There is a constant battle going on within the NFL between offensive innovations and defenses reacting with tricks of their own to stop them. Four years ago the "Wildcat" offense was the brand new thing; after defenses around the league saw it a few times they adapted and no one is running the Wildcat in 2013. Sometimes the methods defenses resort to bend the rules a little bit like when the Chicago Bears would apparently use a guy to fake injuries to slow down the pace according to former Bear Brian Urlacher, reports the Chicago Sun Times.
The most recent offensive innovation in the NFL is the high tempo offense, used most notably be the New England Patriots. The offense tries to get the play off as quickly as humanely possible for three reasons; to prevent defensive substitutions, to tire out the defense and to get as many offensive plays run as possible.
Urlacher, who retired after rejecting a one-year $2 million deal from the Bears this spring, is now an analyst on Fox Sports 1 and he explained that while the team wasn't specifically coached on how to fake an injury they had a signal to call for a fake. When the signal was given from the sideline a designated player would take a dive, according to ESPN.
"We used to have a thing where the coach would go like this to take a dive," Urlacher said while mimicking the motion used by a swimmer. "We'd get in a long drive or early in the season after 80 plays you get tired and beat up. We had a guy who was a designated 'dive guy' so when the coach would say that, he'd get hurt."
In 2011 Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed told the Associated Press that the idea of faking an injury in order to get a breather is certainly not a new concept.
"It's always been in the game," Reed said. "It's all tactical stuff you need to use. Whatever it takes...If you're tired, you're tired. You get a break however you can."
Historically the NFL has not approved of teams faking injuries, in 2012 Emmanuel Sanders, a wide receiver for the Steelers, was fined $15,000 for faking an injury in a game against the Bengals, according to the Huffington Post.
Also in 2012 the NFL sent out a memo warning teams that they could be punished with fines and players with possible suspensions if they were suspected of faking injuries to disrupt the flow of the game. The NFL is reluctant to put in an in-game rule against faking because it is afraid that it will lead to players playing through legitimate injuries, according to NFL.com.
