Question of Ethics

[KTOWNFINFAN]

This really has nothing to do with anything, but something came to mind and I thought I would ask others around here what they thought. So here it is: in today's NFL one of the hardest throws to stop is the back shoulder fade. If the player takes his eyes off of the player he is toast but if he doesn't look back he has no shot to get his hands on the ball. So here is my question, what if you had a coach on the sideline who just kinda wandered 10-20 yards ahead of the LOS and if he saw a fade coming he could yell to the player if it was a back shoulder throw. That way the player could keep his eyes on the WR, unless the coach yelled back shoulder and then he could turn and intercept it.

Now of course the coach wouldn't yell "back shoulder" he would yell a code word. And of course there is the fact that it could only be ran on one side of the field. But it could really help, my question is would it be cheating?

Sorry to waste your time but I thought I would ask. Have I lost my mind?

 

[gregorygrant83]

I see nothing wrong with it ethically. However it all happens so fast, by the time the coach sees it and calls the code word and the time the player hears the code I'm not sure he would have time to really do anything about it. Plus once the offense picks up on what you're doing another offense player will start yelling the code word on a stutter and go route and you could be beat pretty bad.

 

[NBP81]

I see nothing wrong with it ethically. However it all happens so fast, by the time the coach sees it and calls the code word and the time the player hears he code I'm not sure he would have time to really do anything about it.

Well I did coach my D players to scream BALL as soon as the QB threw it. granted it was high school football, but it did help with their awareness.

 

[gregorygrant83]

Well I did coach my D players to scream BALL as soon as the QB threw it. granted it was high school football, but it did help with their awareness.

Players yell ball on several types of passes, but an NFL quarterback throwing a 10-15 yard back shoulder pass gets to its target fairly quick. I would guess the ball is in the air for maybe two or three seconds tops. If it takes the coach a second to read the pass and call it out, by the time the DB heard the code he might have one second before the ball gets there.

 

[SoCal Finatic]

Along the same lines: The NFL QB has a microphone in their helmet for relaying plays from coaches, ETC. They are "supposed" to turn off the mic for the last 15 seconds before the ball is hiked. Who keeps track of this? How many times do we see a QB throw it at the last second before getting hit? I think teams are finding a go around for this rule. can't you see a coach yelling "throw it!!!" or "87 is open to your right!" hahaha. It wouldn't surprise me at all.

 

[doughbraz54]

Well I did coach my D players to scream BALL as soon as the QB threw it. granted it was high school football, but it did help with their awareness.

Smart football is what that is. We were told to scream it all. Pass, run, screen etc. So smart coaching on your end. Wonder if that is carried on to higher levels of football.

 

[SoCal Finatic]

Oh, looks like there might be more to my theory than I thought. No wonder the Patriots always seem to "know what's happening" and win with a bunch of scrubs:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=3035449

The NFL's 40-second play clock is ticking. The quarterback crouches under center and surveys the defense. Offensive coaches study the defensive signals sent in from the opposing team's sideline, sensing a blitz is coming. With only 15 seconds remaining, a problem arises.

The coach-to-quarterback radio shuts off. There's not enough time to give the quarterback a full accounting of the opponent's plans. The quarterback flies solo during those critical final seconds before the snap.

The league wants it this way, enlisting an employee whose sole job is to shut off the headsets at the 15-second mark. But it's possible to get around the coach-to-QB cutoff if a team is willing to break the rules to gain a competitive advantage, as the New England Patriots did when they used a video camera to record defensive signals.

"If you've got a sharp guy, then you can beat it," a longtime offensive assistant coach said.

The NFL declined to comment on the possibility, other than to provide general information about its technology and measures designed to discourage cheating. A crew led by Harvey Shuhart, president of the company that provides the headset technology, visits NFL stadiums without warning to ensure the integrity of the equipment. They do not check every stadium every week.

A team's ability to decode defensive signals would mean more if it could relay updates to the quarterback before the snap. An extra 15 seconds of coach-to-quarterback communication would help.

Several coaches and players contacted for this story said they have never witnessed attempts to work around the 15-second cutoff. A few others, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they found out about such shenanigans from assistant coaches who had left offending teams.

None of these coaches implicated the Patriots.

There are at least four ways to bypass the cutoff system, sources said.

A team could reprogram its radio system to remove the cutoff official from the equation, sending signals directly from the coach's headset to the quarterback's helmet. It could modify the equipment in the booth to achieve the same end. It could install a separate communications system, allowing another coach or quarterback to provide last-second updates. Or, a team could interfere with wires between the sideline and the press box... to continue reading click the link

 

[SoCal Finatic]

Wonder why the Pats always win at home?

 

[jfleag61]

Here's another way around the cutoff...I was watching an Eagles game, where they had the lead and the ball toward the end of the game. I could not figure out why they were not letting the play clock run down to something like 2 seconds before snapping the ball. Instead the snap was at about the 16 second mark. I was kinda yelling at the TV that Kelly was and idiot, and he should be shortening the game. Fast forward to another Eagles game two weeks later. One of the announcers stated that in an interview Kelly said that one of the advantages of his "hurry up" is the fact that the more quickly they get to the line of scrimmage, the more time they have to communicate to the QB. So by snapping the ball around the 16-17 second mark, you are constantly in communication, because you never hit the cutoff point.

 

[SoCal Finatic]

^ Good point! I always thought that hurry up crap was dumb, but there's a reason it works!

Oh and also to back up my suspicions about teams cheating with the headphone mics....the Patriots have been caught doing it (during Spygate) and according to "anonymous sources" they still do. THEY ALWAYS WIN AT HOME. hmmmmmm

http://nypost.com/2012/10/21/book-stats-say-patriots-antics-havent-stopped-after-spygate/

"Citing a 2007 ESPN report that the Patriots were accused of using a second radio frequency at home, O’Leary theorizes New England assistant Ernie Adams — one of the more mysterious figures in the league — still communicates with Tom Brady via that alternate frequency after Brady’s helmet microphone goes dead per NFL rules 15 seconds before the snap."....