Quote:
Originally posted by Bob M.
REPLY: OK grantsrc...it seem like you're getting it. Great! Now consider this one (thanks to ljudge for proposing it):
PLAY: 3-8 from A's 20. A10's legal forward pass is caught by A85 at A's 30. In an attempt to tackle the receiver, B22 grabs A85's face mask (incidental) at A's 30. A85 breaks away and circles back behind the neutral zone. He is at A's 17 when (a) he is tackled, or (b) he fumbles and A33 recovers at A's 18. RULING: ??
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Good question. I'm going to give this a shot to see if I have it.
The first part of this play was a loose ball play. Once A85 caught the pass, the subsequent run became a running play. The spot of the facemask foul is the A's 30.
(a) A85 did himself a disservice when he goes backwards behind the neutral zone and gets tackled. Nothing about that changes the status of the play to a loose ball play again. The facemask foul will be enforced from the end of A85's run, the A-17 because that is the basic spot for fouls by the defense during running plays. It will be 3 & 6 from the A-22. We can't penalize B from the A-30. A85 retreated after the foul and was subsequently tackled for a loss.
(b) Because A85 made it back behind the neutral zone and fumbles, this once again becomes a loose ball play. I don't see anything in the rulebook that says the nuetral zone dissolves after the ball has crossed out of the zone. (Please correct me if I am wrong). A fumble by A in or behind the neutral zone and any run (or runs) that precede it is treated as a loose ball play. Basic spot then becomes the previous spot and that is where the penalty is enforced from. 3rd & 3 from the A-25.