Kind of a crazy instant replay question - is this possible? (1 Viewer)

[snatchos]

In Sunday's Fins-Pats game, with 4:10 left in the game and the Fins down by 13 they were faced with a 4th and 10 from their own 44.

As they approached the line, the play clock was getting close to zero and I was screaming at the TV for them to get the play off before it expired. I'm pretty positive they didn't get the play off in time. The delay of game wasn't called, they didn't get the first down and turned the ball over on downs.

So my question is this:

Assume they actually didn't get the ball off in time and a delay of game should have been called. Could the Dolphins have thrown the challenge play to have their own play reviewed to determine if it was a delay of game? If it was determined to be a delay of game (which is a dead ball foul, not declinable by the defense) would the Dolphins have been able to get that last play back, be penalized and now be facing a 4th and 15?

I'm pretty sure delay of game is a reviewable penalty but haven't been able to confirm that 100%.

So I'm interested in people's thoughts and whether this could have been an option to get an extra play back.

 

[PosterNutBag]

I did a little searching and the best I could find is this on wikipedia, which does not mention delay of game as one of the things that is reviewable. I agree that it seems that it should be reviewable, but I don't think it is since I have never seen it reviewed and I have watched a lot of football. To me, if you can review whether or not a team had more than 11 players on the field, then why shouldn't you also be able to challenge whether a team got the play off before the play clock expired?

 

[tombonneau]

I don't think Delay of Game is a reviewable penalty, but I'm not positive. I can say with 100% certainty though that I've never seen it reviewed, or seen a team try to review it, which leads me to believe it is not reviewable.

 

[tombonneau]

I did a little searching and the best I could find is this on wikipedia, which does not mention delay of game as one of the things that is reviewable. I agree that it seems that it should be reviewable, but I don't think it is since I have never seen it reviewed and I have watched a lot of football. To me, if you can review whether or not a team had more than 11 players on the field, then why shouldn't you also be able to challenge whether a team got the play off before the play clock expired?

I think one of the reasons may be is because we are seeing the superimposed play clock on the TV screen sometimes, but that is not always there and I'm not sure what video feeds the crew is working off of. My guess it is just the direct network feeds without any other superimposed graphics etc., so not sure how they would be able to review it?

 

[David Yudkin]

Unofficial replay rules. LINK Delay of game not listed.

 

[The_Man]

Unofficial replay rules. LINK Delay of game not listed.

delay of game is a little sketchy anyway -- it seems to me that the officials usually give the offense up to a half-second after the clock hits 00 to snap the ball before they throw the flag.And that's fine with me. I'd rather see the game continue to be played, rather than have more whistles, flags, and stoppages.

 

[pats3in4]

Unofficial replay rules. LINK Delay of game not listed.

delay of game is a little sketchy anyway -- it seems to me that the officials usually give the offense up to a half-second after the clock hits 00 to snap the ball before they throw the flag.And that's fine with me. I'd rather see the game continue to be played, rather than have more whistles, flags, and stoppages.

I don't know if this is true, but I've heard that the reason the refs give extra time after the clock hits zero is because when the zero is shown, it's actually 0.x seconds left; The final full second. I guess once the clock hits zero the offense has one second to snap the ball.

 

[Wreckincrew]

Delay of game is declinable (if that is a word). Think: Punting from the opponents 45 and wanting to get an extra 5 yards. In the past the penalty was automatic, but it changed a few years ago.

 

[snatchos]

Delay of game is declinable (if that is a word). Think: Punting from the opponents 45 and wanting to get an extra 5 yards. In the past the penalty was automatic, but it changed a few years ago.

The penalty can be declined (i.e. the 5 yards are not marked off), but the down is still played.In my example I'm looking at a play that already happened in spite of a dead ball foul that should have stopped the clock. If replay determined a delay of game I would think that they would be looking at a 4th and 15 instead of 4th and 10.