You Make the Call (1 Viewer)

[GregR]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.

What's the right call?



(Answer in post #10)

2) You are a ref. A receiver running in bounds along the sideline has to make an off balance leaping catch. He controls the ball completely with a one-handed catch. But he's tumbling a bit off balance. His right foot touches in bounds. He hops trying to staying in bounds, and his right foot touches in bounds a second time. His hand not clutching the ball hits the ground in bounds. Finally he falls to the ground out of bounds. He maintains complete control of the ball the entire time, and all the way through his contact with the ground.

What's the right call?

(answered in post 19)

3) You are a coach. Your team is down by 2 in the final moments of the game. Your opponent is pinned deep and punts out of his end zone. The punt coverage makes it up field and your returner calls for a fair catch, hoping there will be a second left for a Hail Mary attempt. He makes the fair catch at the 50 yard line, but the clock reads 0:00. You wonder how the coverage did so well, and believe it was because they had 12 or more men on the field. You did not use all of your challenges, and you still had a timeout remaining.

What should you do?

(answered in post 14).

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.

What's the right call?

(answer in post 28)

5) You are a ref. On a punt, the return man makes a fair catch signal, but lets the ball hit the ground in the field of play. A member of the kicking team touches the ball but doesn't gain control of it. The return man then grabs the ball and runs up field with it. He is stripped and the kicking team recovers the ball. As they run with the ball towards the end zone, the ball carrier is pulled down by his face mask.

What's the right call?



(answer in post 45)

6) You are a ref. A receiver is in the field of play, a good 5 yards from the sideline. He jumps up and catches the ball. Before both his feet hit the ground, a defender grabs him out of the air and carries him to the sideline where he sets him down out of bounds.

What's the right call?

(answered in post 52)

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.

What's the right call?



(answered in post 54)

 

[FreeBaGeL]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.

What's the right call?

Hopefully you were smart enough to blow the whistle when he "faked" the knee. It's not really about the player taking the knee so much as it is about him giving himself up. Plays are blown dead on kickoffs where players "take a knee" without actually touching their knee to the ground pretty regularly.

2) You are a ref. A receiver running in bounds along the sideline has to make an off balance leaping catch. He controls the ball completely with a one-handed catch. But he's tumbling a bit off balance. His right foot touches in bounds. He hops trying to staying in bounds, and his right foot touches in bounds a second time. His hand not clutching the ball hits the ground in bounds. Finally he falls to the ground out of bounds. He maintains complete control of the ball the entire time, and all the way through his contact with the ground.

What's the right call?

Complete

3) You are a coach. Your team is down by 2 in the final moments of the game. Your opponent is pinned deep and punts out of his end zone. The punt coverage makes it up field and your returner calls for a fair catch, hoping there will be a second left for a Hail Mary attempt. He makes the fair catch at the 50 yard line, but the clock reads 0:00. You wonder how the coverage did so well, and believe it was because they had 12 or more men on the field. You did not use all of your challenges, and you still had a timeout remaining.

What should you do?

Call the timeout and talk to the ref? If you throw the red flag there you're penalized and the play can't be reviewed, game over.

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.

What's the right call?

Touchdown

5) You are a ref. On a punt, the return man makes a fair catch signal, but lets the ball hit the ground in the field of play. A member of the kicking team touches the ball but doesn't gain control of it. The return man then grabs the ball and runs up field with it. He is stripped and the kicking team recovers the ball. As they run with the ball towards the end zone, the ball carrier is pulled down by his face mask.

What's the right call?

Receiving team can choose to either take the ball where it was initially touched, or take the result of the play (fumble recovery and return by the opponent with 15 yards tacked on for a facemask). No penalty is enforced if they choose the former.

6) You are a ref. A receiver is in the field of play, a good 5 yards from the sideline. He jumps up and catches the ball. Before both his feet hit the ground, a defender grabs him out of the air and carries him to the sideline where he sets him down out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Incomplete

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Batting. Half the distance to the goal, replay the try.

 

[dgreen]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.What's the right call?

Hopefully you were smart enough to blow the whistle when he "faked" the knee. It's not really about the player taking the knee so much as it is about him giving himself up. Plays are blown dead on kickoffs where players "take a knee" without actually touching their knee to the ground pretty regularly.

I agree whistles are blown before the knee touches fairly often, but I'm not sure that they should blow. In Greg's example, I'm assuming no whistle has blown. I'm pretty sure I've seen players fake the knee then run upfield.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.What's the right call?

