Illegal Formation

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

If one of those receivers is close but still technically in the back field, I'll put him on the line and warn him after the play.

By "put him on the line", do you mean "deem him on the line", or "direct him to shift onto the line"? If it's the latter, what do you do if he follows your instruction, thanks you, and then goes into shallow "fly" motion before the snap?

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

By "put him on the line", do you mean "deem him on the line", or "direct him to shift onto the line"? If it's the latter, what do you do if he follows your instruction, thanks you, and then goes into shallow "fly" motion before the snap?

I meant the former. If he's close, I figure out where he is probably supposed to be based on the rest of the formation. If I "put him on the line" and he would cover up an otherwise eligible receiver and leave 8 on the line, I'll put him in the backfield. If putting him in the backfield would leave 6 on the line, I'll assume he's on the line. Then I'll talk to him and tell him to make sure he's obviously where he needs to be so I don't have to make that kind of judgment again.

[ChickenOfNC]

Funny, we had a middle school game and flagged a team for 5 in the backfield on a punt. Coach went berserk and demanded to know which player should have been on the line. Like I'm supposed to know his formation.