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AxeElf

Smartest Play Ever?

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Ty Montgomery establishes himself out of bounds, then touches a kickoff dying inside the 5 yard line--making it a kick out of bounds; ball placed on the 40.

 

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I've seen that play at least a handful of times, albeit not to that extent.

Smartest and one of the best plays I've ever seen is a DB jumping out of bounds to intercept a ball but knowing he's going to land out of bounds tips the ball back in play to his teammate.

 

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12 minutes ago, nobody said:

I've seen that play at least a handful of times, albeit not to that extent.

Smartest and one of the best plays I've ever seen is a DB jumping out of bounds to intercept a ball but knowing he's going to land out of bounds tips the ball back in play to his teammate.

 

I remember when that one happened too, but I wouldn't really characterize it as "smart."  The defender basically tossed it up for grabs back into the field of play, turning a certain incompletion into a potential reception--but he got lucky and his teammate was paying attention and they ended up with an interception.

Highlight reel, to be sure, but much more lucky than smart--like pulling off a dangerous unexpected lateral on a kick return that could have just as easily resulted in a fumble recovered by the other team.

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Nah, he tapped it right to his teammate.  He knew exactly what he was doing.

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49 minutes ago, nobody said:

Nah, he tapped it right to his teammate.  He knew exactly what he was doing.

He knew what he was TRYING to do, and he was lucky that he axually accomplished that which he intended to do.

But it wasn't "smart."

I know, not everyone understands what "smart" is...  Dunning-Kruger and all that.

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Dunning Kruger and you think the smartest play ever is someone taking advantage of a basic rule everyone knows.  Gotcha.

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Smartest play ever was the first guy who ever (whoever it was), to go down before scoring a TD and allowing the offense to run out the clock for the win without the other team ever getting the ball back.

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How about this one? End of the first half Randy Moss laterals it to Moe Williams for the TD.

Pretty smart if you ask me.

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11 hours ago, nobody said:

Dunning Kruger and you think the smartest play ever is someone taking advantage of a basic rule everyone knows.  Gotcha.

LOL at "everyone knows."  The announcers didn't know.  Even the officials were discussing it amongst themselves.  How many times do you see a holding or a block in the back committed on a kick return--doesn't "everyone know" you can't do that?  Why do football players still do it?  Most of them aren't even smart enough to avoid doing something they "know" they shouldn't do; having the presence of mind in the heat of a situation to exploit a rule in a way it is not normally applied makes this a candidate for the Smartest Play Ever.

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3 hours ago, Utilit99 said:

Smartest play ever was the first guy who ever (whoever it was), to go down before scoring a TD and allowing the offense to run out the clock for the win without the other team ever getting the ball back.

That was Brian Westbrook, and yes, that would be in the conversation too.  It took a lot of discipline to do that in the heat of what would otherwise be a scoring play.

 

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2 hours ago, LoOnAtIk said:

How about this one? End of the first half Randy Moss laterals it to Moe Williams for the TD.

Pretty smart if you ask me.

Nope, that would be in the same category as the Oklahoma State defender's tip back in bounds--a highlight reel play that was much more lucky than smart.

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I think it was Brian Mitchell did the exact same thing years ago.

Definitely a smart move

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16 hours ago, AxeElf said:

I remember when that one happened too, but I wouldn't really characterize it as "smart."  The defender basically tossed it up for grabs back into the field of play, turning a certain incompletion into a potential reception--but he got lucky and his teammate was paying attention and they ended up with an interception.

Highlight reel, to be sure, but much more lucky than smart--like pulling off a dangerous unexpected lateral on a kick return that could have just as easily resulted in a fumble recovered by the other team.

 

14 hours ago, AxeElf said:

He knew what he was TRYING to do, and he was lucky that he axually accomplished that which he intended to do.

But it wasn't "smart."

I know, not everyone understands what "smart" is...  Dunning-Kruger and all that.

 

2 hours ago, AxeElf said:

Nope, that would be in the same category as the Oklahoma State defender's tip back in bounds--a highlight reel play that was much more lucky than smart.

 

You know what we love about you :rolleyes: is the fact that you are so fockin open to differences of opinion.  It's remarkable that in your interminable wisdom you still take time to recognize that others may not see things quite the same way as you, yet still find a way to give value to those opposing view points :rolleyes: .  You're really quite remarkable :rolleyes:.  Your openmindedness and wisdom are exceeded only by your humility :rolleyes:  So much so that you deserve your own acronym!  

AEIAFP :thumbsup:

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45 minutes ago, jgcrawfish said:

AEIAFP :thumbsup:

LOL

I think that even Giants Fan would approve...

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3 hours ago, AxeElf said:

Nope, that would be in the same category as the Oklahoma State defender's tip back in bounds--a highlight reel play that was much more lucky than smart.

