Starting and Stopping the Clock
 

With 12 seconds remaining and the clock running in the 4th quarter, team A runs the ball to B’s 5. They immediately (after the ready of play whistle) line up and the quarterback takes a direct snap and legally spikes the ball to stop the clock; however, a) there is an illegal motion penalty on A on the play, or b) several interior linemen were unable to get set. If B declines the penalties, when do you start the clock and if it expires before A can snap, do you extend. If B accepts the penalty when would you start the clock and if you start the clock and it expires before A can snap the ball, is there an extension?

First you have to decide what type of foul you have. If it is a dead-ball foul, false start, then you have to reset the clock if it started, mark of the yardage and then wind it on the RFP. If it was a live-ball foul, illegal motion, then the play did end in an incomplete pass. The clock will then start on the snap so the illegal motion penalty would not extend the period as there is already another timed down following the enforcement.

Both of your penalties are live ball fouls at the snap so you would start the clock based on the results of the play. In this case it was an incomplete pass so the clock would start on the snap in both scenarios.

If the penalties were false starts (which prevented the ball from becoming live), the fact the QB spiked the ball is irrelevant because it technically never happened. The clock was running when the penalties occurred so the clock would run at the RFP. If in the R's judgement A would not have been able to legally get the snap off before the false start, they could run the clock and not allow A to benefit from committing the foul. Also, if B does accept the penalty and the clock runs out, you would not have an extension because the false start did not occur during the last timed down (the down didn't occur).

What a great question to get you thinking about starting and stopping the clock! I think I got it all right but will accept any corrections out there.

a) Illegal Motion - live ball foul
Accept: ball on B's 10, clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass, start on the snap
Decline: ball on B's 5, clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass, start on the snap

b) Illegal Shift - live ball foul
Accept: ball on B's 10, clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass, start on the snap
Decline: ball on B's 5, clock was stopped due to the incomplete pass, start on the snap

If, for whatever reason, you decided the the penalty was a false start and not an illegal shift then:

b-1) False Start - dead ball foul
Accept: ball on B's 10, clock was running and then stopped due to the DB penalty, start on the ready, extend if A can't get another play
Decline: ball on B's 5, clock was running and then stopped due to the DB penalty, start on the ready, don't extend

From POE in this years Rules Book!


If the offensive team executes a shift in such a manner that simulates action at the snap,
the foul is a false start and not an illegal shift. The manner in which offensive players execute
shifts or go in motion can be fouls for a false start, but never for illegal shifts.

My understanding of this statement is to prevent A from drawing B into the NZ by shifting, using actions that simulate actions at the snap. I don't think this is what the OP was saying - I could be wrong. I was reading that all of A never came to a set position and were in the process of getting there when the ball was snapped.

I agree with everything except extending the qtr. Only extend the Qtr on live ball fouls.

A note of caution. If there was a live ball foul (illegal shift, illegal motion) during the down, where the result was an incomplete pass, the subsequent play would start with the snap whether the penalty was accepted or not.

If a dead ball foul occured (false start, encroachment) the status of the clock would be determined by the action of the previous play. The example suggests the clock was running, so the clock would stat on the RFP, and if the game clock expired before the snap, the game is over