Snap/Dead ball fouls

[Ed Hickland]

Originally Posted by jjrye22

I guess one could however say that an illegal snap is a dead ball foul that only occurs simultaneously with the snap.

An illegal snap is a dead ball foul as the foul occurs when the snap infraction occurs. Think about it, on an illegal snap if the play continues, the play would be illegal because the snap was not proper.

There was some discussion with the 'wrong ball' type illegal trick plays, or where the fake substitutions are used to confuse the defense. Some people said that we let the play stand and call it back, but others said that we should shut it down at the snap.
I don't think there was a general consensus about which way to handle it, and each crew/chapter/association should have their own guideline.

I think you mean where you have something like the "where's the puck" play where a player indicates to the sideline that some piece of equipment is wrong or missing as he walks to the sideline at the same time the ball is snapped to another player and the player walking toward the sideline starts downfield and catches a pass.

This play should be shutdown immediately primarily to avoid confusion. If you let it go someone may question why an unsportsmanlike foul is being enforced from the previous spot.