Illegal snap

[LAREF]

I have been reading through my rules and casebook and can't find anything illegal with a center standing sideways and snapping the ball. Under Fed rules it seems permissable. Does anyone have any disagreement?

[waltjp]

The snapper's shoulders must be parallel to the LOS.

2-30-9
A lineman is any A player who is facing his opponent's goal line with the line of his shoulders approximately parallel thereto and with his head or foot breaking an imaginary plane drawn parallel to the line of scrimmage through the waist of the snapper when the ball is snapped.

[LAREF]

Thanks Walt. I did find that the center's shoulders must paralell with the LOS.
Last night in our 5A state championship game they had a snap where the center was lined up correctly but snapped the ball at about a 45 degree angle but not through his legs. I can't find anything that would make that illegal.

[waltjp]

Nothing illegal about the snap on that play.

[Theisey]

This question about the requirement to to snap the ball between the legs or not comes up often enought where one would think NF would include the answer in their definitions.

They don't say is has to be snapped between the legs or not to be legal. To most of us, that means its legal either way.

NCAA put this defintion in their rules:
g. The snap need not be between the snapper’s legs; but to be legal, it must be a quick and continuous backward motion.

I see no reason why the NF can't add this as well, in fact they should add it.

[wwcfoa43]

[Canadian Ruling]

In Canada, our rules specifically state that the Centre must snap the ball between his legs.

[JugglingReferee]

Originally posted by wwcfoa43
[Canadian Ruling]

In Canada, our rules specifically state that the Centre must snap the ball between his legs.

Julian, we're going to have to educate wwcfoa43 on how to use an optional Post subject (= "Canadian Ruling) and the lightbulb. LOL

[starman]

On Monday night the Titans ran a play where the center snapped the ball to his side and not between his legs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=241213010

[Warrenkicker]

Originally posted by starman
On Monday night the Titans ran a play where the center snapped the ball to his side and not between his legs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=241213010

And this probably wasn't a legal snap either. This was not a continuous backward motion and I would assume that a continuous motion is part of the NFL definition of a snap but I am not sure. The snapper first picked up the ball to "load up" on the snap. It happened very quickly but I'm sure that the officials knew what was going on when that formation showed up.

[Snake~eyes]

Originally posted by Warrenkicker

And this probably wasn't a legal snap either. This was not a continuous backward motion and I would assume that a continuous motion is part of the NFL definition of a snap but I am not sure. The snapper first picked up the ball to "load up" on the snap. It happened very quickly but I'm sure that the officials knew what was going on when that formation showed up.

I thought it was fine, you thought it was illegal?

[MJT]

Originally posted by Warrenkicker

And this probably wasn't a legal snap either. This was not a continuous backward motion and I would assume that a continuous motion is part of the NFL definition of a snap but I am not sure. The snapper first picked up the ball to "load up" on the snap. It happened very quickly but I'm sure that the officials knew what was going on when that formation showed up.

I did not think he "loaded up" at all. It looked as if he just did it in one motion, but that is my opinion.

[Warrenkicker]

Well it was quick but when they showed it in slow motion he picked it straight up and then went to the side. But that is just the way I saw it in slow motion. In real time it may have been hard to catch but then again I might guess that there are things that you just don't call at the NFL level. I would think that they still have equipment rules which most players ignore and nobody gets a flag for that.