Airborne catch in endzone on kicks
If an airborne player jumps up in the endzone during a kicking play and catches the ball:
a) He is pushed (so-called force-out) and lands on the one yard line? b) He is held and carried by an opponent to the one yard line? In a) it must obviously be team Bs ball on the one yard line, 1. and 10. But in b), is it really also team Bs ball on the one yard line, or could we award a touchback? The rule only states that if a player is carried backwards, the forward progress spot is from where he would have landed had he not been carried. But this seems somewhat unfair to me, as it would certainly not be in team Bs interessest to get the ball on the one yard line. |
REPLY: Which code: Federation or NCAA? In Fed, once a kick breaks the plane of B's goal line, the ball is dead.
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Ncaa
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I happened to see this one on a training film put out by rulebooks.com. The TV commentators obviously were calling this call a "terrrible call" and the BJ nailed it. |
Hmmm, good point (it's offseason, that's my excuse for not thinking of KCI:-). But let's say it's an interception, what then?
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If he signaled for a fair catch, is the spot where he got the ball in his grasp, or where it was when he touched the ground? Robert |
Canadian Ruling
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Good question! If B goes dead in his EZ, it's B-1D/10 @ B-20. B's forward progress might be involuntarily pushed to the field of play, which means that the results is B-1D/10 @ B-1. I'm going with B-1D/10 @ B-1. |
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Fed rules: Doesn't make any difference what happens if the ball breaks the plane of the goal line before all of this other stuff happens. Ball dead, touchback. You might have a dead ball PF if the action on the receiver was flagrant.
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A reminder, in Fed Ball: It's where the ball is, not the player, that counts. The ball could be caught and not break the plane of the GL even though the feet of R are in the EZ. So, we may have a live ball. Let's say R decides to "down" the ball by placing his knee in the EZ. The ball would be placed where it was when this occurred, just outside the GL. If the ball had already broken the plane, the BJ blows it dead immediately and there is no need to "down" the ball.
BJ needs to be in position to make this call. Remember, the GOAL LINE is the most important line on the field! Get there! |
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Hopfully you can sell momentum but be vigilant out there.. the result of the play you call could change in a heartbeat. |
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Think about it Suudy.. where is the ball when the player takes the knee? If you can't visualize it, hold on to a book and take a knee. I'd say that 99% of the time it's tucked in against his chest and armpit.. directly over the knee he just put to the turf in the EZ.
I've seen this on free kicks at least a half dozen times over the past 24 years. You hold the whistle because you know the ball has not broken the plain of the goal line (using todays rules) and then as what seems like an eternity in time, the panicky player goes down on his knee. Good grief you say, what the heck to I have now? Tough call, tough sell. One side or the other is not going to like your ruling. |
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Canadian Ruling
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The ball is dead at the point when the player touches knee to ground. The exception is for players driven back. So yes, the tackling team could gain an advantage by knocking the ball carrier forward and out of the EZ. This would be true for a caught punt, intercepted pass or recovered fumble. |
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