biggest misconceptions

[Bob M.]

REPLY: Andrew...what I'm trying to get across (and obviously not so well) is that the end of a loose ball play really can't be determined definitively until the down ends or until a change of possession. Take your example...After the legal forward pass is completed, it will probably start a running play. But...what if the receiver comes back behind the NZ and then fumbles and then A (or B) recovers? Then all of the action during the entire down occurred during the loose ball play that began with the snap. There was no running play in such a down. Now, if the receiver stays beyond the NZ and is tackled, then yes, all action after the reception occurred during a running play, but you can't really tell that until after the down ends. Another way of saying essentially the same thing: Before a change of possession, if you drop a flag, you can say with 100% certainty at that time that the foul occurred during a loose ball play if it occurred during a legal forward pass, a free kick or scrimmage kick or while the ball is loose following a fumble, backward pass, or illegal kick behind the neutral zone. But if it occurred while the ball is a Team A player's possession, you can't say for sure at that time whether the foul occurred during a loose ball play or during a running play. You can only determine that for sure after the down ends or after a change of possession.