Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Goodman
Then there should be some way for the officials to signal pre-snap to the other team that it's a scrimmage kick formation.
Of course I blame the rules makers at NCAA & Fed for this. I wrote about this a while ago at rec.sport.officiating, not sure about here. The rule should not reference the formation, but rather the position of the snapper's head.
BTW, there are some leagues for players below a certain age that require the snapper to snap with head up. I'm pretty sure they're the same ones that don't have normal live scrimmage kick plays.
Robert
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Part of it is an officiating challenge. When it's 4th down and an obvious kicking situation, we are prepared for the numbering exception and the snapper protection. Our umpire calls out loudly to the players and the officials. (An aside: It's bad form to say "Stay off the snapper" on a field with adolescent boys (and officials).)
If a coach told me in the pregame they did this, I would make the other team aware so they could stay off. But no awareness. The last time this happened, they just dropped the QB back almost 7 yards somewhere between 6 and 8 yards) and then tried the whole "gotcha" thing afterwards.