Hopefully you were smart enough to blow the whistle when he "faked" the knee. It's not really about the player taking the knee so much as it is about him giving himself up. Plays are blown dead on kickoffs where players "take a knee" without actually touching their knee to the ground pretty regularly.

I agree whistles are blown before the knee touches fairly often, but I'm not sure that they should blow. In Greg's example, I'm assuming no whistle has blown. I'm pretty sure I've seen players fake the knee then run upfield.

I don't know what the actual NFL rule says, but I know the NCAA rule explicitly covers themselves for fake kneel downs by defining it as "a player placing or simulating placing his knee down". This came up a few years back when Mike Leach got upset after the whistle was blown on a fake QB kneel and it turned out that it was correct to blow the whistle, via the rules.

 

[GregR]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.What's the right call?

Hopefully you were smart enough to blow the whistle when he "faked" the knee. It's not really about the player taking the knee so much as it is about him giving himself up. Plays are blown dead on kickoffs where players "take a knee" without actually touching their knee to the ground pretty regularly.

I agree whistles are blown before the knee touches fairly often, but I'm not sure that they should blow. In Greg's example, I'm assuming no whistle has blown. I'm pretty sure I've seen players fake the knee then run upfield.

Let's assume for any of the situations that you're reffing it as it happens and should make the right call at the right moment. So if the right thing is to blow a play dead before it makes it all the way through my description, then that would be the best answer.

 

[dgreen]

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.What's the right call?

I think the play is still live.

2) You are a ref. A receiver running in bounds along the sideline has to make an off balance leaping catch. He controls the ball completely with a one-handed catch. But he's tumbling a bit off balance. His right foot touches in bounds. He hops trying to staying in bounds, and his right foot touches in bounds a second time. His hand not clutching the ball hits the ground in bounds. Finally he falls to the ground out of bounds. He maintains complete control of the ball the entire time, and all the way through his contact with the ground.What's the right call?

If I'm understanding this correctly, I'd say he has two feet and one hand in bounds so it's a catch.

3) You are a coach. Your team is down by 2 in the final moments of the game. Your opponent is pinned deep and punts out of his end zone. The punt coverage makes it up field and your returner calls for a fair catch, hoping there will be a second left for a Hail Mary attempt. He makes the fair catch at the 50 yard line, but the clock reads 0:00. You wonder how the coverage did so well, and believe it was because they had 12 or more men on the field. You did not use all of your challenges, and you still had a timeout remaining.What should you do?

I'd do that free kick thingy that Madden always wanted someone to do. Coaches can't challenge in the final two minutes, so you can't use your challenge flag. But, I'd talk to the refs about it and try to gain five more yards.

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.What's the right call?

He wasn't the first to touch the ball upon re-entering the field, so no problem there. Kicking team can't advance a muff, so there's no TD for the punting team. But, even if the ball pops up in the air, the punting team has to give the returner the full chance to field the punt. This happened a few years ago and the punting team was called for fair catch interference.

5) You are a ref. On a punt, the return man makes a fair catch signal, but lets the ball hit the ground in the field of play. A member of the kicking team touches the ball but doesn't gain control of it. The return man then grabs the ball and runs up field with it. He is stripped and the kicking team recovers the ball. As they run with the ball towards the end zone, the ball carrier is pulled down by his face mask.What's the right call?

OK, when the punting team touches the ball first, then the receiving team can recover the ball without there being a fumble. (I'm not sure why more return teams don't take advantage of this rule.) So, I'd say the play is dead when the returner fumbles.

6) You are a ref. A receiver is in the field of play, a good 5 yards from the sideline. He jumps up and catches the ball. Before both his feet hit the ground, a defender grabs him out of the air and carries him to the sideline where he sets him down out of bounds.What's the right call?

Forward progress would lead to a blown whistle before the player lands out of bounds.

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.What's the right call?

No freaking idea. Failed conversion?

 

[DepthCharts]

1 - Touchback (simulating giving self up)

2 - Complete (hand = 2 feet)

3 - you cant review, therefore you can call a time out, get Legatron ready, and kick the fair caught ball with 0:00 remaining, from the 50.

4 - kicking team ball at spot of muff recovery

5 - Receiving team ball at spot of touch by Defense (this shuold say kicking team)

6 - Incomplete (a few years ago, complete)

7 - touchback

eta: 5 (insert Kicking Team in place if Defense)

 

[Mello]

1. I'm pretty sure the ref should have blown the whistle, stopped the pay, and given a touchback.

2. Complete

3. Give the team one untimed down to run a play. They can choose to take a normal snap or line up for a field goal from the spot the fair catch was made.

