Scoring Change in TB game

[dpope]

Here is an interesting issue that occurred in the TB game last week. This does have fantasy football implications so I thought I would post it out there to see what you guys thought.

At the end of the TB vs NO saints game last week the Bucs tried a crazy lateral play. The official play by play goes like this:


B.Johnson pass to K.Johnson to TB 37 for 8 yards. Lateral to M.Pittman to TB
32 for -5 yards. Lateral to K.McCardell to TB 29 for -3 yards. Lateral to
B.Johnson to TB 25 for -4 yards. Lateral to C.Coleman to TB 31 for 6 yards.
Lateral to C.Green to TB 25 for -6 yards (F.Thomas). FUMBLES (F.Thomas),
RECOVERED by NO-F.Thomas at TB 25.


In the final stats for the game Brad Johnson was given a completion for -4 yards. K. Johnson was given 1 completion for 8 yards. None of the other players were credited with negative receiving yards on the play. The end result is that the receiving yards for the game is 12 yards more than Passing yards for Brad Johnson.

What is the rule for scoring this play? Shouldn't Pittman, K.McCardell B.Johnson C.Coleman and C.Green all receive receiving yards for this play, be it negative for most of them?

Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks

[JasonTX]

What is a lateral? The official term is a backwards pass. Lateral does not appear in the rule books. Only 1 forward pass completion can be credited to the receiver of the first pass. After that the other players to gain possession of the backwards passes "laterals" should be credited with rushing yards because each such possesion was a running play. JMHO.

[dpope]

I understand that a leteral is actually a backwards pass. That description cames straight from the NFL's official Play by Play for the game.

Are you sure they would recieve rushing yards? In a previous thread about the play in the Vikings game a while back indicated they should recieve recieving yards for advancing a backwards pass.

[AndrewMcCarthy]

What about when the QB pitches back to a running back? Would we give him receiving yards?

[dpope]

Your right I mis-read the previous post. Those players who recieve a backward pass should recieve rushing yards.

Thanks

[MD Longhorn]

I may be wrong, but I believe that they usually DO give receiving yards to a player who takes a backward pass after a legal forward pass. Seemed this happened last year, and a receiver had ZERO receptions, but positive yardage. The QB gets credit for passing yards gained on such a play, so I believe they give receiving yardage to the receiver of the backward pass to keep the receiving and passing yardage equal.

[dpope]

That is exactly waht I thought but in the official game stats the recieving yards for recievers is 12 yards more than the yards for the QB's.

Very Strange

[AndrewMcCarthy]

Maybe the guy who throws the backward pass gets passing yards.