RIP, Buddy Ryan, inventor of the “Polish Goal Line” Defense.  Supposedly this play is from Buddy’s 1993 playbook when he was defensive coordinator for the Houston Oilers.  The play was a goal line defense for use at the end of a half when there were fewer than 15 seconds on the clock and the offense was inside the 5 yard line.  Look at the defense and count the players–14 defenders!  The idea was that the extra players would prevent a score, the offense would lose valuable seconds off the clock and the defense would only be penalized half the distance to the goal line.  In effect, the offense would only get one chance to score, rather than potentially multiple chances to score.   Continue reading →