4. I think this is now fair catch interference, 15 yard penalty.

5. Returning team's ball at the spot they fumbled + 15 yards (or half the distance) for the facemask.

6. Incomplete.

7. Try no good...though I'm guessing there's a catch because this is being asked.

 

[dollarbill13]

I'll guess on these before checking the rule book...

1) You are a ref. On a kickoff, the kick returner catches the ball cleanly in the end zone. He pretends like he's taking a knee, but stops a little short of actually touching knee to the ground before standing upright again. He waits a few seconds for the kicking team to relax and then takes off upfield, eventually reaching the far end zone.

What's the right call?

I'm going to speculate that there's a rule about being a touchback if the return man doesn't immediately make an effort to get out of the endzone. If that rule doesn't exist, then it's just a question of whether the whistle was blown.

2) You are a ref. A receiver running in bounds along the sideline has to make an off balance leaping catch. He controls the ball completely with a one-handed catch. But he's tumbling a bit off balance. His right foot touches in bounds. He hops trying to staying in bounds, and his right foot touches in bounds a second time. His hand not clutching the ball hits the ground in bounds. Finally he falls to the ground out of bounds. He maintains complete control of the ball the entire time, and all the way through his contact with the ground.

What's the right call?

Catch - tapping the same foot twice is equivalent to getting 2 feet down

3) You are a coach. Your team is down by 2 in the final moments of the game. Your opponent is pinned deep and punts out of his end zone. The punt coverage makes it up field and your returner calls for a fair catch, hoping there will be a second left for a Hail Mary attempt. He makes the fair catch at the 50 yard line, but the clock reads 0:00. You wonder how the coverage did so well, and believe it was because they had 12 or more men on the field. You did not use all of your challenges, and you still had a timeout remaining.

What should you do?

Kick the FG. You can't challenge since it's within 2 minutes anyway. If the booth challenges and they enforce the penalty, it's an untimed re-kick which does me no good. You can have an untimed FG attempt after a fair catch so just go for the 67 yarder and hope that your kicker is Legatron

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.

What's the right call?

The gunner's team has the ball at the spot where he caught it.

5) You are a ref. On a punt, the return man makes a fair catch signal, but lets the ball hit the ground in the field of play. A member of the kicking team touches the ball but doesn't gain control of it. The return man then grabs the ball and runs up field with it. He is stripped and the kicking team recovers the ball. As they run with the ball towards the end zone, the ball carrier is pulled down by his face mask.

What's the right call?

Kicking team gets the ball where he was tackled plus 15 yards for the penalty

6) You are a ref. A receiver is in the field of play, a good 5 yards from the sideline. He jumps up and catches the ball. Before both his feet hit the ground, a defender grabs him out of the air and carries him to the sideline where he sets him down out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Incomplete

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Illegal Batting - 1/2 the distance and retry

 

[GregR]

Answer to #1:

Spoiler

I had been wondering about this one myself for awhile. I wasn't 100% sure, so asked Jim Daopoulos over twitter yesterday during the games. His reply was: "the official would stop the play and not allow that fake. Could penalize for delay but probably just kill play and not allow it"

So, good job everyone.

The rest, there's some wrong answers that have been given already.

 

[DepthCharts]

On #3, I was going to type what I think a coach should do, but I honestly dont know if an UNflagged event can be flagged. So, for the sake of this post, lets say that is reviewable when a flag was NOT thrown. If in fact that is the case. I use my final timeout, tell the screen operator (if home, lol) to show that damn replay about 5 times during the timeout and put those #'s above the men like madden used to do counting them out....this and only this can get the replay officials to reveiw. heheheh

 

[DepthCharts]

Since #1 has been answered pretty much universally right... will confirm it.

Answer to #1: I had been wondering about this one myself for awhile. I wasn't 100% sure, so asked Jim Daopoulos over twitter yesterday during the games. His reply was: "the official would stop the play and not allow that fake. Could penalize for delay but probably just kill play and not allow it"

So, good job everyone.

The rest, there's some wrong answers that have been given already.

Thought I saw this last night in Bal/Pitt game....after faking kneel down at back of endzone he came up to 3 yards deep before kneeling again...I think replay will show the ref blew the whistle when he got back up after the fake kneel down.

