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[rdodom]

No! The ball is not dead until it touches something that is out of bounds, not when it crosses the sideline! A player is out of bounds and the play is dead when he lands out of bounds. A player may touch a player out of bounds and still be inbounds!

The point I'm making is that it really has nothing with it being out of bounds. What makes any live ball dead?

1: When a runner is tackled and his forward progress has been stopped or is tackled so that anything, other than his hand or foot, touches the ground, the play is over and the ball is dead. We blow the whistle to signal the ball is dead and the play is over (hopefully).

2: When a runner is tackled towards the sideline, the play is over and the ball is dead when the player with the ball hits the ground out of bounds.

Either way, the ball is dead and the play is over when the runner is stopped or hits the gound in both cases. Just like when a runner's knee hits the ground, the play is over and the ball is dead.

In no. 1, if the runner is tackled and slammed to the ground, a personal foul can be called on the tackler. If this is true, why can't the same call be made on a tackle that lands out of bounds, since the play isn't over until the runner hits the ground. The action of the tackler during the tackle is what makes it a personal foul. The tackler di nothing to the runner after he hit the ground, only during the actual tackle!

[Edited by rdodom on Oct 1st, 2001 at 02:05 PM]