Quote:
Originally posted by bluezebra
Yes. Read the rule book more thoroughly. My book is from 1999, but DEAD BALL and END of DOWN, 4.2.2.g reads: Following a valid or invalid fair catch signal is given by any member of the receiving team when a scrimmage kick is caught or recovered by any member of the receiving team beyond, in or behind the neutral zone.
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Actually that's wrong; this is an
illegal fair catch signal, not an
invalid one. An illegal signal is given by a runner after the kick has been caught or recovered, which is what happened in sloth's case, and it does
not cause the ball to become dead. So that's an important distinction to remember.
(By definition, invalid signals occur before a kick is caught or recovered, after the kick has touched a receiver or the ground, or does not meet the requirements of a valid signal; these do cause the ball to become dead when the kick is caught/recovered by the receivers.)
As for whether to blow this play dead, I think I would treat it differently depending on what level game I was working. If I'm doing a varsity or sub-varsity game, I expect those kids to know that giving a fair catch signal after they've caught the ball isn't going to protect them from squat. They may have to learn the hard way by getting clobbered, but that happens sometimes.
However, when I'm working a lower-level game such as junior high or recreational, this kind of situation crops up from time to time. At this level, I don't have a problem blowing the whistle when the ball is live but everyone is standing around thinking it's not. This usually happens after a punt has rolled to a stop and an R player picks it up and stands there; everyone on both teams will stand around as if the play is dead. It's best just to kill these plays and mark the first down, and explain to them that the ball is still live in this situation.
If blowing the play dead isn't feasible, such as after an early snap that has everyone confused, I also don't have a problem yelling "Play it play it!" That usually gets 'em moving and lets them know to play to the whistle.