Quote:
Originally Posted by youngump
What you're missing is that the ball became out of bounds when it was touched. Since a touch must occur before a player can cause the ball to do anything, the player who touched the ball can't be responsible for the ball being where it is. If he was in bounds as in the case play then immediately following his touch, he gave the ball a new impetus.
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I wouldn't say that as by rule that is incorrect. The touch does not provide a new force or impetus. For example, a kick muffed at the 5 that trickles into the endzone is STILL a touchback -- the force is STILL the kick.
The explanation, simply, is that it was touched on the field of play by R and therefore isn't subject to the kickoff out of bounds rule. In the OP's play, the ball is touched out of bounds. It's the same ruling we'd have on a basketball court -- a player with a foot on the boundary touching a ball makes the ball out of bounds, regardless of the location of the ball.