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Originally Posted by OverAndBack
But you wouldn't use the spot where the foot touched (if it touches) as the OOB spot if the ball was ahead of that spot at that instant, right?
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In the case where the run was angling out of bounds, and it wasn't a matter of stepping on the sideline while running parallel to it, where the foot landed on the sideline is as good an approximation of the spot as most. That's probably about where the ball crossed the plane of the sideline, which occurred approximately the same time as the ball became dead. If the foot landed well outside of the boundary, then the out of bounds spot will be somewhat behind where the foot landed, if the ball is being carried "straight", and it will be established some time
before the ball became dead. If the player is shielding the ball with his body by carrying it to the sideline side, as most will do, there's some justif'n in the case of a run at a high angle to the sideline for the out of bounds spot's being a little behind where the player steps on the sideline.
Nearly all spotting of the ball involves some imagination, no less so in the out-of-bounds case. If you always used exactly the dent in the chalk, that indicates failure of the imagination.
Robert