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Originally Posted by SportsFan
On a play, the offense is lined up in an illegal formation. A defensive player jumps across the line early, and as soon as the ball is snapped, the play is blown dead, because the defensive player is unabated to the quarterback. Is the offense penalized for an illegal formation?
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I'm pretty sure that in NFL rules, "unabated" is only a provision in the encroachment rule that causes an immediate whistle and thereby prevents the ball from being put in play, in which case illegal formation is a non-issue. In other words, if the ball was snapped, "unabated" would not kill the play, so the fact that it was whistled means that the ball remained dead, the ostensible snap being unofficial, and there's no illegal formation until the ball is put in play.
Robert