Arkansas Lateral

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Nope, fumbles are accidental losses of the ball.

Usually, but not necessarily. If you look at the definition of "fumble" in the major codes, it's by exclusion. It's a catchall for loss of possession not produced by the other named means.

Here's a deliberate act of loss of player possession that AFAICT would be ruled a fumble: a "leave pass". The ballcarrier would place the ball on the ground & run away from it for a teammate to pick up. I even thought of a scenario where such a pass would make sense. In a general sports sense it's a type of pass, but in the football rule book sense it would not satisfy the definition of "pass".

Also, IIRC, a player who deliberately drops the ball for a punt or drop kick & is prevented from kicking the ball (or simply misses it) is ruled to have fumbled.

However, I can't think of a case complementary to that: accidental loss of ball that would not be ruled a fumble. So if possession is lost accidentally, it's a fumble, but if a fumble occurs, you can't be absolutely sure it must've happened by accidental means.