Buck - lateral series The term buck - lateral describes a football play or a series of plays used in the Single - wing formation . Since the Single - Wing formation lost prominence by 1950 , the football play referred to as the Buck - lateral is almost gone from football ' s vocabulary . However , prior to this time , the buck - lateral play gave fullbacks the option to run , lateral , or hand - off the ball to another player . Running the buck - lateral required an offensive scheme that needed the fullback to possess many specialized skills , as opposed to today ' s fullback who mainly blocks and carries the ball infrequently . Origin of name . Before the invention of the Single - Wing offense by Glenn Scobey Warner , offenses used simple plays designed for runners to attack the defensive front behind massed line blocking . This battering ram approach usually involved the biggest runner , the fullback , as his main role was to " buck " or smash the middle of the defensive front . The term lateral describes a short toss from one back to another that does not advance the ball . A ball that goes forward to another player is called a forward pass . The pass and the lateral are both allowed to advance the ball when the offense is operating behind their line of scrimmage . Once beyond the line of scrimmage the lateral is the only means of transferring the ball to another player . The Buck - lateral was a play designed for single wing fullbacks to receive the toss from the center , and start toward the central part of the line to make the play look like a typical smash or buck . However , at some point the fullback might pause to do one of several deceptive options , usually handing - off to passing backs or even keeping the ball and plowing ahead . If the fullback delivers the ball to another back , the new carrier might have several additional options including handing or lateralling the ball to still another back . Warner ' s Carlisle formation , or Single - Wing , added additional misdirection and trickery to allow for runners to gain yards by deceiving the defense . The Single - wing also allowed the offense to put more blockers at the point of attack than the defense could muster . The Buck - lateral series . The buck - lateral play was actually a series of plays that started out the same way with the fullback taking the direct snap from center , then directing his forward movement toward the middle of the line of scrimmage . The play had several scripted or " read " options to confuse the defense . The player who was given permission to read the play could determine for himself whether to keep the ball or deliver it to another player . The fullback could basically either keep the ball to pound the middle of the line , or he could give the ball to one of the three other single - wing backs , usually the quarterback . Once in possession , the quarterback then continued the possibilities for initiating other permutations to the play . To understand the mechanics of the play , one has to understand basic terminology of the single - wing formation . The tailback was stationed four and one - half yards behind the short - side guard . In a typical formation , the fullback would line up three and one - half yards behind the long - side guard . One and one - half yards behind the tackle or guard , would be the quarterback or blocking back . Finally , the wingback aligns himself to the outside of the opposing defensive tackle . He is only one yard off the line . In most offenses the tailback was the main ball handler and generator of offense ; however , the fullback could also take the direct snap due to his proximity to the tailback . In fact whenever the ball was snapped , one of the two backs would take the snap while the other feigned taking the snap to confuse the defense . A popular scenario for the buck - lateral saw the fullback with the option to hand - off to the quarterback . The quarterback , on taking the ball , could try to sweep the end or toss the ball to the tailback , who had been paralleling the play more deeply in the backfield . If the tailback takes the lateral from the quarterback , he is in position to sweep the end , or even throw the ball to a receiver down field . Coaches created different versions of the buck - lateral depending on the versatility of the backfield . In one version the fullback might fake a hand - off to the quarterback , who is standing with his back to the defense to hide the lack of exchange . In another version , the fullback could give the ball to the quarterback , who then might initiate a reverse by giving the ball to the wingback coming back against the flow of the play . In another twist , the quarterback could take the fullback hand - off and complete a jump - pass . The buck - lateral was especially deceptive and effective , but hard to execute . The single - wing fullback had to have the skills of a modern - day quarterback in handling the ball . Plus , he had to be able to take the punishment associated with bucking the middle of the defense where the bigger , stronger defensive players were stationed . When the fullback took the snap , defensive players expected the play to hit the center of the line because the traditional role of the fullback was to grind out yardage between the tackles . Defensive players who rushed to stop the fullback at the guard - center gap might be totally surprised if the fullback slipped the ball to the nearby quarterback who was heading in another direction . Consequently , single - wing teams that could master the buck - lateral series of plays could be successful by always making the defense guess to where the ball was going . Of course , if the defense loses sight of the ball during the fakes or laterals , then the defense is at an extreme disadvantage . Today ' s coaches would call the buck - lateral a gadget play , because it was designed to thoroughly confuse the defense by making its members lose sight of the ball with fakes , counter action , and laterals . Nevertheless , trick plays were also harder to execute and demanded considerably more practice time than less complicated plays .