End of the first half. If he gets tackled right there it’s 0 points. The presence of mind to do that is undeniable. It is indeed a smart play.

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1 hour ago, jgcrawfish said:

You know what we love about you :rolleyes: is the fact that you are so fockin open to differences of opinion.  It's remarkable that in your interminable wisdom you still take time to recognize that others may not see things quite the same way as you, yet still find a way to give value to those opposing view points :rolleyes: .

That's interesting.  I think more people probably appreciate Axe Elf for his ability to correct their errors so quickly and conclusively, rescuing them from otherwise interminable wallowing in helplessness and confusion--but I guess you're entitled to your own opinion of Axe Elf's greatest qualities.  However you get there, everyone ends up at the same conclusion...

1 hour ago, jgcrawfish said:

You're really quite remarkable :rolleyes:.

 

1 hour ago, jgcrawfish said:

Your openmindedness and wisdom are exceeded only by your humility :rolleyes: 

Yes, in the end, it's only Axe Elf's great humility that makes him better than everyone else.

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2 minutes ago, LoOnAtIk said:

End of the first half. If he gets tackled right there it’s 0 points. The presence of mind to do that is undeniable. It is indeed a smart play.

And if his teammate isn't alert enough to catch the over-the-shoulder lateral and one of the four defenders in the area scoops and scores off the fumble, then we're talking about it as one of the most boneheaded plays of all time.  Like I said, highlight reel, definitely, but much more lucky than smart.

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4 hours ago, AxeElf said:

That was Brian Westbrook, and yes, that would be in the conversation too.  It took a lot of discipline to do that in the heat of what would otherwise be a scoring play.

 

That's another typical play.  Hell Jamaal Williams did it what?  2 weeks ago?

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34 minutes ago, LoOnAtIk said:

End of the first half. If he gets tackled right there it’s 0 points. The presence of mind to do that is undeniable. It is indeed a smart play.

If it requires athleticism and football IQ it must be luck.  Axe is telling on himself.  He's never played sports.

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22 hours ago, AxeElf said:

Ty Montgomery establishes himself out of bounds, then touches a kickoff dying inside the 5 yard line--making it a kick out of bounds; ball placed on the 40.

 

Isn't a kickoff a live ball, and recovering it is the best option? 

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22 minutes ago, Frozenbeernuts said:

Isn't a kickoff a live ball, and recovering it is the best option? 

Yes, a kickoff is a live ball.  Recovering it on your own 2 yard line is preferable to your opponent recovering it on your own 2 yard line, but turning it into a kick out of bounds by touching the ball while you are out of bounds (and therefore getting the ball on your own 40) is preferable to either.

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7 hours ago, AxeElf said:

That was Brian Westbrook, and yes, that would be in the conversation too.  It took a lot of discipline to do that in the heat of what would otherwise be a scoring play.

 

Was that really a smart play?

If he scores they go up 11 with 2 minutes to go. I mean it probably doesn't matter either way but it's not like he saved the game or something.

Now the game with the Broncos and Cowboys a few years ago that was like 51-48 was a much better example. The RB, I don't remember who. Downed it at the 1 so they could kick a winning FG and not give the ball back, in stead of scoring and giving it back with enough time to go down and score.

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39 minutes ago, polecatt said:

Was that really a smart play?

If he scores they go up 11 with 2 minutes to go. I mean it probably doesn't matter either way but it's not like he saved the game or something.

Yes, but scoring gives control of the game from the Eagles to the Cowboys.  It's unlikely that Dallas scores, recovers an onside kick, and scores again, yes--but it's possible.  With the Eagles maintaining possession and running out the clock, whatever slim chance the Cowboys might have had is reduced to zero.

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4 minutes ago, AxeElf said:

Yes, but scoring gives control of the game from the Eagles to the Cowboys.  It's unlikely that Dallas scores, recovers an onside kick, and scores again, yes--but it's possible.  With the Eagles maintaining possession and running out the clock, whatever slim chance the Cowboys might have had is reduced to zero.

They could always fumble

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12 minutes ago, polecatt said:

They could always fumble

They couldn't always fumble and continue to be a professional football team, no.  But even given that they could occasionally fumble while running normal plays, fumbles on QB kneeldowns are exceedingly rare.

There sure are a lot of dumb comments in a thread about smart plays.

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3 minutes ago, AxeElf said:

There sure are a lot of dumb comments in a thread about smart plays.

Yes including made by you

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On 11/6/2019 at 11:20 PM, AxeElf said:

Ty Montgomery establishes himself out of bounds, then touches a kickoff dying inside the 5 yard line--making it a kick out of bounds; ball placed on the 40.

 

The only thing that makes this play slightly out of the ordinary is the fact that Ty stretched out like a plank to reach the sidelines.

