October 23, 2006
Hello official! I was wondering what the exact rules for facemasking were. I was under the impression that you were not allowed to grap another players helmet anywhere. However, last saturday I was told that facemasking was if you grab the facemask only. Could you please help me better clarify this? Also, I was wondering if these results would vary based on weather you were playing high school, or nfl..... PLEASE HELP ME! – Robert K.
The NFL rule (12-2-5) states that: “No player shall grasp the face mask of an opponent.” The NCAA rule (9-1-2 (s)) states that: “No player shall grasp the face mask or any helmet opening of an opponent.” The high school rule is similar to the NCAA rule. So there are subtle differences. I can tell you, however, that the NFL officials have tended to call the foul in a manner similar to that called by the NCAA officials (i.e., you can not grab any helmet opening.) One thing that makes the rules very similar is that the face masks worn by NFL players tend to go all around the helmet opening so it would be very difficult to grab someone’s helmet without grabbing at least part of the face mask. But, if you want to look at the specific wording, there is a difference between the various levels of play.
I thought the excess celebration rule was for both the offense and defense. If so, then how come the Giants D doesn't get flagged for their "Ball in" group celebration. – Mary T.
The NFL Rule Book states at Rule 12-3-1 (e) states that: “Two or more players [may not] engage in prolonged, excessive, premeditated or choreographed celebrations.” To date, the NFL officials and the league office have not felt that the “jump shots” taken by the Giants defense constitute something that is prolonged or excessive, especially since they have taken pains to get away from the offensive players when doing it so it can not be interpreted as taunting or showing someone up. [As a long time official, I have yet to see anything wrong with what they are doing but they are skating on thin ice.]
I can tell you that the Giants have been talked to about it and told to tone it down. The interpretation of the rule is subjective and it is up to the specific crew working the game to determine when enough is enough. At that time, they will be warned and the next time it will be 15 yards. I expect that this might occur sooner rather than later unless the Giants clean up their act.
If a field goal is attempted on third down, and missed, is the team able to retry the field goal on fourth down? – Kenneth
Once a field goal has been kicked (on any down) and gone beyond the line of scrimmage, the ball will next belong to the defensive team unless they touch the ball in the field of play (and beyond the line of scrimmage) and it recovered by the kicking team. So the only way that the kicking team could retain the ball (to try the FG again) would be if the kick were blocked and was recovered behind the line of scrimmage by the kicking team. As a result, in virtually all situations (other than the blocked kick scenario discussed above) if a FG attempt is missed on any down, there will be no opportunity to try again.
October 20, 2006
Giants vs Falcons: At the beginning of the second quarter, the Falcons got their first sack. Eli was stood up and one of the Falcon players jumped up and into the pile. In the process he head-butted Eli... With the way they protect quarterbacks...Why wasn't a penalty called? – Jim
Obviously what you believed to be a "head butt" by the Falcons player was not viewed the same way by Walt Coleman the Referee. I have no recollection of the play but any call such as the one that you mention is subjective and open to interpretation. Coleman may have felt that if contact was made it was not forceful or that Manning had inadvertently moved into the Falcons player or he just may not have seen it from where he was standing. Or it may not have occurred exactly as you saw it. Any call like this is open to some interpretation by the officials and obviously in this case he felt that it did not warrant a flag. The officials have been instructed to protect the QBs and I am sure that such situations are watched very closely by the Referee, the official that has the responsibility for protecting the QB.
October 17, 2006
In the Bengals-Bucs game, there was a play where Gradkowski appeared to thrown an interception. While the defender was returning the ball, Gradkowski was called for a 15-yard facemask penalty during the tackle. The play ended up being reviewed and was ruled that the ball hit the ground and was not an interception after all. Time was put back on the clock and Tampa retained the ball, but the 15-yard facemask penalty was still assessed. Since the return after interception technically did not exist, how can the penalty that occurred during that action still exist? Is it because it was a personal foul? – Scott
Although I can not find a specific reference in the 2006 rule book to the rule that was invoked, I suspect that the matter is covered in the Approved Rulings which is a separate document that I can not find at the moment. In any event, the applicable rule is basically the same for plays that are overturned as it is for plays that are stopped due to an inadvertent whistle. In both instances, it is as if the play did not occur (i.e., ball returned to the previous line of scrimmage and only time that expired during the live ball portion of the play is counted) except if there is a foul on the play. In the event that there is a foul, the penalty is assessed as if the play counted and in accordance with all other rules. In the situation that you cite, the ball is returned to the previous spot as a result of the pass being ruled incomplete. The penalty is assessed from that spot as if the foul had occurred during a normal incomplete pass play. The purpose of having such a rule is to avoid cheap shots on any player during a play that clearly will not count. Without such a rule, you would have players going head hunting knowing that there would not be a penalty. Another way of looking at the instance that you cite is to assume that the ball was dead where the pass was (eventually) ruled incomplete. As a result, the personal foul - face mask foul was a dead ball foul that is assessed at the succeeding spot which, in this instance, is also the previous spot. It is a situation that does not arise that often but it is covered by the rules in the event that it does.
