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Hey all...not coaching this year...going back to law school...time to make some money i guess....
anyway, here is a coach's thought on the matter.
1. Most good coaches definitely know about the seven yards rule....so that is just a foolish assumption.
2. Shotguns in my league were sometimes seven yards on purpose and discussed in pregame as def being the same so the snapper would get protection even if one hand and head up...seven yards is seven yards...
3. The rule clearly says, must have at least one player in a position to catch the snap....the rule does not say that the player in position must be the one who catches it....so in a fg formation a coach could most definitely argue that the standing kicker is in a position to catch the snap farther than seven yards deep, therefore granting protection to the snapper...interesting point I guess...especially if he were a straight on kicker there would be absolutely no counter argument in this case...a soccer style kicker that is offset a ton may not get leeway here but a normal soccer style kicker can definitely catch a snap that sails high...seen it done tons of times...
4. here is a thought...how about a shotgun snap with the intended quarterback at five yards over the gaurd and the runningback straight behind center at eight yards...the quarterback intercepts the snap...I say, clearly by rule, the snapper would get protection...just like he gets protection on a fake punt when the snap goes to the up back...no difference here....
As far as roughing the snapper goes I would def say that the kicker is in good position beyond seven yards everytime...no matter where the holder is ....
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