Unabated to the Quarterback + Illegal Formation

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by SportsFan

On a play, the offense is lined up in an illegal formation. A defensive player jumps across the line early, and as soon as the ball is snapped, the play is blown dead, because the defensive player is unabated to the quarterback. Is the offense penalized for an illegal formation?

NFL Ruling:

Illegal formation only is a foul once the ball is legally snapped.

Unabated to the QB is foul that ocurs prior to the snap, and kills the play, preventing any snap: legal or illegal.

Therefore, there is no illegal formation foul, and only the penalty for the defensive foul is applied.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by SportsFan

On a play, the offense is lined up in an illegal formation. A defensive player jumps across the line early, and as soon as the ball is snapped, the play is blown dead, because the defensive player is unabated to the quarterback. Is the offense penalized for an illegal formation?

I'm pretty sure that in NFL rules, "unabated" is only a provision in the encroachment rule that causes an immediate whistle and thereby prevents the ball from being put in play, in which case illegal formation is a non-issue. In other words, if the ball was snapped, "unabated" would not kill the play, so the fact that it was whistled means that the ball remained dead, the ostensible snap being unofficial, and there's no illegal formation until the ball is put in play.

Robert

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

I'm pretty sure that in NFL rules, "unabated" is only a provision in the encroachment rule that causes an immediate whistle and thereby prevents the ball from being put in play, in which case illegal formation is a non-issue. In other words, if the ball was snapped, "unabated" would not kill the play, so the fact that it was whistled means that the ball remained dead, the ostensible snap being unofficial, and there's no illegal formation until the ball is put in play.

You just wanted to use the word "ostensible".