Taunting

[ajmc]

[QUOTE=jimpiano;548101]He hadn't scored yet, the play wasn't over, so why isn't the penalty enforced from the spot, like any other personal foul would?

Simply because "taunting" is NOT a personal foul.

NF 9.4 deals with "Illegal Personal Contact", while NF: 9.5 relates to "Noncontact Unsportsmanline Conduct by Players" Taunting is clearly a noncontact issue.

I certainly agree that handling taunting as a live ball situation, and penalizing it as such, would be much more effective as a deterrent, but that would require a major rule philosophy revision

[Blue37]

Originally Posted by ajmc

I certainly agree that handling taunting as a live ball situation, and penalizing it as such, would be much more effective as a deterrent, but that would require a major rule philosophy revision

In this situation, the taunting was "a live ball situation". The penalty enforcement for USC has nothing to do with live or dead.

Actually, it wasn't that many years ago (remember I am old and anything since 1980 is not that many years ago) that it was handled under the all-but-one in Fedlandia. In the situation given in the initial post, the taunting would have been penalized from the ten yard line. 1st and 10 from the 25, clock on the snap.

[ajmc]

Excuse me, "penalty enforcement for USC has nothing to do with live or dead.", other than the fact USC are enforced, the same as dead ball fouls, from the basic spot of the succeeding spot.

Perhaps my observation would have been more gramatically correct if I said handled as a live ball personal foul situation, but because that was the heart of the conversation, I didn't think it necessary to restate that.

[Blue37]

Originally Posted by ajmc

Excuse me, "penalty enforcement for USC has nothing to do with live or dead.", other than the fact USC are enforced, the same as dead ball fouls, from the basic spot of the succeeding spot.

Perhaps my observation would have been more gramatically correct if I said handled as a live ball personal foul situation, but because that was the heart of the conversation, I didn't think it necessary to restate that.

Appology accepted.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by ajmc

I certainly agree that handling taunting as a live ball situation, and penalizing it as such, would be much more effective as a deterrent, but that would require a major rule philosophy revision

It would result in less consistent effect of penalties. For example, there'd be no deterrent at all if you used the 3-and-1 principle to penalize cases where a player conceding a safety holds the ball overhead at the back of his end zone to egg on defenders (which I've seen) before stepping out of bounds.

A taunt is a taunt regardless of where or when it occurs, so penalizing it as if it were some tactical foul is silly. As I wrote, the best ways to penalize USC would not be done by game officials at all.

Well, I could imagine one effective way that would sort-of involve the officials: someone taunts, the opponent gets one free shot at him -- during or up to 1 min. after the game, but only while the ball is dead.

Robert