Words that fans hear to describe plays may not always be the same words that teams use. That is certainly the case with a play that has taken over the NFL in 2023.
Jourdan Rodrigue wrote an article for The Athletic detailing a “cheat motion” that the Miami Dolphins used in Week 1 on a play where Tyreek Hill gained 28 yards. Rodrigue noted that other coaches who worked with Miami coach Mike McDaniel in the past — namely San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur all quickly began running a similar play and the rest of the league followed.
She even quoted Shanahan, talking about the play’s name. “We call it ‘cheat;’ because it’s cheating…It’s cool to get ’em running sideways, and still hit it vertically.”
That sounds all well and good. Only, at least internally, the Dolphins refer to it by a more colorful name, one that doesn’t work with a lot of editors.
Rodrigue was asked on Twitter, “Do you know what Miami calls that ‘cheat’ motion?” She is not only quite aware of the plays internal name — shart — but also the origin of the name.
“‘Shart’ – editors couldn’t put that in the article lol (fast …sudden… exit) and we used the more widely recognized term to help illustrate how it became a popularized term,” Rodrigue replied.
Well, there you have it.
[TheAthletic.com, Jourdan Rodrigue on Twitter/X]