Kill the Play or Not?

[Bob M.]

Originally Posted by Fedex

Thanks to all who responded. I really appreciate it. Here's partly why I asked this question. I had a situation where the offensive tackle puts his hand on the ground simultaneously with the snap (Wasn't set for 1 second). I, as the linesman, throw the flag and let the play continue. At halftime, the GM of the team berates me because he said I should have blown the play dead. Was I correct in letting it go?

REPLY: Yes, you were correct since there was no reason to blow it dead. A lineman putting his hand on the ground is a legal act. The only thing that made the play illegal was that the snap occurred less than one second after the lineman's shift (yes...it was a shift). So, it was the snap that made the play qualify as an illegal shift -- a foul that occurs simultaneously with the snap. Some people insist that this be shut down after the snap. But this violates the football fundamental that no foul causes the ball to become dead.