[Bob M.]

REPLY: The problem with the way the Fed PSK rule is written is in the use of the word "possession" in the last criterion. They're using it to describe who 'owns' the dead ball after the down ends, but the word "possession" is a defined term that apllies only to a live ball !!! There's no such thing as possession of a dead ball. Actually both rule books (Fed and NCAA) suffer the same problem. Both often use the word "possession" in reference to a dead ball. When it comes to PSK especially, these two concepts collide to create confusion. There are a number of plays where the down ends with the ball in Team A's possession, but PSK enforcement is called for:
(1) Scrimmage kick untouched by B is recovered by A beyond the neutral zone
(2) Scrimmage kick rolls out of bounds beyond the neutral zone
(3) Scrimmage kick rolls into B's endzone
(4) Official blows the ball dead when the scrimmage kick comes to rest with no player attempting to recover it

In all four of these situations Team A is in team possession at the instant the down ends. The right to next snap will revert to Team B in all such situations, but that's not part of the definition of "possession."

There are, in my opinion, three ways to fix the problem:
(1) Create a new defined term ("legal possession"?) which signifies 'permanent' custody of a dead ball; i.e. having the right to next put the ball in play by snap or free kick.
(2) Revise the definition of team possession to include having the right to next put a dead ball into play (this one may have some downside--haven't thought it completely through), or
(3) Changing the last criterion for PSK enforcement to read "Absent the foul, Team A would not next be entitled to put the ball in play."

And by the way, Grant, the words 'legal possession' do not appear in the Fed rule book. They do, however, appear in the NCAA rule book exactly twice (both times in Rule 5), but it is also never defined there either.