 

[dgreen]

Answer to #1:

Spoiler

I had been wondering about this one myself for awhile. I wasn't 100% sure, so asked Jim Daopoulos over twitter yesterday during the games. His reply was: "the official would stop the play and not allow that fake. Could penalize for delay but probably just kill play and not allow it"

So, good job everyone.

The rest, there's some wrong answers that have been given already.

Rule 6, Section 1, Article 5 says the play has to be downed. Do you know where in the rulebook they define "downed"?

 

[GregR]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

 

[iamkoza]

looks like #1 is settled... reminds me of the devin hester return FG play against the giants a long time ago... although he didnt fake the knee... he just sorta stood there nonchalantly and then took off

#2, my guess would be that is not a catch... 2 of the same foot doesnt equal 2 feet in bounds... the hand being in bounds doesnt matter... btw has that ever happened before, I had a hard time picturing it

#3, I thought if you fair caught a punt with 0:00 on the clock you got a free kick?... I've never seen it... but you couldnt challenge the 12 man penalty... the booth would have to take care of that... in which case if it were a penalty you'd get one untimed down from the 45?

#4, thought you cant advance a muffed punt?... so the ball would be dead at the recovery location?

#5... not sure, my guess would be since the person who called fair catch didnt catch it his teammate can advance... if he has possession then fumbles the defense would get the ball where the defender was tackled plus the face mask penalty yardage? again not sure just my guess

#6 no catch... the pushout rule was removed a few years ago... you have to get 2 feet inbounds... that would be funny to watch

#7, as long as the defender bats it backwards there is no penalty and the try is no good? (not sure)

 

[GregR]

Answer to #1:

Spoiler

I had been wondering about this one myself for awhile. I wasn't 100% sure, so asked Jim Daopoulos over twitter yesterday during the games. His reply was: "the official would stop the play and not allow that fake. Could penalize for delay but probably just kill play and not allow it"

So, good job everyone.

Spoiler

The rest, there's some wrong answers that have been given already.

Rule 6, Section 1, Article 5 says the play has to be downed. Do you know where in the rulebook they define "downed"?I think the rule would be 7-2-1e (page 32 of 2012 rulebook). Dead ball declared "when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, or making no effort to advance".

So it could be considered "making no effort to advance" if nothing else. The rule for a QB taking a knee actually does spell out explicitly that a fake counts as taking a knee anyway. This is why I wasn't 100% sure how it would be ruled and asked the former ref. I know you can stroll upfield at a walk like you'd already taken a knee, as Hester did that before and turned it into a TD. I am guessing the line is the not moving and/or the fake kneel.

 

[dgreen]

Answer to #1:

Spoiler

I had been wondering about this one myself for awhile. I wasn't 100% sure, so asked Jim Daopoulos over twitter yesterday during the games. His reply was: "the official would stop the play and not allow that fake. Could penalize for delay but probably just kill play and not allow it"

So, good job everyone.

Spoiler

The rest, there's some wrong answers that have been given already.

Spoiler

Rule 6, Section 1, Article 5 says the play has to be downed. Do you know where in the rulebook they define "downed"?

I think the rule would be 7-2-1e (page 32 of 2012 rulebook). Dead ball declared "when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, or making no effort to advance".

So it could be considered "making no effort to advance" if nothing else. The rule for a QB taking a knee actually does spell out explicitly that a fake counts as taking a knee anyway. This is why I wasn't 100% sure how it would be ruled and asked the former ref. I know you can stroll upfield at a walk like you'd already taken a knee, as Hester did that before and turned it into a TD. I am guessing the line is the not moving and/or the fake kneel.

Thanks.I remember years ago a QB (Rodney Peete?) doing the fake knee and throwing a pass on the last play of the first half. I'd guess it depends on how far you take the fake. Getting within an inch of the ground is likely "down", but only bending your knees slightly is probably an ok fake.

 

[GregR]

I believe two of the questions haven't received a correct answer yet. A few of the others there are more wrong answers than right.

 

[GregR]

Answer to #2:

Spoiler

The rules requires the receiver "touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any other body part other than his hands".

Though we often say "two feet", it actually is "both feet", and since he only got 1 foot and 1 hand, it would be an incomplete pass. This one has an example of it covered in the Case Book, which is how I first became aware of it.

Nice job by iamkoza, I think he's the only one who got it.

 

[Mr.Pack]

#4, as long as he established himself back in bounds he can recover the ball first.

