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Old Tue Sep 13, 2011, 10:25am
Robert Goodman Robert Goodman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmathews View Post
A lines up in a "tight" formation. QB and 2 RBs very close to the LOS. The center snaps to a different one at different times. The backs are maybe 2 yds behind the linemen. Snaps are usually of a short shotgun variety. However a couple times last night the snapper rolled the ball back to the backs. It didn't short hop them, he actually rolled it. Intentionally or not we don't know...what say you do we have anything here??
This is a good one that was elucidated by Coach Doug, whose posts I see in cx with youth football on a couple of sites.

The American codes require the ball to be snapped via either a passing or handing of the ball. So then look up the definition of pass, and you'll see that sliding or rolling the ball on the ground doesn't qualify. The Fed definition specifies "in flight", and the NCAA rule implies that a pass must start out in flight because the point where it touches the ground (if it doesn't touch a player first) determines whether it's a forward or backward pass. If the ball rolls all the way from the hand of the player who initiates it to the player who first touches it, by NCAA it can't legitimately be said to have been a backwards pass!

The portion of the snap that's in flight could be very brief before it starts to roll, bounce, or skid, but you do need that little bit of air under the initial part of its course for it to qualify as a backwards pass and hence a legal snap. It can bounce, skid or roll the remaining 90% of the way, say, after traveling thru the air the 1st 10%, and it's legal.

I don't know how you proceed under the current rules if the snap never gets off the ground -- i.e. whether you allow the ball to become live and flag for illegal snap, or the ball remains dead as a false start -- but you flag it regardless.

Last edited by Robert Goodman; Tue Sep 13, 2011 at 10:29am.
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