I just think the lateral is underutilized in football, and could be a very effective weapon if practiced enough. Yes - I know there is the downside risk of putting the ball on the ground, but the upside could be pretty dramatic too...taking a screen pass that would otherwise be a 5-8 yd gain and possibly converting to a 20+ yard gain with a lateral. Just thinkin....
I am with you. I saw one the other night in a NFL game on the kick off. Of course the risk is the fumble, but that risk is there when you run the option pitch. When you get to the level of LSU, where you typically win the game if you win the turnover battle, I guess it makes less sense to try them. But if you are Ole Miss, you should be lateraling every play!
It depends it would depend on our line can they give enough time for it to work , an intercept means the defender has an open field in front of him
They didn't practice that, obviously. OP said it could be effective if practiced enough and I agree. I've seen a lot of teams lateral the ball in flag football in college intramurals and such and it brings an entire new dimension to the field. But in college football/NFL, I don't think there would be realistically many opportunities to lateral, but doing it a couple times could be a difference maker. Ed Reed does it in the NFL but he's on defense so he has a little more leeway in doing it.
I'm not so much thinking the behind the line backward pass to the WR as I am the quick out or quick slant. The CB/LB converges, then he laterals to a trailing HB who runs with open field in front of him.
Too many moving pieces to risk it. Also would slow the runner down too much it can work in rare occasions but the risk much outweighs the benefit. Can you imagine having defenders closing from all around and keeping aware of where they are and making sure the lateral is safe. Maybe if Chris Paul was the guy.