#5, Return team gets the ball at the point it touched a player.

#6, Incomplete

#7, Dead ball. EP is no good.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.What's the right call?

He wasn't the first to touch the ball upon re-entering the field, so no problem there. Kicking team can't advance a muff, so there's no TD for the punting team. But, even if the ball pops up in the air, the punting team has to give the returner the full chance to field the punt. This happened a few years ago and the punting team was called for fair catch interference.

I don't believe a penalty for fair catch interference applies after a muff (at least not in this specific situation - if he plowed into the returner instead of pulling the ball out of the air, it would). But you are right that the returner has to be given an opportunity to possess the punt, even after a muff (unless it hits the ground or, I think, a teammate).So it should still be the returning team's ball, but at the spot of the muff, not 15 yards further downfield.

 

[Statcruncher]

Here's my shot at the ones without answers linked yet:

4) Touchdown for the kicking team. The gunner wasn't the first to touch the ball and had clearly re-established himself in the field of play.

5) The play is dead as soon as the returnman loses possession of the ball. Tack on a penalty for the facemask.

6) Complete pass.

7) 2 point conversion attempt fails.

 

[renesauz]

Have read nothing after the initial post:

1. touchback

2. It's a catch

3. Take the timeout...can't challenge (inside 2 min) but extra time might let officials decide to review. THEN KICK UNCHALLNGED FG!

4. Kicking team gets the ball at the point the gunner caught it (can't advance a muff)

5. Recieving team keeps the ball (if kickers kick it first, receivers can't lose it). Dead ball spot is the pointof the fumble. Enforce the facemask 15 yards back from there.

6. It's a catch.

7. This a penalty by the defense. Half the distance and retry the XP.

ETA: # 5 should say if kickers TOUCH it first

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Oh, and I'm going to guess that #6 is a catch, not because I understand why but because it seems so clearly evident that it shouldn't be.

 

[BassNBrew]

#6 is a catch. Pushing the WR ob doesn't equal carrying him OB. There's probably something in the rule book about the defender having both feet inbounds and being in control of the WR.

 

[renesauz]

4) You are a ref. On a punt, one of the gunners from the kicking team is knocked out of bounds by a blocker. He immediately returns to the field and heads up field. The returner calls for a fair catch. He fails to catch it cleanly and it bounces off his hands and back up into the air. The previously mentioned gunner catches the ball in the air and runs it to the end zone.What's the right call?

He wasn't the first to touch the ball upon re-entering the field, so no problem there. Kicking team can't advance a muff, so there's no TD for the punting team. But, even if the ball pops up in the air, the punting team has to give the returner the full chance to field the punt. This happened a few years ago and the punting team was called for fair catch interference.

I don't believe a penalty for fair catch interference applies after a muff (at least not in this specific situation - if he plowed into the returner instead of pulling the ball out of the air, it would). But you are right that the returner has to be given an opportunity to possess the punt, even after a muff (unless it hits the ground or, I think, a teammate).So it should still be the returning team's ball, but at the spot of the muff, not 15 yards further downfield.

Actuaslly..it CAN apply, and has been called before. This is a judgment call though, and the given scenario doesn't make it clear whether or not the initial return man had any chance to catch his "muff" before it hit the ground. If, in the officials judgement, he COULD have, than throwing the flag for fair catch interferance is the right call. If he COULD NOT have, then the kicking team gets the ball at the spot of recovery. They can't advance it.

 

[Joe Summer]

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Assuming that you're referring to the defender's end zone, the correct call is a 1-point safety in favor of the offense. (If the defender had punched the ball 99 yards into the other end zone, then it would have been considered "Illegal Batting".)But what if the offense trailed by 8 points prior to the TD, and there was no time remaining on the clock? Could the offense decline the penalty to replay the down? Otherwise, I'm sure the defense would gladly concede 1 point in that scenario...

 

[GregR]

Answer to #4 (which 2.5 people got right):

Spoiler

Everyone was correct that the gunner was fine, having re-established himself in bounds. That was just a red herring though.

As dgreen and Mello caught.... a flag should be thrown for fair catch interference. The rules (10-2-2-3 for those who care) say: "Muff: After a valid fair catch signal, the opportunity to catch a kick does not end if the ball is muffed. The player who signaled for a fair catch must have a reasonable opportunity to catch the muffed ball before it hits the ground without interference by members of the kicking team, and regardless of whether the ball strikes another player or an official."

