I've been whining for 2 YEARS about this head movement, and I never heard a word about it. Everytime I watch FL, I say "He jerks his arm or head and the offensive line gets off of the ball too fast." FINALLY tonight I hear it's illegal? Why haven't coaches for 2+ years knocked him on his a@@ and stopped it? They looked totally different off the ball after the penalties. GO VOLS!
Your guess is as good as mine.
See, there's two things I always taught regarding the snap. One was teaching my centers how to draw the defense offside (worked like a charm, too). The other was teaching my D-linemen how to flip the center onto his back if he tried that move (or any of a number of others).
There's a couple reasons for these with the center.
1) Five yards may not be drop-dead necessary halfway through the first quarter, but it sure might be in the second half.
2) It can either make the defense hair-trigger sensitive (thus helping greatly with hard counts), or it can make them dull (to the point where they're already being engaged before they get out of their stance).
And reasons for these with the defense.
1) It's a crap move that would get flagged 95 times out of 100 if the officials see it.
2) If you're going to jump offside, you might as well make it worthwhile. It gives the center something to think about as well.
And I feel no qualms about teaching either one, and I don't think I ever will.