JANUARY 26, 2008

Regarding the illegal touch rule:  Every time a ball is punted and downed by the kicking team it is illegal touching. Correct or incorrect? also if the ball is only touched by the kicking team and not downed, the receiving team may then pick the ball up and return it with out consequence to them. Am i correct in this interpretation. Can you please explain? – Dan F.

If a member of the kicking team is the first to touch or be touched by a scrimmage kick that is previously untouched by the receiving team beyond the LOS, it is "Illegal Touching" of a kick and the ball will belong to the receivers at the spot of first touching. As a result, a receiver can pick up the ball and run with it knowing that the worst that can happen is that the ball will be returned to the spot of first touching. However, if the receiving team commits a foul during the play, the fouls do NOT offset and the receivers foul will be assessed as if the illegal touching did not occur. So to answer your question, "yes," it is always "illegal touching" and the receiver can pretty well pick up the ball with impunity if the kicking team allows him to do so. The signal for illegal touching is both hands to the shoulders.You will often see the deep official do that signal after he has killed the play. 

Setting is the recent NYG - GB game (perhaps you heard about, it made all the papers).

Question concerning the Plaxico Buress catch/drop right before halftime.  It appeared that when FOX showed the super slo-mo (one of the few times FOX actually showed a helful replay of a potentially key play) that Buress caught the ball, had posession of it and, while on the ground on his back (w/ possession of the ball), was clearly "touched" by the leg of a GB defender. 

(1) Should he have been ruled down by contact at that point and given the  reception?

(2) was this, in your opinion, a catch? 

(3) why didn't the officials (whichever ones are in charge of making this type of decisions anyway) at least take the time to review this potentially game changing call to make sure it was right?  It was inside two minutes so only the officials coudl review. It was the NFC championship at stake after all and a tough call to make at full speed (tough even at super slow-mo speed). – Derek P.

I am not sure what you have seen or what FOX showed in super slo motion but the pass was so obviously incomplete that it was felt that there was no reason to review it in the booth. The receiver must possess the ball all the way to the ground and maintain control throughout the act of receiving the ball. Burress did not retain control of the ball throughout the entire act (i.e., it clearly rolled away when it hit the ground) and as a result, it was an incomplete pass. I know of no official who watched the game who thought anything else. Remember, the ground can not cause a fumble but it can cause an incompletion.

One thing that must be remembered is that the officials in the booth can only work from the video replays that they see during the brief period between plays, if FOX came up with something a day later, it is of absolutely no use. So far, their coverage of key plays has been terrible and I suspect it will continue that way, unfortunately, next Sunday.    

Regarding your recent response to the question about the illegal touch rule. You wrote "[i]f a member of the kicking team is the first to touch or be touched by a scrimmage kick that is previously untouched by the receiving team beyond the LOS, it is "Illegal Touching" of a kick and the ball will belong to the receivers at the spot of first touching."

My question is this.  You are the Giants and you just punted the ball.  The ball sails over the returner (so the receiving team never touches it) and lands at the two yard line where it is simultaneously touched (but NOT downed) by a cover person for the Giants.  After the touch, the ball roll into the endzone. 

Question: touchback or is the ball spotted at the spot of the first touching (the two yard line)?  (I am just envisioning in my head all those mad scrambles by the kickign team to prevent a punted ball from going into the endzone by DOWNING the ball before the endzone).  – Derek P.

In the situation you pose, the receiving team will have the choice of taking the ball at the spot of first touching (i.e., the 2 yard line) or the subsequent result of the play, a touchback. Obviously they will take the touchback and the ball at the 20. On the other hand, if a receiver picks up the ball at the 2 and runs it out to the 15 where he fumbles and the ball is recovered by the kicking team, the receivers will have the choice of taking the ball at the spot of first touching (i.e., the 2 yard line) as long as they did not commit a foul on the play or the results of the play (i.e., kickers regaining possession at the 15). Obviously in this case, the receivers will take the ball at the 2 yard line. That is why you see the kickers down the ball and stand around it until the whistle blows so that the receivers can/will not pick it up and try to run with it.  

Can you put up your hands and wave them in front of receiver when pass is coming and you're not looking back for the ball.  Thank You. – Angelo A.

In the NFL, there is no such thing as disconcerting the reciver, there must be contact for there to be Defensive Pass Interference. As a result, the answer to your question is "yes," you can wave your hands in front of the receiver as long as you do not make physical contact with him.

January 24, 2008
Regarding the illegal touch rule: Every time a ball is punted and downed by the kicking team it is illegal touching. Correct or incorrect? also if the ball is only touched by the kicking team and not downed, the receiving team may then pick the ball up and return it with out consequence to them. Am i correct in this interpretation. Can you please explain? thank you – Dan F.

