Quote:
Originally Posted by parepat
Does anyone else think that we are heading into a murky area here. If they want to put a time frame on it, fine. Otherwise, they should give is some guidelines. Otherwise we are left with the language within the rule which refers to "illegally consuming time". What response do we have to the coach that asks "how was my false start illegally consuming time". Likewise, the 10 second runoff occurs within the last minute. Thus we only care about fouling to conserve time in the last minute but care about fouls to consume time in the last 2 minutes? 4 minutes?
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I'll start by saying I think this is a valid point, and I agree it would be nice to have a set standard.
With that said, my feeling is that to address the issue in the absence of an established standard (some might call it a rule), we have to explore the underlying issues at play...so here goes.
In the case of trying to illegally conserve time, the team that is behind in the score is trying to cause the clock to be stopped and violates a rule while doing so (illegal formation, illegal shift, etc). In addition to the typical penalty enforcement, there is a clearly defined penalty in the form of a 10 second runoff to address the issue of illegally conserving time. Additionally there is no process by which the offense can repeat the act and conserve more time. If time is conserved illegally without penalty, the benefit gained is somewhat limited.
On the other side of coin, the team trying to consume time is typically ahead. There is an established amount of time that is allowed to elapse between plays. If the clock is continually allowed to run without running a play, a team could effectively gain the lead in the second half (or first half if they are scheduled to receive the second half kick) and never run another play. There is no penalty that allows for time to be put back on the clock. In addition the advantage gained is relatively unlimited.
With all of that in mind, the impact of each action dictates a different mindset for each case.