The Complete History of the “Flea Flicker”

I love the flea flicker. It's such a silly, backyard play that is somehow super effective at the highest level

It's such a fun play. The announcers get so excited every time.

I view the flea flicker as a more committed play action, the reason it works is because defenders have run responsibilities they are correct to get into once they hand that ball off. It will never cease to work

I used to have Madden 2004 on Game Boy Advance. My entire offense was just running the flea flicker over and over.

This is insane. I knew it was old, I didn't know it's almost as old as the league itself. Nearly 100 years later, it's by and large unchanged. It's a way that you can get even the most fundamentally sound safeties to hesitate just a little bit, and that can be all the difference you need to swing the matchup in your favor.

One does not see a flea-flicker live without shouting FLEA-FLICKER!

I was in the crowd for that 2008 cardinals one to Fitzgerald. Felt like such a special play. 2 weeks later, they did the same to the eagles in the nfc championship game where the runningback ran to his right acting like he would throw, and threw it back to Warner and he hit Fitz for a td. Kind of looked like the older fleaflickers.

A slight correction. You mention in 1986 the Jets used a flea flicker in the divisional round to 'go down to win vs the Browns in slugger double overtime'. The Browns won that game with a miracle comeback. They weren't so lucky the next week vs John Elway's and The Drive.

Now if there was a version for punting. Now that would give me an instant rod intensification engorgment.
My lady would love that

Really like this style video. Please make more documentary style videos!! - long time fan. Joe to pro!!

The amount of times I ran the flea flicker in NCAA / Madden and street football with success was insane 😂😂😂

Culpepper hands it to Robert Smith, he pitches it back, Culpepper throws it deep to the rookie. Touchdown RANDY MOSS!"

After watching this, I'm now convinced that a play-action pass is just a fake flea-flicker.

Hell yes. Didn’t know I needed this, so glad to have it

Bill Parcells as Cowboys head coach used it to perfection...Drew Bledsoe to The Late Great Terry Glenn was most beautiful & smooth flea flicker I've ever seen!!! Drew could sling the hell out of a pigskin & Terry Glenn had that track speed to get behind a defense...they were a hell of a Flea Flicker trio!!!

Flea Flicker is a variation of the buck-lateral play of single-wing offenses from the 1920's to 1960's. In the single wing, the fullback and tailback would set up pretty much like they do in a T formation with 2 running backs, and the center would snap it to one or the other. The quarterback was usually a blocker, and would set up immediately behind one of the guards. The buck-lateral started with the fullback receiving the snap from the center and running forward toward the middle of the line, but he would slip the ball to the quarterback before crashing into the line, the quarterback might wait a second, then lateral the ball back to the faster tailback, who was starting to run a sweep around one of the ends. That was the basic flea-flicker sweep. Two passing variations were used to expand the possibilities for defensive confusion beyond human comprehension. In one, the quarterback would take the ball from the fullback and retreat to throw a pass. In the other, he would pitch it back to the tailback, and the tailback would throw the pass. These plays and many variations proliferated in high school and college football throughout the single-wing era.

Someone that absolutely detest the flea flicker:
Joe Theismann.

Thanks isaac really like this style of videos from u

You should do the hook and ladder, or more generally a planned lateral past the line of scrimmage

I’m glad you showed the Steelers playing the Cleveland Browns using this play. I grew up in Pittsburgh during the 60s and 70s and the play that you showed being thrown to Benny Cunningham in the end zone was in overtime.