Reporter details how Dolphins’ shart took NFL by storm

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

— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) March 28, 2024

“‘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]