If a member of the kicking team is the first to touch or be touched by a scrimmage kick that is previously untouched by the receiving team beyond the LOS, it is "Illegal Touching" of a kick and the ball will belong to the receivers at the spot of first touching. As a result, a receiver can pick up the ball and run with it knowing that the worst that can happen is that the ball will be returned to the spot of first touching. However, if the receiving team commits a foul during the play, the fouls do NOT offset and the receivers foul will be assessed as if the illegal touching did not occur. So to answer your question, "yes," it is always "illegal touching" and the receiver can pretty well pick up the ball with impunity if the kicking team allows him to do so. The signal for illegal touching is both hands to the shoulders.You will often see the deep official do that signal after he has killed the play.       

Ok, I am not sure what you can do with this.  it is more of a suggestion, or a why not than a question...

Let's say the Patriots have the ball at their own 4 against the Giants. It's third-and-10. Tom Brady drops back to pass, Strahan gets a great jump, forcing a Patriots lineman to tackle Strahan at the 2-yard line. A flag is thrown.

"Holding, No. 77, offense. Half the distance to the goal, repeat third down."

It is now third-and-12 and Brady will get another chance to pull out a first down. However, here's where my new rule comes into play.

Sure, you can't make the Patriots snap the ball from inside their end zone, so I get the need for the half-the-distance penalty. But why not just make it third-and-20 from the 2 and make the line to gain the 22-yard line? Everyone got together and decided that holding is a 10-yard penalty, so why not continue to make it a 10-yard penalty and push the first down mark further away.

It's third-and-10 at your own 1 and the crowd is rocking. You can't hear a thing. The play clock is winding down. You're not going to get the play off in time. Call timeout? Nah. Why would you? Take the delay of game penalty and it's third-and-10.5 now. Wow, some punishment. With my rule, it's third-and-15 from the 1, rewarding the defense and their home crowd for rattling the opponent. – Lance Z.

I can see the logic of your suggestion however, the problem is that everyone also got together and decided (a long time ago) that: a) no penalty would move the ball more than half the distance to the goal line; and b) that once established, the line to gain would never be moved until the offensive team reached it or was awarded a new first down by penalty.

There are a lot of things that could be done to change the rules to make it a different game but at the present, the rules makers are satisfied that they have created an exciting game that provides a balance between the offense and the defense. Although I expect to see some possible minor rule changes discussed this year, such as the practice of calling timeouts to "ice" the kicker, I suspect that the rules will basically stay the same as everyone is happy with them. By the way, if Strahan had been "tackled" or just held after he crossed the goal line going after Brady, it would be a safety. In the field of play, it is half the distance and in the end zone it is a safety.

January 23, 2008
I'd like to know your opinion about the play where Donald Driver caught the 90 yd TD.  Your position on holding has been that "If your man winds up on the ground, holding will be called."  Well, it looked to me like Driver pulled/pushed Webster down, and it should have been a holding call.

Incidentally, I thought your explanation of Snee's hold was bogus until I saw another replay yesterday.  Unfortunately, that was  definitely a hold.  Good call. – Tony M.

The defensive back is allowed to contact a receiver during the first five yards off the LOS and the receiver is allowed to fight his way through the contact as long as the ball is not in the air. Although we did not see a close-up of what happened (FOX managed to miss a lot of key things during the game, including the Madison foul), it looked to me like Webster had slipped during the "chicken fighting" and went to the ground. Typically, the officials will allow a lot of contact and pushing and shoving in this area without making a call. Based on what could be seen, I believe that is what occurred.

As for the Snee hold, the hold occurred right at the point of attack and just as Bradshaw went through the hole. The flag may have come a bit late because the Umpire had a hard time getting it out of his pants as his hands were freezing.

I watched the game with 4 other officials and 4 out of the 5 of us immediately said "holding" as the play occurred. As soon as you see a defensive lineman go to the ground near or at the point of attack while in contact and the offensive lineman has his hands out from his body, there is a pretty good chance that holding will be called. In playoff games they let them play a bit more but this was a call that had to be made and it was.    

What year was the "in the grasp" rule first put into use in the NFL ? – Bill B.

As I remember, the rule was first put into effect in 1978 or 1979 when there was a host of rules changes put into effect with the intent to protect the players from various injuries. It was also about that time that salaries began to rise and the owners recognized that their QB was a significant investment. The rule has been tweaked once or twice since then but the key thing to remember is that as it is written today, the QB must be in the "grasp and control of a defensive player and in imminent danger." Merely being "in the grasp" is not a reason to stop the play. This is a subjective decision to be made by the Referee. There are times when the passer may have someone draped around his waist but if he is not "being controlled," the play will continue.

