February 18, 2008: PROPOSED NCAA RULE CHANGES

In recent years, the committee has attempted to address head-down contact and dangerous helmet contact in general. The committee is directing game officials to strictly penalize head-down contact as well as players that target defenseless opponents.

Another safety proposal deals with a dangerous tackle – commonly referred to as a “horse collar.” Any player will now be prohibited from grabbing the inside back collar of the shoulder pads or jersey, or the inside collar of the side of the shoulder pads or jersey, and immediately pulling the runner down. 

Two other major proposals deal with the pace of play. The rules committee passed a 40/25 second play clock system in an effort to standardize the pace of play. Unless the game is stopped for administrative reasons (e.g., change of possession, injury, etc.), the offensive team will have 40 seconds to snap the ball after it is declared dead.

Additionally, the committee made a change in the timing of the game after a play in which a runner goes out of bounds. Except in the last two minutes of each half, the game clock will start on a signal from the referee, rather than on the snap.

The committee also made the following proposals: 

• In the rules relating to instant replay, plays where a fumble leads to an immediate recovery may be reviewed.
• In replay rules, a coach that challenges a play and is successful will retain the right to challenge one more time for a maximum of two.
• When a kickoff goes out of bounds, the receiving team may accept the ball at the 40-yard line instead of the 35.
• The incidental five-yard face mask foul was removed. All face mask fouls (pulling, twisting or turning) will be a 15-yard penalty.
• A yardage penalty for sideline control was instituted.

As can be seen, most of the new rules changes in college have to do with safety and speeding the game up. I suspect that the NFL rules changes, if any, will be along the same lines. The feeing is that both the NFL and NCAA games are in good shape and there is no need for major adjustments.  

February 13, 2008

Not really a question, but more of a comment on taking or declining the intentional delay of game before punting. I believe the strategy should hinge on the distance. More than 5 or 6 yards to go, decline.  If less, take it.  That way an offside, running into the kicker or too many men on the field (hello Chase Blackburn) doesn't result in a first down, or get them close enough that they decide to go for it. – AJ G.

I agree. Right now they appear to accept the yardage without much thought. My reaction always is: "If the offense wants me to accept the five yards, why should I do what they want me to? But there are strange things in all professional sports that I do not understand (i.e., in baseball, why does the runner go halfway on a long fly ball to right field?) This is not the only thing.   

February 12, 2008

When is a receiver ruled down after making a catch? unless touched can he get up and run if not touched and if official has not blown play dead? – Larry R.

In the NFL, a receiver is not "down" (i.e., the play is not over) unless he is either touched when he is on the ground or was touched while going to the ground. A third situation is if the receiver catches the ball and then obviously gives himself up by sliding feet first to the ground and not attempting to advance. The latter situation may occur at the end of the game when a team wants to get another play off. If the receiver catches the ball and then goes to the ground without being touched, he can get up and run. In the NCAA, once the receiver hits the ground with the ball in his possession, the play is over whether he was touched or not.   

February 11, 2008

PLEASE HELP--on a 4th down punt situation, the offense is called for a delay of game (either 25/40 sec) violation, rule 14 section 6 states that penalties for all fouls may be declined EXCEPT a penalty for certain illegal actions prior to or pertaining to a snap i.e, the ball remains dead  (see 4-3-9).  My argument is that the delay of game penalty is always enforced from the previous spot (5 yards) since the ball is dead.  But then the rule states that the defense may decline a distance penalty. CONFUSING.  ANY HELP??? -- Andy M.

The penalty for Delay of Game is "always" enforced from the previous spot in the situation that you mention because for some reason, NFL coaches "always" accept the five yards. Personally, I have never been able to understand this.

[By the way, there have been a limited number of situations where I have seen the penalty/yardage declined by some of the smarter coaches so it is not "always," but close.]

The defense has the right to decline the yardage in the situation that you mention and just leave the ball where it was. Inside of the last five minutes, the clock will remain stopped and the play clock will be reset to 25 seconds. No additional time will run off the clock before the snap allowing the offense to gain an advantage.

The key thing to remember is that the yardage can be declined. Some day I will ask a coach why they don't do it.     

February 8, 2008
NFL Films had the officials miked during the Super Bowl.  Inside the NFL showed a clip of Mike Carey talking to Bill Beliceck while he was challenging the play where Blackburn was a twelfth man on a punt.  Carey said that it was their [the officials'] fault as they didn't give the defense time to match up after the punt team took the field.  What is the rule on this? – Bob S.

When the offense makes a last minute change of personnel on the field, the Umpire is supposed to stay over the ball and cause the snap to be delayed until the defense has an opportunity to adjust to the changed personnel. The Referee will typically release the Umpire when he sees that the defense has adjusted. The play clock runs during this time period and should time run out the foul will be on the offense for delay of the game.

The Referee walks a thin line between delaying enough and not enough. Based on what you heard, apparently Carey felt that the crew had not delayed sufficiently to allow Blackburn to get off the field. However, once they let the play go, it is the responsibility of the defense to have made the appropriate adjustments.

Sometimes you see one or two defensive players run off and assume that this is the only changes that the defense will make and then at the last second another player runs off for some reason. It looked to me like the Giants were confused and Blackburn did not know if he should be on or off the field. I thought the officials delayed the snap a reasonable amount of time but Carey may have felt otherwise. 

February 7, 2008
Coin toss issue, the team who wins the toss to start the game decides to defer the ball and kick off first, do they have the option to receive first in the 2nd half or does the team who lost the toss have the option to receive again? – Paul M.

