Blocked Field Goal Beyond the LOS

[gtwbam]

Under NFHS:

The expanded neutral zone may be expanded following the snap to a maximum of two yards beyond the defensive line of scrimmage in the field of play.

This applies on scrimmage kicks and forward passes, but has no relevance on running plays.

And as mentioned above the neutral zone is never expanded into the End Zone.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by gtwbam

Under NFHS:

The expanded neutral zone may be expanded following the snap to a maximum of two yards beyond the defensive line of scrimmage in the field of play.

This applies on scrimmage kicks and forward passes, but has no relevance on running plays.

And as mentioned above the neutral zone is never expanded into the End Zone.

What difference would that last bit make in Fed anyway, as long as they keep it that the kick is dead on entering the end zone?

AFAIK, only in Canadian football is there a technical understanding to "blocked" as applied to a kick, as opposed to merely being touched. In USAn ball, it doesn't matter how or with what effect either team touches a scrimmage kick. A kick could be stuffed, deflected, or whatever, and it'd be the same as if it'd been rolling on the ground and touched.

There was an implicit understanding of "blocked" as applied to return kicks, but now that all the major USAn codes have outlawed the return kick and even kicks from scrimmage plays where the ball is beyond the neutral zone, that doesn't matter any more.

In rugby there's also a need to distinguish a kick as having been "charged down" as opposed to merely touched.

Robert

[michaelround]

I'm having trouble finding "expanded neutral zone" in the rule book. Under "Scrimmage Kick", rule 9, section 1, article 6, the "note" reads "When the kickers recover a legal kick from scrimmage after it has been first touched by the receiving team beyond the line, etc." Article 7 goes on to describe the situation when the ball is touched "in the immediate vicinity of the neutral zone", and the ball goes beyond the line, etc.

The former simply talks about "beyond the line"; the latter "in the immediate vicinity of the neutral zone" (without defining this).

But I can find no reference anywhere to "expanded neutral zone". Can you help?

[daggo66]

Originally Posted by michaelround

I'm having trouble finding "expanded neutral zone" in the rule book. Under "Scrimmage Kick", rule 9, section 1, article 6, the "note" reads "When the kickers recover a legal kick from scrimmage after it has been first touched by the receiving team beyond the line, etc." Article 7 goes on to describe the situation when the ball is touched "in the immediate vicinity of the neutral zone", and the ball goes beyond the line, etc.

The former simply talks about "beyond the line"; the latter "in the immediate vicinity of the neutral zone" (without defining this).

But I can find no reference anywhere to "expanded neutral zone". Can you help?

ALWAYS look at Rule 2. Nothing else works without the definitions. 2.28.2 "The neutral zone may be expanded following the snap up to a maximum of 2 yards behind the defensive line of scrimmage, in the field of play, during any scrimmage down."

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by daggo66

ALWAYS look at Rule 2.

I bet he did, but was looking under "e" for "expanded".