What's your take???

[Patton]

Originally posted by The Roamin' Umpire

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. NF casebook play 2.15.1a gives an example of a play in which a receiver collects a ball while over the end zone, but ends up outside of it, and no TD is awarded. Unfortunately, it does not have an example of the second original situation that you posted.

NF 8-2-1 begins with "Possession of a live ball in the opponent's end zone is always a touchdown." But 2-32-1 defines possession in this case as requiring a catch, and 2-4-1 requires the player to touch the ground (inbounds, unless forced out) before completing a catch. Thus that first line of 8-2-1 does not actually apply.
[/B]

I believe what you're missing here is that in casebook play 2.15(a), it clearly states that the receiver's own momentum carries him out of the endzone. In MJT's play, the defender drives the receiver out of the endzone. The casebook ruling for 2.15(b) even states "it is a touchdown if the covering official judges the contact by B1 is the cause of A1 coming down at the 2-yard line, instead of in the endzone." All you really need to ask yourself is "would the receiver have come down in the endzone if B didn't hit him". If the answer is yes, then we have a TD.