January 17, 2008
I know this question is a little crazy, but here goes...

I noticed this a long time ago and I never understood it. Let's say on first-and-10 you hand off and gain 1 yard. The clock will run. And now let's say you run the play clock down :01 and before you snap the ball, your left tackle flinches and False Starts.

When the referee marks the ball 5 yards back from the original line of scrimmage, the game clock will start running again.

So lets say, A team has a lead in the fourth quarter, and gets to the 50 yard line on offense, and intentionally keeps false starting.

They can wind the clock all the way down to the two-minute warning before you have to punt.

This strategy is even more logical if you have the ball up 10 and you're inside your own 10 to start a drive.If they're going to wind the clock after false starts after a running play, why not take advantage of it? – John N.

There are a number of rules that prevent the situation that you describe. First of all, in the last 2 minutes of the first half and the last 5 minutes of the second half, the clock will remain stopped after any penalty.

Secondly, at any time in the game, if two similar infractions occur during the same down or if dissimilar infractions occur and the Referee believes that they have occurred purposefully (admittedly a judgment call), he can assess an Unsportsmanlike Conduct (15 yard) foul and keep the clock stopped as well. As a result, it is virtually impossible for a team that is ahead to "ice" the game in the manner in which you describe.

January 15, 2008
What is the difference between defensive holding and pass interference? – Saul P.

I assume that you are asking this question regarding pass plays. Defensive holding is an illegal action that occurs on an eligible pass receiver prior to the ball being thrown. In addition, the pass (if one is ever thrown) need not be catchable. The penalty is 5 yards and an automatic first down. Pass Interference is an illegal action by the defense while the ball is in the air. The pass must be catchable and there are a number of other caveats associated with the call. The penalty in the NFL for Defensive Pass Interference is a spot foul and an automatic first down. So putting it simply, before the ball is thrown you can have defensive holding or illegal contact. Once the ball is in the air, it will be DPI.   

I was hoping you could shed any light on whether it would have been permissible under the relevant rules for the officials to have called a penalty against Jacobs for throwing the ball at the play clock as part of a post-TD celebration. – Derek P.

Interesting question. Having talked to a number of officials, the answer is probably "no" unless the ball had caromed off of the clock and back on the field and hit someone. The Back Judge did talk to him after his act and advised him to "cool it." It is a certainty, however, that the league will fine Jacobs for unprofessional/unacceptable behavior. Had the clock gone out, they would have had to turn off the other clock at the other end of the field and that would have caused major problems for a QB like Manning who runs the clock all the way down before snapping the ball. Jacobs is a "loose cannon" who sooner or later will cost the Giants 15 yards or more.    

January 14, 2008
The officials called it once, and the announcers explained commented on the oddity as well, but it seemed that when Romo was in shotgun, the right tackle (Columbo, I think) jumped about 3 or 4 times without being called. Joe Buck commented that the snap was getting sent back slowly or late, and that the officials were letting them play for some reason. Some of the jumps seemed so obvious that I was shocked it wasn't called. Did the TV crew and I miss something here? — Dan D.

The offensive line can move once the Center starts to snap the ball (i.e., the instant when his hands start backwards), not when it is released. Both of the wing officials, the Line Judge and the Head Linesman, are supposed to watch the movement and stop the play if the OL's move too quickly. It is a little bit of a subjective determination.

Personally, I also thought that there were a few plays where the Dallas linemen moved too quickly and there was one instance where Whitten in the backfield appeared to move before the snap without being called. But, it is always hard to be sure watching the TV replay of the situation because they often do not have an angle right down the LOS where you can see the start of the snap. 

The Dallas Center may have just been moving his hands and the ball slower than usual and releasing it late. If that was not the case, then the crew just missed the call. It didn't happen as often as Buck and Aikman indicated, but it did happen at least once or twice.

As I have said previously, Buck and Aikman have a much better grasp of the rules than most announcers and they often pick up things that would be missed by other announcing teams.    

Janaury 8, 2008

Can you please explain how officials are chosen for the post season? Last year, Ed Hochuli (who, to my astonishment, as well as John Madden's) didn't get to ref a single playoff game last year. How do they determine who officiates? What are the rules for determining who refs what post season games. Thanks. – Rita T.

The formula for selecting play-off officials is somewhat complex but I will try to provide you with the information that I know to the best of my ability.

First of all, every crew (there are 17) and every official in the NFL is graded by the Supervisors and Observers on approximately 2300 plays during the course of the season. If everything is okay, they get a grade of zero. If there are problems on the play (i.e., a call made that should not have been made, a call not made that should have been made, a call made incorrectly or bad positioning), the crew and/or the specific official get a negative grade of 1-12 points.