As mentioned this has happened a couple of times recently. Jeff Fisher in one of his final seasons as the Titans coach, railed at a ref who made the call, then later apologized after the ref reminded him. Fisher was one of the chairs of the Competition Committee who make the rules, so should have known it.

 

[renesauz]

Answer to #2:

Spoiler

The rules requires the receiver "touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any other body part other than his hands".

Though we often say "two feet", it actually is "both feet", and since he only got 1 foot and 1 hand, it would be an incomplete pass. This one has an example of it covered in the Case Book, which is how I first became aware of it.

Nice job by iamkoza, I think he's the only one who got it.

Honestly surprised by this one. ONe of a number of dumb/bad rules in the NFL.

 

[renesauz]

Answer to #4 (which 2 people got right):

Spoiler

Everyone was correct that the gunner was fine, having re-established himself in bounds. That was just a red herring though.

As dgreen and Mello caught.... a flag should be thrown for fair catch interference. The rules (10-2-2-3 for those who care) say: "Muff: After a valid fair catch signal, the opportunity to catch a kick does not end if the ball is muffed. The player who signaled for a fair catch must have a reasonable opportunity to catch the muffed ball before it hits the ground without interference by members of the kicking team, and regardless of whether the ball strikes another player or an official."

As mentioned this has happened a couple of times recently. Jeff Fisher in one of his final seasons as the Titans coach, railed at a ref who made the call, then later apologized after the ref reminded him. Fisher was one of the chairs of the Competition Committee who make the rules, so should have known it.

Must have been tying as I was above....this is a judgement call I think. It COULD be flagged for interferance, but this flag isn't automatic, nor shuld it be.

 

[GregR]

#6 is a catch. Pushing the WR ob doesn't equal carrying him OB. There's probably something in the rule book about the defender having both feet inbounds and being in control of the WR.

#6 I said the defender "carries him to the sideline", which is 5 yards away. So definitely carrying, not pushing.

 

[GregR]

Answer to #4 (which 2 people got right):

Spoiler

Everyone was correct that the gunner was fine, having re-established himself in bounds. That was just a red herring though.

As dgreen and Mello caught.... a flag should be thrown for fair catch interference. The rules (10-2-2-3 for those who care) say: "Muff: After a valid fair catch signal, the opportunity to catch a kick does not end if the ball is muffed. The player who signaled for a fair catch must have a reasonable opportunity to catch the muffed ball before it hits the ground without interference by members of the kicking team, and regardless of whether the ball strikes another player or an official."

As mentioned this has happened a couple of times recently. Jeff Fisher in one of his final seasons as the Titans coach, railed at a ref who made the call, then later apologized after the ref reminded him. Fisher was one of the chairs of the Competition Committee who make the rules, so should have known it.

Must have been tying as I was above....this is a judgement call I think. It COULD be flagged for interferance, but this flag isn't automatic, nor shuld it be.Yeah, I was typing while you posted. Made it 2.5 people for ya. They might use judgment, but the previous incident I gave with the Titans, IIRC the returner had no real way of catching it at the point the Titan grabbed the muff, as the ball bounced pretty far from the returner. But it was flagged anyway. And Fisher seemed to think it was the right call in his post game presser.

 

[dgreen]

7) You are a ref. A team just scored a touchdown and is going for two. They fumble the ball which falls on the 1 yard line. A defender dives at the ball and punches it to keep it away from an offensive player. The punch causes the ball to go through the end zone and out of bounds.

What's the right call?

Assuming that you're referring to the defender's end zone, the correct call is a 1-point safety in favor of the offense. (If the defender had punched the ball 99 yards into the other end zone, then it would have been considered "Illegal Batting".)But what if the offense trailed by 8 points prior to the TD, and there was no time remaining on the clock? Could the offense decline the penalty to replay the down? Otherwise, I'm sure the defense would gladly concede 1 point in that scenario...

Is it a penalty?

 

[Joe Summer]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?

 

[renesauz]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?Clock reads 0...there is no other play.

 

[dgreen]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?Well, in that scenario you would have gone all out on the punt block and not had a returner. Even if you did have a returner, you'd never tell him to call a fair catch with no time remaining if you are down 4.Of course, in that scenario, the punting team would just take the safety.

 

[sporthenry]

#6 is a catch. Pushing the WR ob doesn't equal carrying him OB. There's probably something in the rule book about the defender having both feet inbounds and being in control of the WR.

