Couple of questions

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by GFD406

Last night in our rules meeting, we came up with a couple that has everybody divided.

1. On a punt, K11 has both feet in R's EZ and downs the ball,(the ball never breaks the plane,) at the 1 foot line. Touchback or down at the 1 foot line?

Any other USAn rules than NFL's (or codes based on NFL's), the ball is dead when and where possessed by K11, foot position immaterial. NFL, touchback.

NFL used to have in its rule book a provision that said in case of doubt as to whether the ball was "in touch" (i.e. in goal) on such a play where K was touching the ground in the end zone, that it would be ruled a touchback. However, their officials weren't calling it that way; rather, they were invoking it even in cases where it was absolutely clear the ball was not in the end zone. Eventually NFL codified it as such.

NFL's rules concerning similar kick play situations are sui generis. For one thing, they're the only ones that rule on the goal line rather than the plane.

2. On a Kick, the ball touches the pylon. Out of bounds or a touchback?

If it were not a touchback, where would you spot the ball? Would you really spot it so that its hindmost point from K's perspective became its foremost point from R's perspective?

All of USAn, Canadian, and rugby football are in agreement on this: out of bounds in end zone/goal; in rugby, touch-in-goal. Only soccer's the odd one out, where the ball can hit the corner flag stick and stay in play.

Robert