False start..Should it be a dead play..or let D decide? (2 Viewers)

[Da Guru]

I have seen many false starts that the D has smothered..yet they march it off as a dead ball foul.

Tonight the Ravens would have won the game. The Pats lineman moved..yet the Raven stopped the fourth down attempt. Hold on..False start..redo.

My feeling is that the D should decide to accept or decline the false start.

 

[bryhamm]

By definition it is a foul before the ball is snapped. Just because some players continue to try and execute a "play" is irrelevant.

 

[David Yudkin]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

 

[Da Guru]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

Understood, but many times it is a bang, bang play. The players had no idea. They were busting 100%.

 

[Tarlyn]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

Understood, but many times it is a bang, bang play. The players had no idea. They were busting 100%.

That final drive was so many plays going in the favor of NE it was almost hard to believe....the timeout from the sideline stopping a 4th down stuff. The false start stopping another 4th down stuff....the holding call on 4th down in the endzone. A beneficial replay call on the TD to win.Quite the finish.....I was routing for the Ravens just so that NE would lose but otherwise loved watching a good game.

 

[Da Guru]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

Understood, but many times it is a bang, bang play. The players had no idea. They were busting 100%.

That final drive was so many plays going in the favor of NE it was almost hard to believe....the timeout from the sideline stopping a 4th down stuff. The false start stopping another 4th down stuff....the holding call on 4th down in the endzone. A beneficial replay call on the TD to win.Quite the finish.....I was routing for the Ravens just so that NE would lose but otherwise loved watching a good game.

I agree, I really could care less who won or lost but I felt the Ravens did have a very bad sequence of events happen. They were just talking about Gafneys bobble on ESPN.

 

[Jayrod]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

Understood, but many times it is a bang, bang play. The players had no idea. They were busting 100%.

This is just like the coaches calling TO's right before the kicker kicks it.Just because the place is so loud that none of the players hear the whistle doesn't mean the normal rules shouldn't apply.False start has and always will be a penalty that stops the play from ever happening, hence there is no play to decline for.

 

[Krewe]

They can accept or decline the penalty. But if the play is called dead you can't take the results of a play that never finished.

Understood, but many times it is a bang, bang play. The players had no idea. They were busting 100%.

This is just like the coaches calling TO's right before the kicker kicks it.Just because the place is so loud that none of the players hear the whistle doesn't mean the normal rules shouldn't apply.False start has and always will be a penalty that stops the play from ever happening, hence there is no play to decline for.

lock it. This one's a non-starter.

 

[encaitar]

I think the OP was more along the lines of whether this should be a dead ball foul. When the defense jumps offsides, the O gets a free play to do whatever they want. Why not the same the opposite way?

There will likely be some discussion here because of tonight's play, but I think there should be a rule change. However, I don't believe there will be.

 

[eagles2007]

like everything in football the rules are tilted to the offensive's advantage.

 

[ninerfanatic492000]

i think there is little doubt if the replay booth did overturn gaffney's TD that the patriots would eventually score anyway. they still would have had 3downs to go with 40 seconds left. i agree with what jaws was saying after the game about that last catch, there may have been a bobble but since gaffney's fingertips were always on the ball appearing to grip the football it didn't seem like he clearly ever lost possession at anytime.

 

[David Yudkin]

i think there is little doubt if the replay booth did overturn gaffney's TD that the patriots would eventually score anyway. they still would have had 3downs to go with 40 seconds left. i agree with what jaws was saying after the game about that last catch, there may have been a bobble but since gaffney's fingertips were always on the ball appearing to grip the football it didn't seem like he clearly ever lost possession at anytime.

They would have had 4 downs after all the Ravens penalties.

 

[freelander]

I think the OP was more along the lines of whether this should be a dead ball foul. When the defense jumps offsides, the O gets a free play to do whatever they want. Why not the same the opposite way?

There will likely be some discussion here because of tonight's play, but I think there should be a rule change. However, I don't believe there will be.

agreed. The O makes a mistake and actually benefits from it.

 

[The Great Snook]

I think the OP was more along the lines of whether this should be a dead ball foul. When the defense jumps offsides, the O gets a free play to do whatever they want. Why not the same the opposite way?

There will likely be some discussion here because of tonight's play, but I think there should be a rule change. However, I don't believe there will be.

agreed. The O makes a mistake and actually benefits from it.

I look at it from a slightly different angle. When one guy on the offense moves it triggers everyone on the defense to move while the rest of the offense is still waiting. I wouldn't be surprised if more often than not the defense stuffs a short yardage play when there is a false start.

 

[David Yudkin]

I think the OP was more along the lines of whether this should be a dead ball foul. When the defense jumps offsides, the O gets a free play to do whatever they want. Why not the same the opposite way?

There will likely be some discussion here because of tonight's play, but I think there should be a rule change. However, I don't believe there will be.

agreed. The O makes a mistake and actually benefits from it.

I look at it from a slightly different angle. When one guy on the offense moves it triggers everyone on the defense to move while the rest of the offense is still waiting. I wouldn't be surprised if more often than not the defense stuffs a short yardage play when there is a false start.

I doubt they will change the rule that has been the same for years when I believe the league thinks it is a safety issue in that not all players are firing on all cylinders at the same time.

 

[Black Box]

I think the OP was more along the lines of whether this should be a dead ball foul. When the defense jumps offsides, the O gets a free play to do whatever they want. Why not the same the opposite way?

There will likely be some discussion here because of tonight's play, but I think there should be a rule change. However, I don't believe there will be.

agreed. The O makes a mistake and actually benefits from it.

I look at it from a slightly different angle. When one guy on the offense moves it triggers everyone on the defense to move while the rest of the offense is still waiting. I wouldn't be surprised if more often than not the defense stuffs a short yardage play when there is a false start.

I doubt they will change the rule that has been the same for years when I believe the league things it is a safety issue in that not all players are firing on all cylinders at the same time.

Yes, I was going to say the same thing: I think it's a safety issue. The offense dictates when the play begins. If someone moves, the defense reacts and starts to play. There is then the possibility of a defenseless offensive player getting hit.

Also, to the poster who referred to defensive offsides, yes the play continues... unless they actually hit an offensive player or are "unabated to the QB". Both safety issues, which is why those penalties will stop the play, but just being offsides won't. However, I think an argument can be made that defensive offsides should result in a "no-play" as well, not the other way around trying to make a false start a "play it out" type penalty.