Quote:
Originally posted by grantsrc
(snip)...What is wrong with the "go with what hurts them most" philosophy in the pass play scenario we are talking about?
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REPLY: Good question. Consider this play.
PLAY: A's ball 2-10 from A's 20. A throws a legal forward pass to A88 at A's 22. A88 circles around to the other side of the field where he is dropped for a loss at A's 16. Before the pass is thrown, A55 held at A's 18.
RULING: A literal use of the "go with what hurts them most" philosophy might incline you to enforce any accepted penalty from A's 16--since that's what would hurt them the most. But that would be incorrect. Since the foul occurred during a loose ball play, the basic spot is the previous spot. Since the foul was by the OFFENSE and the the foul occurred BEHIND the basic spot, you enforce from the spot of the foul (A's 18). Therefore, the result of an accepted penalty would be A's ball 2-21 from A's 9 (half the distance). Of course, B could always decline the penalty and give the ball to A for a 3rd-14 play.
You could also see the flaw in that philosophy in this play which includes a foul by the defense during a running play:
PLAY: On 3rd and 6 from midfield, A22 runs to B's 40 where he fumbles. While the ball is loose, B12 holds A85 at B's 35 to prevent from recovering. A33 recovers at B's 30.
RULING: If you applied the "hit 'em where it hurts most" philosophy here, you might be tempted to enforce B's holding foul from B's 30...or at least from B's 35 (the spot of the foul). Both would be incorrect. Since this is a foul by the defense, enforcement is from the basic spot--the end of the run. That, by definition, is the spot where A22 fumbles. Therefore accepting the penalty will give A the ball, 1st and 10 from B's 30. Only by sheer coincidence, declining the penalty would produce the same result.
In my humble opinion--and I mean no offense by this--using phrases like "penalize them where it hurts most", or "the ground can't cause a fumble" and other such shortcuts are poor substitutes for thoroughly understanding the rules.