 

Axe have you never seen this done before? It happens a lot more frequently than you think. Just more often than not the player isn’t stretched out to the degree of Montgomery. 

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I’ve seen Wes Welker do it a handful of times even when he was with the dolphins. NFL players more than likely have a much more firm grasp of the rule book than even the mighty Elf.

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2 hours ago, LoOnAtIk said:

I’ve seen Wes Welker do it a handful of times even when he was with the dolphins. NFL players more than likely have a much more firm grasp of the rule book than even the mighty Elf.

Yeah, hard to believe huh?  :rolleyes:

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2 hours ago, LoOnAtIk said:

Axe have you never seen this done before? It happens a lot more frequently than you think. Just more often than not the player isn’t stretched out to the degree of Montgomery. 

Thanks to the video you posted, I've seen it done twice now, both by Packers.

2 hours ago, LoOnAtIk said:

which one of these is “smarter”?

I would say they are both equally smart, both being similar applications of the same rule.  The Packers obviously have a good special teams coach to make sure their players are taking advantage of the rule when the opportunity presents itself.

Even the announcers were going on and on about what a brilliant play it was.  So if you're offering that clip as evidence to the contrary, it was an epic fail.

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LOL at the announcers thinking something is smart, so it must be.  Booger MacFarland is an announcer.  Phil Simms was an announcer.

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Obviously the smartest play ever was when Brady tucked the ball against the Raiders. Brady knew that if he threw the ball it was a for sure pick, so he decided to tuck the ball for an incompletion.

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1 hour ago, nobody said:

LOL at the announcers thinking something is smart, so it most be.  Booger MacFarland is an announcer.  Phil Simms was announcer.

How is Booger an announcer when everyone knows he is the worst? His mom even knows he sucks

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9 hours ago, AxeElf said:

Thanks to the video you posted, I've seen it done twice now, both by Packers.

I would say they are both equally smart, both being similar applications of the same rule.  The Packers obviously have a good special teams coach to make sure their players are taking advantage of the rule when the opportunity presents itself.

Even the announcers were going on and on about what a brilliant play it was.  So if you're offering that clip as evidence to the contrary, it was an epic fail.

So, I think we can settle this once and  for all.  Since you posted the video of Ty Montgomery doing the out of bounds play, which occurred in 2016...and since LoOnAtIk posted the video with Randall Cobb doing the same thing, 4 years before in 2012 AND pointed out that it had been done before, it's pretty clear.  

The play by Randall Cobb is clearly the smarter one because it is the original one.  It also essentially proves that since your opinion of the "smartest play in NFL history" is based on something that is completely unoriginal, then everyone who submitted something different is correct that their submission is "smarter" than yours because at least they knew enough not to post a copy of the Mona Lisa and try to play it off as the original.  Thanks for playing though...

AEIAFP :wave:

 

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1 hour ago, jgcrawfish said:

So, I think we can settle this once and  for all.  Since you posted the video of Ty Montgomery doing the out of bounds play, which occurred in 2016...and since LoOnAtIk posted the video with Randall Cobb doing the same thing, 4 years before in 2012 AND pointed out that it had been done before, it's pretty clear.  

The play by Randall Cobb is clearly the smarter one because it is the original one.  It also essentially proves that since your opinion of the "smartest play in NFL history" is based on something that is completely unoriginal, then everyone who submitted something different is correct that their submission is "smarter" than yours because at least they knew enough not to post a copy of the Mona Lisa and try to play it off as the original.  Thanks for playing though...

Impugning someone's intelligence while demonstrating such an extreme lack of comprehension yourself really isn't a good look--but it's yours, so wear it proudly.

Axe Elf posted a video of a player thinking on his feet and making a smart play, with the thread title, "Smartest Play Ever?"

To individuals with a basic understanding of conversational English, the question mark invites discussion and opens the floor to additional nominations of players thinking on their feet and making smart plays.  Some have posted other examples of players thinking on their feet and making smart plays (such as Brian Westbrook giving himself up, rather than scoring, to maintain possession of the ball), while a few have nominated plays that really weren't very smart at all, and even rather impulsively foolish, but luckily turned out in their favor even so.  Still others have posted plays that are technically smart, but only in the sense of not being as stupid as punting on first down (such as taking an intentional safety when the situation dictates).

I don't know that anyone has tried to definitively determine which of the posted plays, if any, are the smartest play ever, but the discussion has at least been interesting--and interesting discussion (for your belated enlightenment) was the point of the thread.

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I always disagreed with the bizarre kickoff rule, as you could argue that it is an illegal touch... in most other instances the player can't legally touch the ball after going out of bounds and not reestablishing themselves... to have a different interpretation on kickoffs seems silly

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