bootleg

2 meanings

also: boot · waggle · naked · naked boot

The quarterback shows run action one way and takes the ball the other way. The four names for it are not synonyms, and the thing that separates them is whether anybody is blocking for him.

2 meanings, all below. Jump to the one you heard.

Offense

bootleg, with protection

Boot or bootleg: the quarterback fakes a run in one direction and works back against it, with linemen or a back assigned to protect the edge he is running to.

Also calledboot, boot action, waggle, buck pass
Not to be confused withnaked bootleg

See it in a play

  • Waggleboot pass away from run action, both guards pulling to protectWing-T
Offense

bootleg, naked, without it

Naked, or naked bootleg: the same action with nobody assigned to that edge. The fake is the protection, which is what the name is describing. If the defense does not bite, the quarterback is alone with a defensive end.

Also callednaked, naked boot
Not to be confused withbootleg with protection, waggle

A note on how the term is used

Waggle is the Wing-T's name for the protected version out of the buck series, where the backside guard pulls to seal the edge and the playside guard leads to take the first defender to show. It is a name for the first sense rather than a third meaning: a waggle is a bootleg, and not every bootleg is a waggle. This is the family and system split from docs/football-knowledge/playbooks.md in one word.

Where you will hear it

  • Wing-T
  • West Coast
  • wide zone and outside zone offenses

By level

Naked is common at youth level because it needs no protection scheme and the fake usually works on young defensive ends. The same call at varsity is a sack, which is the practical reason the distinction matters more as the level rises.

Related terms

  • naked bootleg
  • bootleg with protection
  • waggle