October 5, 2006
I was watching the Ravens-Chargers game without sound and unable to figure out this play. Chargers were trying a FG and the holder bobbles the snap, then fumbles it after trying to run with it. Ravens pick up the fumble, but after running 10 yards, fumble it too, and SD recovers. But then the ball went to Baltimore at the original line of scrimmage, as if it were a missed kick. Can you help clear this one up? Thanks! – AJ
Sorry, I didn't see the game so I am not sure what transpired on the play that you mention. Was there any signal for a penalty given on the play? If the SD kicker did not contact the ball, it is merely a running play with a fumble followed by another fumble. If nothing else occurred, it should have been SD's ball where they recovered the second fumble and were downed, 1st and 10. But I will assume that we are missing something here. The SD-Baltimore game is on NFL Network tonight and if I get a chance I will try to watch it and see if they show that play. If you come up with more information, please forward it to me.
October 4, 2006
Can the offense attempt a field goal on 2nd or 3rd down, and if missed retry again on 4th down. – Mavern C.
A field goal can be attempted on any down. However, if any scrimmage kick goes out of bounds or touches beyond the LOS and remains beyond the LOS, the ball will belong to the defensive team at the end of the play (assuming no fumbles, muffs, etc.) So the only way that the play that you propose could occur would be if the initial kick were blocked behind the LOS and recovered by the kicking team behind the LOS. In that situation, the next play would be the next down and the team could attempt another field goal or run any other type of play.
On 2nd down and 9, Team A is tackled at the line of scrimmage but Team B is called for incidental facemask. The penalty was enforced for five yards against Team B and play resumed at 2nd down and 4. Is this right? If Team A accepted the penalty, should it have been 3rd down and 4? -- Larry
When any live ball foul is accepted, the down is replayed (unless the penalty includes a loss of down). In this situation, the incidental face mask was part of the play (i.e., a live ball foul) and thus the penalty is assessed and the down is played over. The officials were correct, the next play was 2nd down and 4. Had the runner gained five yards and the penalty was then assessed, it would have been enough for a first down and the next play would have been first and 10.
October 3, 2006
This Weekend I was watching the Wash/Jax game. On 1 play Chris Cooley stepped out of bounds and came back in bounds to catch the ball. There was a flag thrown and the result of the play was a penalty for 5 yards and the Redskins got to repeat the down. I am wondering why the team loses 5 yards and gets to re-run the down. Would it not make more sense to just rule the pass incomplete and lose the down? – Mike
I am not sure what you mean by "wouldn't it make more sense.?" Anytime a live ball foul is accepted, the down is re-run unless the penalty specifically carries a loss of down penalty along with the yardage. In this case, the penalty for illegal touching is 5 yards and no loss of down. In the NCAA rules, the penalty is loss of down at the previous spot with no yardage walk-off. This is not a rule (8-1-3) that has been brought up in recent discussions regarding rules changes so I suspect it will stay the same for the foreseeable future.
In the NFL, can an offensive lineman cross the line of scrimmage prior to a forward pass being thrown? If so, how many yards can he be downfield? -- MS
Rule 8-2-2 indicates that an ineligible offensive lineman may not advance beyond his LOS prior to a legal pass being thrown after losing contact with an opponent at the LOS or without contacting an opponent at the LOS. The guideline to be used by officials is that the player can not be more than one (1) yard beyond the LOS. The rule in college is basically the same except that the player may not be more than three (3) yards downfield. The penalty in both cases is 5 yards at the previous spot.
If the losing team has the ball with 4 seconds left in the game and is called for a delay of game penalty, does the clock start when the ball is spotted? – Jermaine
I am assuming that the losing team is on offense. The situation is complicated by not knowing how many time-outs the team has or the status of the clock before the delay. However, in each instance, if the foul was by the offensive team in the last minute if either half and the foul prevented the snap, which it would in this case, 10 seconds would be run off the clock prior to the ball being snapped. In the instance with 4 seconds left on the clock, the game would be over. If the team had time-outs left, it could take a time-out and avoid the penalty.
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