Quote:
Originally Posted by bwburke94
And I don't see how listing a rule number without actually answering the question helps the discussion.
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It
can help, but doesn't always. It doesn't help when the people discussing the problem have already read the referenced portions of the rules.
The penalty provision of 9-6, illegal participation, says, "basic spot" for this case. That would seem to mean the enforcement spot is the basic spot.
However, the all-but-one principle says, "from the basic spot with the exception of a foul by the offense which occurs behind the basic spot during a loose ball play or running play." It excepts cases listed under "Basic Spots" and special enforcement rules (which don't apply to this case). However however, the "Basic Spots" provisions include one that says, "The basic spot is the spot where the related run ends for a foul which occurs during a running play...", which is not an exception at all but just repeats the definition given in Rule 2 -- which makes one wonder why it needs to be defined in two places.
So when 9-6 says "basic spot", does that mean to supersede the all-but-one principle? If the penalty provisions of 9-6 were not listed, enforcement would be clear, because the basic spot is known and the all-but-one principle would apply. But since there
is a spot listed, is this to be considered an exception, even though it is not one of the exceptions listed?
Then, if all-but-one does apply to the case I detailed, what's considered the spot of the foul? The actions that are illegal in this case include "Return to the field", which spot may fairly easily be found, but also "Influence the play; or Otherwise participate." Blocking twice during the run could be considered separate acts that influence the play or are forms of participation, so are all those spots available for enforcement if they're behind the basic spot? Or is the whole to-do from returning to the field to making the last block considered a single instance of "participation" and penalized from...somewhere? I could argue for the influence on the play and "participating" by blocking as not being separate illegal acts, because the wording of 9-6-2 suggests that they apply only when the player has
not returned to the field, to give the provision wider application.