Quote:
|
Originally Posted by waltjp
The rationale behind the rule is to give the snapper protection until he's had a chance to gain his balance when he's long-snapping. The rule is in place with concern for the snapper's safety and prevents him from being bull-rushed when he's in a vulnerable position.
No, I don't feel this [putting the passer at least 7 yards deep] violates the spirit of the rule.
|
Even though they call it scrimmage kick formation? Even when they could just as easily have the passer just 5 yards deep?
There are single wing centers out there (mostly in youth football) who have to snap while looking between their legs in order to make the various snaps required for different plays. They'd like to get that protection too, but they don't want to put their fullback or tailback 7 yards deep to get it, especially on teams that like to have their FB & TB only 3-4 yards deep. Some youth circuits, out of the same concern for snappers' safety, do away with scrimmage kicks (or modify the play to not resemble a scrimmage play) entirely and require the snapper's head to be up, which forces single wing teams to use just one type of snap and forego leading the tailback to the weak side or the fullback to the strong side.
Clearly NCAA & Fed did a special favor for the kicking game, knowing that in a game of "chicken" with the snapper's neck, on kicking plays coaches wouldn't abandon the head-down snap to improve safety, so the rulesmakers flinched first. Rather than outlaw the head-down snap, they made a special rule, but tried to keep it narrow.
They could've just as easily written a rule to cover not kicking situations, but any where the snapper's head was down. The umpire's ability to see the snapper's eyes would be a sufficient way to judge. By not doing that, the rules makers are definitely affecting the game in ways safety alone would not dictate.
BTW, I can confirm Kurt Bryan's assertion, as can anyone who looks up how Hugh Wyatt devised his Wildcat formation, that coaches do take advantage of the roughing-the-snapper provisions by adopting a scrimmage kick formation with no intention to kick. Also BTW, NCAA's proviso that it be "obvious a kick
may be attempted" (my italics) doesn't rule out much. Even close to the other team's goal line, it's obvious team A
may take a drop kick out of that formation. (Or is it "might"?)
Robert