response to the other panelists ridiculing his use of "hook and ladder" rather than "hook and lateral." The next day, Jay Mariotti claimed the phrase "hook and ladder" referred to coal mining in Pennsylvania in the 1930s — his research claims that coal miners need a hook and ladder when trapped in a mine. Another possible explanation is that "hook and ladder" is just a corruption of the phrase "hook and lateral."

A "hook and ladder" is a common name for a firetruck, which used to carry various hooks and ladders. The analogies that could be drawn to this play based on a "hook" route (with or without an actual "lateral") and a "hook and ladder" apparatus are numerous. Long extension ladders include two or more pieces, perhaps the first piece being a "hook" route, and the second piece being a run up the "ladder" to the end-zone. The second part of the play is sometimes accomplished with a hand-off, and not a lateral at all. Notwithstanding, there does not seem to be any definitive proof of what the play was originally called or why.

 

[Lord Lucan]

Didn't Larry Fitz have a couple of flea-flicker TDs in the play-offs this year?

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

The Eagles use the flea-flicker several times a year recently...I'm with you on the hook and lateral, though. That play rules.

The flea flicker was common in the 70s and 80s, and there's almost no risk to it other than incompleting the pass, but it isn't used a lot anymore, especially compared to the 70s and 80s.

It seems to me like there is a couple of flea-flickers per week. In my book that's a couple too many, as it so rarely works these days. It actually seems to work best in recent memory when the QB dumps the ball off on a short/medium route as everyone in the D secondary drops WAY back.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

The Eagles use the flea-flicker several times a year recently...I'm with you on the hook and lateral, though. That play rules.

The flea flicker was common in the 70s and 80s, and there's almost no risk to it other than incompleting the pass, but it isn't used a lot anymore, especially compared to the 70s and 80s.

It seems to me like there is a couple of flea-flickers per week. In my book that's a couple too many, as it so rarely works these days. It actually seems to work best in recent memory when the QB dumps the ball off on a short/medium route as everyone in the D secondary drops WAY back.

Maybe it's just me, but I watch a lot of football now and in the 70s, and to me there's a big difference it the number of times it's used now verses then. It worked quite a lot in previous decades.

 

[Ernol]

The Eagles use the flea-flicker several times a year recently...I'm with you on the hook and lateral, though. That play rules.

The flea flicker was common in the 70s and 80s, and there's almost no risk to it other than incompleting the pass, but it isn't used a lot anymore, especially compared to the 70s and 80s.

It seems to me like there is a couple of flea-flickers per week. In my book that's a couple too many, as it so rarely works these days. It actually seems to work best in recent memory when the QB dumps the ball off on a short/medium route as everyone in the D secondary drops WAY back.

Maybe it's just me, but I watch a lot of football now and in the 70s, and to me there's a big difference it the number of times it's used now verses then. It worked quite a lot in previous decades.

I remember the Cowboys running the play quite a bit in the late 70s (hand off to Dorsett with pitch back to Staubach for the long bomb to Tony Hill), but I don't remember it happening so much outside of that (granted, I was under 10 years old so I just may not have paid close enough attention). It did stick in my mind more when it happened back then, because it seemed so new and exciting at the time. I think the garden variety flea flicker does occur quite a bit today, its just that the play doesn't stand out like it used to.

 

[David Yudkin]

The Patriots run a straight flea flicker and a variation. The variation is to throw a lateral to one receiver on the sideline, who laterals it back to the QB, who throws it deep on a post pattern to the other WR down the middle or along the other sideline. They do each of those a couple times a year.

 

[travdogg]

They are both becoming a rarity, but I can recall both working successfully last season. Fitz had a long TD on a flea flicker in the playoffs against I believe Atlanta(may have been Carolina) and the Raiders had about a 20 yard H&L against the Chiefs where the WR(Curry I think) ran a quick hitch and then pitched it back to McFadden who took it about 20 yards before getting knocked out of bounds.

Why we don't see these more often is a bit of a mystery. I realize there are risks, but there are rewards too. You'd think a team with a dominant running game(like Carolina) could really burn some teams with a flea flicker. Likewise, a team with a really great timing passing attack(like Indy) could use the H&L for some success. Not saying these are go-to plays, but maybe 8-9 times a year you pull it out, just enough that it needs to be game planned for.

 

[Truman]

Didn't Larry Fitz have a couple of flea-flicker TDs in the play-offs this year?

He definitely got one against the Falcons.

 

[styleride85]

I really wish they'd show a replay of the entire WR route on flea flickers. WR's always seem to be wide open on them, do they do a stop and go? Or do the DB's just see a running play and stop dead in their tracks? They never show it.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I can't remember who it was, but there was a team that ran a hook and ladder last week. Not at the end of the game in a desperation situation either, just a random play in the middle of the game.

 

[Runkle]

Every team should be forced to run it once per half

 

[rockaction]

Kalif Raymond just scored on one. But that's probably why this was bumped.

 

[kutta]

Damn. A 14 year bump. That’s awesome.

 

[styleride85]

Damn. A 14 year bump. That’s awesome.

haha, was the only thread on flea flickers I could find