Item 6: Carried Out of Bounds. If a player, who is in possession of the ball, is held up and carried out of bounds by anopponent before both feet or any part of his body other than his hands touches the ground inbounds, it is a completedor intercepted pass.

 

[GregR]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?Hmm. If they review and rule too many men on the field, we can make them rekick and try to block it and fall on the ball for a touchdown.If they don't, then... would need to research this, but I'd lean towards do the Fair Catch kick, and try to drill it off a defender and hope it makes it to the end zone and one of them is as dumb as Leon Lett so we can fall on it for a TD. Though off the top of my head I'm not sure the rules for recovery of a blocked FC kick past the line are the same as a normal FG.

 

[GregR]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Spoiler

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?

Well, in that scenario you would have gone all out on the punt block and not had a returner. Even if you did have a returner, you'd never tell him to call a fair catch with no time remaining if you are down 4.Of course, in that scenario, the punting team would just take the safety.

Agree on taking the safety. If there's enough time you could fair catch it and still have a tick left on the clock though then you could try the hail mary, so you might put a returner back there. Depends on the time on the clock though.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

So what happens if the 12 men on the field is reviewed and caught, and you accept. Now there is an untimed play a 0 seconds. If they punt on the untimed play and you fair catch, do you still get a free kick?

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Spoiler

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?

Hmm. If they review and rule too many men on the field, we can make them rekick and try to block it and fall on the ball for a touchdown.If they don't, then... would need to research this, but I'd lean towards do the Fair Catch kick, and try to drill it off a defender and hope it makes it to the end zone and one of them is as dumb as Leon Lett so we can fall on it for a TD. Though off the top of my head I'm not sure the rules for recovery of a blocked FC kick past the line are the same as a normal FG.

If you were down by 4 wouldn't they just take a safety intentionally? The game can end on a safety, right?

 

[dgreen]

Answer to #2:

Spoiler

The rules requires the receiver "touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any other body part other than his hands".

Though we often say "two feet", it actually is "both feet", and since he only got 1 foot and 1 hand, it would be an incomplete pass. This one has an example of it covered in the Case Book, which is how I first became aware of it.

Nice job by iamkoza, I think he's the only one who got it.

Back to this play...

Spoiler

If a receiver catches the ball in the middle of the field and, for some strange reason, hops on one foot all the way out of bounds, then it's an incomplete pass?

 

[Sarnoff]

5) You are a ref. On a punt, the return man makes a fair catch signal, but lets the ball hit the ground in the field of play. A member of the kicking team touches the ball but doesn't gain control of it. The return man then grabs the ball and runs up field with it. He is stripped and the kicking team recovers the ball. As they run with the ball towards the end zone, the ball carrier is pulled down by his face mask.

What's the right call?

Haven't read any other posts, but since there's no answer in the OP, I'm gonna take a stab at it.

Spot the ball for the receiving team at the spot of the kicking team's first touch of it, assuming the receiving team accepts the penalty for Illegal Touching. Then, I think, mark off the yardage penalty (15, right?) for the facemask.

Once a ball is punted, "nothing bad can happen" to the receiving team if the kicking team touches the loose ball. They can attempt to pick it up themselves and the worst that can happen is they accept the penalty and get the spot. Touching the loose punt is the almost-never-actually-flagged "Illegal Touching" penalty. I think this came up at least once this season.

But I'm not sure about the ensuing facemask against the receiving team, I think that has to be counted off as well.

 

[dgreen]

So what happens if the 12 men on the field is reviewed and caught, and you accept. Now there is an untimed play a 0 seconds. If they punt on the untimed play and you fair catch, do you still get a free kick?

Good question. You are basically asking how many untimed plays can occur in a row.

 

[GregR]

Answer to #5: which I don't think anyone got

Spoiler

This is going to be one that I am pretty sure I have the right answer, but I wouldn't mind getting Pereira or Daopoulos to confirm.

Once the ball hits the ground and the kicking team touches it, the return man can advance the ball even though he made a fair catch signal. So we're good through there.

The rule of thumb for special teams is that anything after the kicking team touching it is gravy, because you can always take the ball at the spot of the First Touching as it is called. Even if you turn it over, you can get the ball back at that spot.

However, there is an exception. Rule 9-2-2, Note 2: "If the receiving team gains possession, subsequently loses possession, and fouls after the kicking team gains possession, the spot of first touching is disregarded, and the kicking team retains possession.

So the facemask penalty committed by the receiving team after the change of possession causes the First Touching to be disregarded. So it would be kicking team ball at the spot after the face mask penalty is assessed.

