Couple of Questions....
 

Newer official here and had these situations come up over the weekend. Looking for any feedback you guys may have....


1. Does a late hit personal foul by B automatically grant the offense a first
down? I thought only roughing the kicker, holder, snapper and defensive pass
interference granted the first down. In two cases the 15 yard penalty still left
A short of a first.

2. Any player on the field may request a time out not just the captain correct? Had a coach and a senior official tell me that only the captain or coach can request a time out at any time.

1. Not an automatic first down. mark off the yardage and see where they're at.

2. Any player or the head coach may request a timeout. NF 3-5-2

You are correct, their are 4 automatic first downs in NF.
RTPasser
RTSnapper
RTHolder
DPI

So, as FTVMartin said if they are still behind the LTG after you enforce the penalty, it is NOT a first down.

You are also correct on the TO calling.

BTW, coaches most (not you Big John) know little to nothing about the rules. For the "senior official" I guess he has lost his memory.

Don't forget #5: Roughing the kicker

#1 actually happened in a game I saw:

Team A is driving down the field late in the game near mid field. 4th and 9 and they throw a pass short of the sticks and Team B is called for a late hit.

The coaches and crowd was incredibly confused when they gave Team B the ball, then marked off the 15 yd penalty. haha! I'm not a football official, but from lurking on the football board for a while, I knew the call was correct.

Thanks for all the replies... I know I am no rules guru, but even these seemed pretty basic to me. The second one has me still riled as the coach told the white hat that was the rule and the white hat backed him up... I have that team next week and will be clarifying the rule for the coach about who may ask for a timeout.

This is kind of apples and oranges. A late hit is a dead ball foul as the down has ended, whereas, roughing and defensive pass interference are all live ball fouls, that is, they occur during the down.

Whenever there is a late hit the down has ended. This impacts fourth down as if A has not reached the line to gain you consider the effects of the play, then, you apply the dead ball penalty. That is why you will see the penalty enforced and B get possession.

The roughing fouls are live ball in that they occur during the down. These are major fouls in that the penalty is 15 yards plus A gets a first down regardless of whether the line to gain has been reached.

Don't forget the new inclusion to this rule, a head coach may designate another coach to call timeouts. (3-5-2a)