Football ploy is a term used to describe a strategy used in American football. A SCREEN is a play in which the quarterback throws a short pass to a receiver behind the line of scrimmage, who then passes the ball to a running back. An end run is a play in which the quarterback hands the ball off to a running back who runs parallel to the line of scrimmage. An onside kick is a type of kick in which the ball is kicked short and is recovered by the kicking team. An option play is a play in which the quarterback can either hand the ball off to a running back or keep it and run with it himself.