 

[renesauz]

Answer to #5: which I don't think anyone got

Spoiler

This is going to be one that I am pretty sure I have the right answer, but I wouldn't mind getting Pereira or Daopoulos to confirm.

Once the ball hits the ground and the kicking team touches it, the return man can advance the ball even though he made a fair catch signal. So we're good through there.

The rule of thumb for special teams is that anything after the kicking team touching it is gravy, because you can always take the ball at the spot of the First Touching as it is called. Even if you turn it over, you can get the ball back at that spot.

However, there is an exception. Rule 9-2-2, Note 2: "If the receiving team gains possession, subsequently loses possession, and fouls after the kicking team gains possession, the spot of first touching is disregarded, and the kicking team retains possession.

So the facemask penalty committed by the receiving team after the change of possession causes the First Touching to be disregarded. So it would be kicking team ball at the spot after the face mask penalty is assessed.

Oh fo shizzle! Didn't know this one.

 

[dgreen]

But I'm not sure about the ensuing facemask against the receiving team, I think that has to be counted off as well.

Yeah, it wasn't part of my original answer, but I agree. If I'm the ref, I'm blowing the whistle when the return team fumbles and it is recovered by the punting team. If someone tackles him after the whistle (facemask or not), that could be a 15-yard penalty.However, I suppose it is possible that the play just continues until there's a dead ball (player tackled) and given to the return team at that point (and then walk off* the facemask penalty).Speaking of walking off penalties, remember back in the day when the refs would take big steps along the yard markers to count off the penalty yards? That was awesome.

 

[GregR]

So what happens if the 12 men on the field is reviewed and caught, and you accept. Now there is an untimed play a 0 seconds. If they punt on the untimed play and you fair catch, do you still get a free kick?

Good question. You are basically asking how many untimed plays can occur in a row.

The rule says "if time expires during a play in which a player signals for a fair catch kick...".So I'd think the answer would be no. Time did not expire on the untimed down, so you wouldn't get an additional play.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

So what happens if the 12 men on the field is reviewed and caught, and you accept. Now there is an untimed play a 0 seconds. If they punt on the untimed play and you fair catch, do you still get a free kick?

It appears so, yes. Rule 4, Section 8:

If any period is extended for any reason, it shall continue until the completion of a down free from any foul specified in (a) through (i) above.

(Although they use the word "foul", they shouldn't, because not all of the terms to which it refers are fouls. And letter (f) above specifically says, "If a fair-catch is signaled and made, the receivers may choose to extend the period by a fair-catch kick down (10-2-4). If the first or third period is not so extended, the receivers may start the succeeding period with a snap or fair-catch kick (11-4-3).)

 

[GregR]

Answer to #3:

Spoiler

Nicely done again, the vast majority of people got this right.

You can't do anything about getting the 12 men on the field reviewed. Yes, that is a reviewable play by the way. You're at the mercy of the replay booth. So let's assume they don't review it, or they do and there were only 11... you should be planning on this:

A period can be extended with an untimed play after a fair catch. The only thing you can do is to make a Fair Catch Kick. In other circumstances you could snap the ball normally, but not on an untimed play.

A Fair Catch Kick can be a drop kick or a place kick. Assuming the latter, the holder holds the ball at the spot (in this case the 50), and the defense has to line up 10 yards back from the ball at the 40. So you're essentially trying a 60 yard FG with the defense not able to do a normal attempt at blocking it.

Spoiler

Let's tweak the scenario a bit and say that you're down by 4 points instead of 2. What's the play?

Spoiler

Hmm. If they review and rule too many men on the field, we can make them rekick and try to block it and fall on the ball for a touchdown.If they don't, then... would need to research this, but I'd lean towards do the Fair Catch kick, and try to drill it off a defender and hope it makes it to the end zone and one of them is as dumb as Leon Lett so we can fall on it for a TD. Though off the top of my head I'm not sure the rules for recovery of a blocked FC kick past the line are the same as a normal FG.

If you were down by 4 wouldn't they just take a safety intentionally? The game can end on a safety, right?I would take the safety... though at least in the example I posed, there's enough time for a punt to go from the end zone to the 50 and time just expires. So you probably have to step out of the back of the end zone before time expires is my guess, and then you make your free kick after the safety. But you gain 20 yards doing so and can hopefully put it out of range of a fair catch kick. So they'd have to run a Stanford band play and score on the return.