Spotting the ball after 4th down

[Rich]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Exactly this.

But by the way he worded the question, I wondered if he was really wondering what was "technically" correct, even though not one person in the country does it that way.

Oh, I'm sure some people do. I see people start series with the ball 3 inches past the back of a yard line and I wonder if they've been to a real clinic in the last 20 years.

[jblowery]

Originally Posted by CT1

The reason you can't do a flip is because if it's the goal line, you'd then have the ball in the end zone. Spot the ball as it lies & set the chains on the front of the ball.

Wouldn't that be a safety anyway, before the change of possession?

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

What's RIGHT is leave the ball where it was, and move the chains the length of the football.

What we all DO, however ... well, that's something completely different.

If you're asking what the rule is ... don't move the ball.

I asked Brice Durbin this one when I visited him at Fed HQ in Kansas City in 1980:

3rd down run ends with the ball carried long axis parallel to and near A's goal line. When the ball is spotted, long axis parallel to the sidelines, its hindmost point is in A's end zone. 4th down, team A throws an incomplete pass. Spot the ball for the other team where?

He replied that that's why they tell officials seeing the ball dead near the goal line to put it far enough from the goal line so it doesn't have to be spotted with its tail in the end zone..

Not a problem in Canadian football, BTW.

[jblowery]

But isn't it a safety for Team B if Team A is tackled with part of the ball in the endzone?

[HLin NC]

with the ball carried long axis parallel to and near A's goal line

In this scenario, the ball is out of the EZ, but when placed down and positioned, it would touch the goal line when turned. The NFHS has (d) a case play for this.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

with the ball carried long axis parallel to and near A's goal line

In this scenario, the ball is out of the EZ, but when placed down and positioned, it would touch the goal line when turned. The NFHS has (d) a case play for this.

What does it say?

[jTheUmp]

In that case, move the ball forward a few inches so that it's entirely out of the end zone when spotted.

The same case play also exists in NCAA.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

In that case, move the ball forward a few inches so that it's entirely out of the end zone when spotted.

The same case play also exists in NCAA.

Think they'll ever formalize this longstanding practice in the rules? Like, if the ball's less than its length from the GL, spot according to its closest point to the GL instead of its foremost?