In
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
, a bootleg play is a
play in which the
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
runs with the ball in the direction of either
sideline behind the
line of scrimmage. This can be accompanied by a
play action
A play-action pass (also known as a play fake or simply "play-action") is an American football play. The play action starts with what appears to be a running play, but turns out to be a pass play; in this way, it can be considered the opposite of ...
, or fake hand off of the ball to a
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
running the opposite direction.
Overview
The quarterback can be accompanied by an offensive lineman to
block for him, or run without a blocker, which is known as a naked bootleg or waggle. More complex versions involve multiple offensive linemen moving with the quarterback to block and multiple false hand offs; one such variation is known as a rollout. After escaping the area behind the offensive line, the quarterback may either throw a
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
*Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
* Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
*Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits
*Mountain pass, a lower place in a mountai ...
downfield or run with the ball himself to gain yardage.
A bootleg is called to confuse the defense, by moving the quarterback away from where they expect him to be, directly behind the center. The quarterback's motion may also attract the attention of the defensive backs, allowing one of the
receivers to become uncovered. The play is typically used by teams with mobile quarterbacks, such as
Steve Young,
Randall Cunningham
Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for ...
and
Russell Wilson
Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...
.
Additional variations can be combined with bootleg plays. In the
West Coast offense variant designed around quarterback
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...
,
counter
Counter may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Counter machine, a subclass of register machines
* Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting
* Loop counter, the variable that controls the iter ...
techniques combined with play action bootleg plays served to provide several types of simultaneous misdirection which caused defensive players to ''freeze'' after often misjudging the intended direction of the play. These techniques, along with Vick's unusual athleticism, slow down and isolate defenders and provide extra space and time for the quarterback to survey the field and/or run the ball.
The bootleg and its variants have become more common in recent years as the rules have been changed to permit a quarterback to avoid a sack by throwing the ball away once they are outside the "
tackle box". Since the quarterback in a bootleg usually sets up to throw well outside the tackles, if he is in danger of taking a sack, he can throw the ball safely out of bounds without risking an intentional grounding penalty.
The name comes from the fact that on a play action the quarterback often hides the ball from the defense by his thigh to make the run look more convincing. This is similar to the way
bootleggers
Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to:
* Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence:
** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...
would hide
whiskey
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
in their
trousers during
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
.
Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
is given credit for inventing the bootleg play.
[Powers, Francis J. (1969) ''Life Story of Glen S. (Pop) Warner, Gridiron's Greatest Strategist''. Chicago: The Athletic Institute. p. 69]
See also
*
Glossary of American football
*
Sally Rand
References
{{American football concepts
American football plays