Illegal Touching, Fumble on punt

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by bossman72

But in those "futile" intervals you described, that team could turn the ball over again, so that would put the other team at a disadvantage if you killed it.

The situations I describe as "futile" are all of a kind where, if a player in possession of the ball knew what was going on, the smart thing to do would be to take a knee. Putting the other team at a "disadvantage" by the fact of the player's not knowing that and possibly losing possession just isn't my idea of worthy play. It's like the situation that's been pointed out here whereby in Fed you can get a better enforcement spot on some running plays by fumbling the ball after an opponent's foul if you realize that's what's happened.

Now you may ask, what's the difference between those situations and that of not being able to spot an open receiver? The difference is that spotting receivers is a skill, while knowing whether to take a knee or fumble is not a skill.

There are other situations in which futile play is prevented. AFAIK none of the codes allow play to proceed if team A tries to play the ball before the ball is RFP. You might say, why not let them play -- team B might gain an advantage. It doesn't even meet my description of "futile" above, because if play were allowed to proceed subject to penalty and count as a down if declined, taking a knee would usually be a bad idea.

Robert