NFL Touchback on Punts

[BigTex]

Is the pylon part of the ground? Can't you be above the endzone and bat the ball back into the field of play? If a player is trying to bat the ball back and kicks the pylon on his way up, is he considered to have touched the ground in the endzone?

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by BigTex

Is the pylon part of the ground? Can't you be above the endzone and bat the ball back into the field of play? If a player is trying to bat the ball back and kicks the pylon on his way up, is he considered to have touched the ground in the endzone?

I've never heard the pylon as technically part of the ground, but it is considered out of bounds. Under Fed, during a kick the ball is dead as soon as it crosses the plane of the goal line so assuming the ball is in the end zone, you can't bat it back even if you never touched the end zone.

If the K player touches the pylon on the way up, he is technically out of bounds. If he then participates in the play, he is guilty of illegal participation which is a 15-yard penalty. Your example brings up an interesting thought though. He technically never returned to the field since I assume he continued his momentum out of bounds so I don't know that you can penalize him for illegal participation. I guess you could still consider him out of bounds and thus the ball is dead because it touched something out of bounds. The in-bounds spot would be the foremost point of the ball when it crossed the sideline. If that was beyond the plane of the goal line, it would be a touchback. Otherwise it would a very long field for R. I'd be curious to hear the thoughts of those smarter than me.