December 26, 2006
Down by contact.  Actual wording and rule #. – Steve M.

Rule 7-4-1 states: "An official shall declare dead ball and the down ended (e) when a runner is contacted by a defensive player and he touches the ground with any part of his body except his hands or feet ..." In other words, if a defensive player touches an offensive player and he goes to the ground either as a result of the touching or virtually immediately after the touching or if a defensive player touches an offensive player who although not previously touched is on the ground, the play is dead at the time that any part of the runners body (other than his hand or foot) contacts the ground. The touching does not need to be the cause of the offensive player going to the ground nor does the touching have to be by the defensive players hand, any touching satisfies the definition. In the case of the play on Bush on the punt return, the mere fact that it was ruled that the Giants player contacted him (barely) as he was going to the ground was enough to warrant a "down by contact" determination.     

December 18, 2006
What is the rule (if any) on a free field goal kick after a fair catch? – Dan M.

Rule 10-1-6 states that: "When a fair catch is made for a team, the Captain must choose either: a) a fair catch kick must be made on or behind the mark of the catch; or b) a snap to put the ball in play." As a result, if a team signals for and makes a fair catch (or is awarded a fair catch by penalty), they may attempt a field goal from that spot (without the use of a tee (i.e., the ball must be held) and the defense can not rush and must be at least 10 yards away at the time of the kick. The kick is like any other field goal attempt (it is not a "free kick" like a kick-off) in that it can not be recovered by the kicking team unless it has first been touched in the field of play by the receivers.   

December 12, 2006
To respond (unsolicited) to an issue raised by Bill S. in the LTTE section, the NFL probably does more than any other employer in the United States to ensure that all participants in their games are untainted by any suspicions of outside influence. The league maintains a security force primarily composed of ex-FBI and other government agents in every league city whose responsibility it is monitor the actions of players, front office personnel and officials during the week and the off-season. The league also monitors any unusual shifts in the point spread during the week and anything else that might indicate any “funny business” being planned or implemented. All of the league’s on-field officials undergo an intense background check prior to being added to the league’s roster and the check is being constantly updated. In addition, every call (and non-call) made by an official during a game is scrutinized by Supervisors and observers during the game and during the weekly grading sessions that are conducted in the league office. Even further, given the randomness of the game and the fact that every play is viewed by multiple officials from multiple angles, it would be virtually impossible for a single official (or player for that matter) to make a determined effort to have a singular influence on a game without being rapidly detected.

Although I have learned to say “never say never,” there has never been a hint that any NFL official was officiating a game with a pre-disposed bias for whatever reason. I know that certain fans may feel that an official or a crew has it in for their team, however there has never been an indication that any such accusations have even a grain of truth. (The same can be said for virtually all NCAA officials.) If Bill S. (and others) understood the mentality that it takes for these individuals to get into officiating and to officiate on this level week after week, they would appreciate how unlikely it is that any official would be involved in any unfair or illegal practices.

As for Sundays Giants game and the play that involved Tim Carter, it is clear that Terry McAuley’s crew worked the game with an attitude that only the most egregious fouls (against either team) would be flagged. This is the same philosophy that is typically followed on during the play-off games. In the case of Carter, the official on the sideline was probably shielded by the two bodies and did not have a clear view of what happened. He might have gotten some help from the midfield official, the Back Judge, if he was looking at the play and had a clear view. As is always the case with hand fighting, it is a subjective call and opinions regarding who did what to who will vary. In this instance, the officials chose to make it a non-call. To me, it looked like the television camera had a better angle than either official and that Carter still had a chance to catch the pass even with the contact. So a non-call was the safe way to go although it could well have been called differently.

December 7, 2006
If a receiver goes out of bounds on his own, can he come back on the field and catch a deflected pass? – Ted K.

In response to the question about David tyree's crackback block against Dallas, the ref offered up this definition.