Spotting the Ball

[MD Longhorn]

It's always dependent on where the ball is when ...... well - there's the rub.

On a play where the ball carrier contacts the ground (i.e. is tackled) - it's where the ball is when he first contacts the bround.

On a play like you describe when it's a pile of people - it's where the ball is when the official on the spot deems that the player's forward progress is stopped (which can vary widely from what Joe Generic Fan thinks should be the spot).

On a play near the sideline, it's where the ball is when the player FIRST contacts out of bounds (with exceptions around the goal line that I don't want to go into right now).

[AndrewMcCarthy]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

On a play near the sideline, it's where the ball is when the player FIRST contacts out of bounds (with exceptions around the goal line that I don't want to go into right now).

Careful here...

NCAA 4-2-4e: When a runner dives or jumps toward the sideline and is airborne as he crosses the sideline, forward progress is determined by the position of the ball as it crosses the sideline.

NF 4-3-3: When a runner goes out of bounds, the inbounds spot is fixed by the yard line through the foremost point of the ball at the time the runner crosses the plane of the sideline.

[FeetBallRef]

Originally Posted by AndrewMcCarthy

Careful here...

NCAA 4-2-4e: When a runner dives or jumps toward the sideline and is airborne as he crosses the sideline, forward progress is determined by the position of the ball as it crosses the sideline.

NF 4-3-3: When a runner goes out of bounds, the inbounds spot is fixed by the yard line through the foremost point of the ball at the time the runner crosses the plane of the sideline.

These are different definitions, do they mean the same thing?

[AndrewMcCarthy]

Originally Posted by FeetBallRef

These are different definitions, do they mean the same thing?

I take them to mean the same thing, yes.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by AndrewMcCarthy

Careful here...

NCAA 4-2-4e: When a runner dives or jumps toward the sideline and is airborne as he crosses the sideline, forward progress is determined by the position of the ball as it crosses the sideline.

NF 4-3-3: When a runner goes out of bounds, the inbounds spot is fixed by the yard line through the foremost point of the ball at the time the runner crosses the plane of the sideline.

Good point ... a nit worth picking... when I wrote this, I was not intending to imply an airborne player, but I see how it could be read that way. Thanks for the clarification. I was really referring to a player doing the tightrope.

[Dukat]

The times when my partner across the field and I have differing spots USUALLY has to do with Forward Progress. He has a bad tendency IMHO to not give FP and in those instances we are usually off.