Bean bag. blue or white?

[MJT]

Originally Posted by bossman72

Sorry for chiming in with the stupid question, but do the bean bags really have any practical use? I know it's used to mark where the ball was fumbled or where a kick was caught/touched among other things that i'm not totally sure of, but why do those need marked?


ps- i'll be occasionally popping in with very basic questions since i'm considering going into football officiating in a couple years. i just want to get a little bit of a jump on the rules and mechanics (just baby steps though).

Your questions are very welcomed. The bean bags are used for penalty enforcement. They are needed when a fumble occurs beyond the neutral zone cuz if there is a foul before or after the fumble, the basic spot for penalty enforcement is the end of the run (where the fumble occurred). The penalty is administered from the basic spot, unless it was a foul by the offense behind the basic spot, and then it is enforced from the spot of the foul.

A bean bag is dropped at the yard line where a scrimmage kick is possessed cuz that is the one possible spot of enforcement for a PSK foul.

A bean bag is dropped at the spot of 1st touching by K on a scrimmage kick beyond the neutral zone, or the spot of 1st touching by K on a free kick if it occurs before the kick travels 10 yards cuz that is a spot that R can take the ball if they so chose. If R fouls after possessing the ball they lose the option of taking it at the spot of first touching.

A bean bag is dropped at the spot of possession of a pass by B, or kick by K if between the 5 yard line and the goal line as that would be the spot the ball would be placed at if the original momentum of the player carried them into the EZ where the ball became dead. This is called the momentum exception.

There are also many great things on Grant's website you could look at to learn a lot. http://home.comcast.net/~minnmo/football.htm