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Mcrowder,
I am in no way Belligerent. If i come across that way, im apologize. I just wanted some real facts not just someone saying NO, without anything behind it, thats why i appreciate mike spears efforts.
I found this article from nfl ref Jerry Markbreit that says that someone diving outside the pylon and landing out of bounds is still a TD long as some part of their body crossese the endzone.
I understand that one can not just dive 45 degrees out of bounds and score, but do you guys agree with this statement form Jerry Markbreit ?
from ChicagoSports.com (Chicago Tribune Online)
Dear Jerry, I have an incredibly confusing NFL rules question that I earnestly ask you to answer for me. It concerns the "infinite goal line." In the Eagles/Dolphins game, Correll Buckhalter scored a 2-yard TD in the 4th quarter that was challenged by Miami. The play featured Buckhalter leaving his feet at the 1-yard line, diving clear into the air, and landing out of bounds. Apparently the ball crossed the goal line even though Buckhalter landed out of bounds. While I understand that to be a touchdown, John Madden said, "it doesn't matter if the ball crossed the goal line inside the pylon because the goal line extends out beyond the pylons." Al Michaels said the NFL rules committee refers to the goal line "extending around the world," even though pylons are present. Can someone PLEASE explain to me if the goal line does in fact extend into infinity, AND more importantly, please explain why it does? If so, can you score a touchdown by leaping out of bounds at the 1-yard line, cross the "infinite" goal line, and then land totally out of bounds without having to extend the ball inside the pylon? --Brian Mariani, Clinton, Mass.
John Madden was correct when he stated that the ball does not have to cross the goal line inside or over the pylon for a touchdown to be scored. To put it very simply: Whenever the ball carrier dives for the end zone and any part of his body passes over the pylon before he touches anything out-of-bounds, it is a touchdown, regardless of where the ball is. If the runner goes out-of-bounds short of the pylon and the ball passes over the pylon before the runner lands out-of-bounds, it is also a touchdown. The goal line plane actually extends beyond the sideline and theoretically "extends around the world." In my opinion, this rule exists to make the game more exciting and more interesting in goal line situations. -- Jerry Markbreit - NFL Referee
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