Punt Play

[l3will]

Originally posted by schwinn
Read 5-1-3f. A new series is awarded to: f. to whoever has possession at the end of the down if the ball was touched by R beyond the ENZ. It's not that K had the ball beyond the line to gain it's by rule they get a new series.

Okay, It does say that (casebook and rule mismatch), but in the original example....

K's ball 4th and seven at the K-45. K1 punts the ball high and short and it lands at the 50. The ball takes a backwards bounce and strikes R1 in the leg at the K-45 and K2 recovers the ball at the K-46.

So since R touched it at the original line of scrimmage, not beyond the line of scrimmage we don't have the conditions in 5-1-3f. So when K recovers at the K-46, I think that 6-2-4 is in force....

6-2-4 Any kicker may catch or recover a scrimmage kick while it is beyond the neutral zone or expanded neutral zone, provided such kick has been touched by a receiver who was clearly beyond the neutral zone at the time of touching. Such touching is ignored if it it caused by K pushing or blocking R into contact with the ball or it is caused by K legally batting or muffing the ball into R.

So, since the touching beyond the neutral zone did not occur and K recovered in the expanded neutral zone... K can try to advance it beyond the line to gain. If K does not get beyond the line to gain, it will be R's ball at that spot.

Had the ball hit R at the same spot and K touched it then at the 48, then that would be first touching... 6-2-5.