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Well said BITS. We'll have to start calling you Justice Potter Stewart. I've had the same thoughts about this rule change over the summer. I've come the conclusion that the intent of the rule is to limit the offensive team (as far as the rule applies to the offense) to a specified area so that the defense has a fair chance, and the game is balanced, by only having to defend within that space.
Therefore, if the offensive player significantly increases the space where the defender has to guard him by using the OOB area that is gaining an advantage and thus merits a violation. One large step OOB certainly meets this, while a foot on the line while posting up or running the end line probably doesn't. That first is literally overstepping the prescribed bounds of the game while the latter is merely being brief OOB during the normal course of playing the game, which is bound to happen given that the game is played in a limited space. It still is a judgment call.
For the record, I firmly believe that the defense has to play the game within these same space limits and should be penalized for not doing so. It is just that the violation has been shown to be a problematic penalty when applied to the defense.
BTW Justice Stewart made his famous quip, "I know it when I see it," about obscenity, not porn. The difference being that obscene material is not protected under the First Amendment, while adult porn is legal. Just a technical FYI since we all enjoy learning from each other on this forum.
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