A friend of mine recently asked me a question about stopping the clock. I always thought that in the Pro game that when a player went out of bounds that the clock stopped. My friend pointed out during the early part of the first quarter of a game we were watching, that after a receiver had gone out of bounds, that the clock continued to run. Number 1 when did this rule change and Number 2 at what point in the game does the clock stop after a player has gone out of bounds?

Thanks

Anytime a player goes OOB with the ball the clock stops. What you probaly saw is that the players foward progress was stopped in bounds and then brought OOB, therefore the clock continues to run. You probaly saw the official winding his arm like a softball pitcher.

It stops momentarily in the NFL when a player goes OB but is started on the ready, except in the last two minutes of the half and (I think) last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.

This change was made a few years ago to speed up the game.

Stopping the clock
 

ABoselli you are correct that the clock is wound on the ready for play after a runner goes out of bounds, except the clock starts on the snap in the last two minutes of the second quarter and the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. We call it yhe 2-5 rule. This is also true for penalty enforcement.

Thanks for the responses to my question. I assume that on the ready means as soon as the ball is spotted. There's a web site out there called football.com where it gives you a list of situations where the clock is stopped but no mention of the 2-5 rule.

You are right there is no mention of a 2-5 rule. It's just a term we use to remind us of the difference in timing in the last two minutes of the second quarter and the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.

To clarify - when the ball is ready isn't when it is spotted, but when the referee blows his whistle and signals to wind the clock after it has been spotted.

Thanks again for your clarification. I'm definitely going to use this site again in the future when I have a question. You guys are great!