Quote:
Originally Posted by football-1
in this case it is named by nfl line of scrimmage but ncaa say neutral zone.
where and why is there a difference?
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REPLY: It's really just a case of semantics. In football there are two lines of scrimmage, one passing through each point of the ball when it's set for play. The roughly 11.5 inches between the two lines of scrimmage is referred to as the neutral zone. The Federation and the NCAA use the word "neutral zone" as the point of reference for determining whether or not the passer threw the pass legally. They could just as easily have used the phrase "defensive line of scrimmage" and gotten the same result. I'm not sure what the NFL use of the phrase "line of scrimmage" means. It may mean either the offensive line of scrimmage (making their rule more restrictive than the Fed or NCAA rules) or they might mean the defensive line of scrimmage (which would be the same point of reference as both the Fed and NCAA use today.