In the N.F.L., where there is so much downtime between games, coaches will spend hundreds of hours scheming and plotting new ways to fool the opposition.
The excessive calculation can lead to what seems like innovation. But usually, it is not new at all.
Take, for example, this season’s trendiest offbeat play: the halfback or wide receiver option pass.
Perhaps last week you saw a highlight of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. fielding a lateral on what looked like a running play — until Beckham stopped to throw a classic, perfectly executed option pass across the field for a touchdown to running back Saquon Barkley.