At the end of the season, all of the grades, for both the crews and the individual officials, are calculated.

In the first two rounds of play-offs (i.e., the wild card and the conference play-offs), the top ranked 8 crews (with a number of caveats) are assigned to the games. The caveats are numerous and include (to the best of my knowledge):

1)      No official in his first 2 years in the league or at his position can work a play-off game;

2)      No official should work a play-off game involving a team that they saw in the last 4 weeks of the season;

3)      Positions on crews that are vacated by officials not eligible/available to work are filled by the highest ranking official at that position from the remaining crews.

In addition, the crews are impacted by other factors such as availability, illness, injury and transportation situations. (i.e., In this weeks Seattle – Washington game, one of the scheduled officials had to be replaced by an Alternate Official due to a last minute injury problem.)

In this week’s play-offs, you basically had all of Walt Anderson’s crew and all of Ed Hochuli’s crew working together. In a third game, you had Walt Coleman working with all of Terry McAuley’s crew, although I am not sure why. The fourth game, Refereed by Scott Green, was more of a mixed crew.  

For the last three play-off games (i.e., Conference Championships and the Super Bowl), the top three ranked individual officials at each position are put into a pool and assigned in accordance with additional caveats:

1)      No official can work the Super Bowl two years in a row.

2)      No official can work the Conference Championship with less than 3 years in the league and no official can work the Super Bowl with less than 5 years in the league at his position.

3)      No official can work the Super Bowl without having previously worked a Conference Championship.

4)      No official can work a Conference Championship without having previously worked a play-off game.

So you can see that the overall process is extremely complex. In addition to all of the above, there are two Alternate Officials assigned to each Play-Off game and three Alternates to the Super Bowl. These officials come from the highest ranked officials not otherwise assigned to a Play-Off game.

One thing that I would ask is that you please do not cite John Madden as a source of who is and who isn’t a good official. Madden probably knows as little about officiating as any other announcer. Ed Hochuli is a wonderful official and gentleman but last year his crew had some problems and you don't get rewarded for your work in previous years. Thus, only two officials on his crew received play-off assignments.

January 6, 2008
Why was the football whistled dead after Washington recovered their own kickoff in the fourth quarter of the Seattle/Washington Wild Card game? It seemed like the player should have been able to pick it up and run with it (as he did...into the end zone). – Donato M.

A kick-off recovered by the kicking team after it has gone 10 yards can not, by rule (Rule 6-2-2 (b)), be advanced. It is a dead ball at the spot of the recovery. The officials called it correctly.   

JANUARY 3, 2008

NE/NY game: Wilkerson was guarding Moss in the end zone. His back was to the ball. The ball hit him in the helmet and fell incomplete, It appeared that Wilkerson did not touch Moss before the ball hit his helmet. Two questions.

1 The face guarding rule was eliminated last year. How could there be an interference call on the play?

2) The ball was blocked (albeit with the helmet). Wouldn't that negate the foul that was called  as a result of the subsequent contact? – John C.

On the first play (to the far side of the field) in which the ball hit the back of Wilkinson's helmet, there was no contact between the Giants defenders and Moss and thus no foul. There is no penalty for "face guarding" (i.e., the term is not even mentioned in the rule book). On the second play in which Wilkinson covered Moss (to the near side of the field in the end zone), there was clearly contact before the ball arrived, thus it was Defensive Pass Interference. Close review of the game tape shows that it was actually an easy call as Wilkinson makes contact well before the ball arrives and never turns his head to look for the ball.

The penalty for DPI occurs when contact is made while a legal pass is in the air. The fact that it never gets to the receiver because it hit the defender has no impact on the call. If the pass had been touched by another member of the defensive team well away from the receiver, DPI would not have been called. The question is whether the action of the defender kept the receiver from going after the ball. In this instance, it clearly did.

JANUARY 2, 2008

During the game, the announcers were lauding the blocking on Randy Moss on a play to the right side.  It looked to me like all he did was drop to the ground and roll into the legs of our defender.  Is this type of block legal??  It would seem like something they should discourage. – Joe K.

An offensive blocker on a running play is allowed to block below the waist using any part of his body (except a leg whip or trip) as long as it is from in front. As  a result, the "blocks" thrown by Moss were legal. I only remember seeing one such incident. It was the same type of block that you often see a QB attempt on a reverse play (i.e., "a bad block"). Does it have some potential safety implications? Yes. But the rules makers feel that as long as it comes from in front, the defense can see it and avoid it.