Strategy Minicamps

Better know a controversial penalty! Lots of them!

Last time we looked at referee responsibilities on scrimmage plays -- this time, we're looking at scrimmage kicks.

Mike Kurtz kicks off his referee review with a detailed explanation of referee responsibilities in the NFL.

It's time to get the ball to our playmakers in space. In the seventh and final installment of Play of the Day, we'll break down three different wide receiver screens, plus a double-pump-fake screen straight from the mind of Sean Payton.

Just in case you ever thought about being an NFL free safety, Mike Tanier offers a play designed specifically to confound and exploit you.

Full house backfield? Check. Dangerous tight end and former college quarterback turned slash receiver at fullback? Check. Reverse to the split end? Check. Today's play has the makings of something special. So why did the Redskins execute it so poorly? Today, we analyze an almost-disastrous reverse to Santana Moss, looking for ways to make it better while preserving its delightful wackiness.

The best way to score in goal-to-go situations is to run the ball, but no playbook would be complete without a few goal line pass plays to keep the defense guessing. Today, we'll draw up two passes for the tight end: one a traditional rollout, the other designed to leave a Hall of Famer wide open in the corner of the end zone.

It's third and short. Time to go with two backs, three tight ends, and a power running play, right? Heck no! We're going no-huddle and empty backfield for today's play: a Colts gamble that, thanks to a crazy bounce, paid big dividends for the Titans.

Vince Young is in the shotgun. Will he handoff? Rollout? Run? Throw? Norm Chow doesn't want you to know. Today's play is a fake option pass that would look right at home in Mack Brown or Urban Meyer's playbook.

Summer is here, and the time is right to start installing new plays. Over the next few weeks, Football Outsiders will take you on a tour of some of the NFL's most interesting plays, from rollout options to end arounds. In this introductory column, Mike Tanier explores how NFL coaches are creating exotic formations out of ordinary personnel groupings.