Bizarre ending should actually have been touchback, right?

[bigjohn]

All I can say is hey bossman, "Back and to the left"!

[Husker John]

Here is the video. Judging from the TV anchorman, he says its kicked in the endzone but I don't think he was at the game. If he is in the endzone, its not by much.

I think he was in the endzone. I base this on the shadows. If you freeze the video where the back catches the ball, you can see the shadow. After the fumble is returned for a TD, the video shows the goal line. Its not exactly clear but I think he was in.

However, I will take the opinion of two officials that were in position to determine if the kick was good. At most, they were only 10 yards away.

Vermont football team wins after crazy fumble recovery - Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

[BigFarns]

I used to live in Vermont and I know someone who used to go to Otter Valley. They happen to be at the game and said it was caught at the 2. Take it for what it's worth but it would make sense if this is true. I find it hard to believe 5 man crew would not have been able to remember the rule about a scrimmage kick breaking the plane of the end zone.

[ChicagoLJ]

Originally Posted by ajmc

If you really insist on there being blame placed somewhere, perhaps it should be directed at the assistant coach whose responsibility it was to teach all his players that after each play, the ball should be handed to the nearest official and NEVER thrown to the ground, in any direction.

Interesting twist. What happens if he wants to do that, but either a. referee doesn't take it from him, or b. official has his hands on the ball.

What say you now?

[Canned Heat]

Originally Posted by ChicagoLJ

Interesting twist. What happens if he wants to do that, but either a. referee doesn't take it from him, or b. official has his hands on the ball.

What say you now?

Interesting all right. If I'm the one he's getting the ball too, I pull my hands up and back away, and hopefully he gets the hint that the ball is still live....and hopefully I haven't touched it, although it would remain live. Odds are, he'll run by...toss you the ball on the way by...and watch the same result unfold...unless the ball bounces OOB. As far as a ruling in B, I'd guess it would become dead at the spot once the official is in possession of the ball.