In the NFL, unlike the NCAA, the team winning the toss at the start of the game can not defer its choice to the second half. It can only choose to receive, kick or defend a specific goal. As a result, if it wins the toss and chooses to kick-off to start the game, the team losing the toss will get their choice to start the second half and in virtually all instances will choose to receive. Thus, the same team will end up receiving to start both halves.  

February 5, 2008

Can you explain the illegal batting rule that was called on Bradshaw?  I know that you can't fumble forward on 4th down, so was the call based on his intent?  And would he have been flagged had he knocked it out of bounds (as I have seen players do numerous times) instead of forward? -- AJ G.

As I indicated in my post-game notes, a ball can not be batted forward in the field of play or in any direction in the end zone. A bat is deliberately striking the ball with a fist, hand, arm, or elbow. Bradshaw clearly hit the ball with jis hand moving it forward. Intent is not important in this case, just the direction of the ball when it is struck. Had it gone forward and out of bounds, it would still have been a penalty. The only time that it is not a penalty is if it goes directly sideways or backwards. The signal is both hands to the shoulders, just like Illegal Touching.

Can you address the Bradshaw fumble?  Was that play reviewable?  Seems to me that the Pats should have challenged that play and they would have gotten the ball. – Ian H.

I am not which aspect of the "Bradshaw fumble" you are referring to. If the question is whether the Patriots could have challenged the fact that it appeared that one of their players had possession of the ball while he was on the ground and had been contacted and then had it ripped away, the answer is that "yes" it could have been challenged. However, once the call was made on the field that it was Giants ball, I doubt whether they would have seen enough to over turn the call.   

Could the Patriots have challenged the Burress incompletion/fumble? Could the Patriots have challenged the Manning/Bradshaw fumble? – Keith A.

Both of those plays could have been challenged. I do not believe that there was enough evidence to overturn the calls on the field in either instance.  

What is the official regarding an ineligible player downfield?  every time i see a shovel pass run which i interpret as a forward pass i swore i see linemen already past the line of scrimmage blocking downfield before the "pass" has been made. – Steve M.

In the NFL, ineligible receivers can not be beyond the neutral zone at the time that a forward pass is thrown. On the little inside shovel pass, the linemen are supposed to be less than a yard beyond the zone.

The next time you see the play, try to watch where they are at the time that the ball is thrown, not when it is caught. One of the problems that the officials have on that kind of play is that there is so  much traffic on the inside that it is hard to tell exactly when the ball is released.

But I think you will see that the linemen are pretty close to a legal position. In the NCAA, linemen can block downfield if the pass is caught behind the line so you will see the college linemen release much earlier and get further downfield than what occurs in the NFL.   

A man running the ball dives for the goal line, while in the air goes across the side line out of bounds ,still in the air never touching the ground extends past the goal line outside the pylon is this a goal?  Also, how far does the plane of the goal line extend? John Madden said it went around the world, what’s the real deal.– Jim E.

Not with the new rule that was put in place this year. The ball must pass inside or over the pylon for it to be a touchdown. As for your second question, for purposes of scoring a touchdown, the rule was changed this year to read that the ball must break the plane of the goal line and be inside or over the pylon. So if you are asking the question regarding the scoring of a TD, it extends to the outside of the pylon.

On one play in or near the end zone, it looked like Brady threw the ball away when he was almost sacked and no one was in the area.  Thoughts on intentional grounding? – Neal B.

As it was impossible to see the entire field from the view provided by FOX, it was impossible to tell. However, in the Super Bowl the officials are going to be extremely lenient regarding that call. I would assume that an eligible receiver was somewhere in the same area and thus there was no call although I could not tell one way or the other.

could you please explain the coin toss rule in the NFL. If I win the coin toss and elect to receive, does that mean that i automatically kick in the beginning of the 2nd half – Raymond L.

No, it means that the team losing the toss at the start of the game will have its choice to start the second half. If they so chose, they can chose to defend a specific goal and then the team that won the toss in the first half (assuming they received) will have the choice of kicking or receiving. In that case, one team may get both kick-offs. 

Ahmad Bradshaw's fumble recovery was a huge play for the Giants. It looked like the Pats player that fell on it, should have had it, but from some angles you can see Bradshaw got his left hand under that player and possibly around the ball - and for certain he came out of the scrum with the ball. Did the officials get the call right and what do you think may have happened if the Pats challenged the call? – Chris W.

Personally, I felt that the ball could have been awarded to the Patriots as it looks like the Patriots player has sufficient possession of the ball and is touched and on the ground. However, in those situations, the officials typically let them wrestle for the ball a bit. Had the play been challenged, I doubt whether enough could have been seen to overturn the call on the field. It could have gone either way but I am glad that it went to the Giants.

FEBRUARY 4, 2008
The Patriots challenged a no call. On a third down play, a NY player apparently did not get off the field in time. There was no call by the official. I did not think you could challenge a no call? In that case, why couldn't you challenge all missed calls?  There is probably a missed holding call on every play. – David W.

Illegal Participation or Illegal Substitution (i.e., having more than 11 men on the field at the snap) is one of the calls that has been designated by the NFL rules makers as being open to a "challenge." The basis for that decision is that it involves a factual matter (was there or was there not 12 players on the field) as opposed to a judgment call. The calls that can be challenged in the NFL are limited and are clearly spelled out in the rule book. Twelve men on the field, whether called or not, can be challenged. Holding, which is purely a judgment call, can not be challenged nor can other judgment calls, such as pass interference or roughing the passer, be challenged.