Safety or not?

[jTheUmp]

Had this happen in a game the other day:

4th down for K at K's 20ish yard line. K lines up in punt formation. *Snap goes over the punter's head, rolls toward the goal line. *The punter picks it up at about the 1, and immediately gets shoved back into the end zone by 2-3 R players. *The R guys never really wrap him up, and the punter escapes, runs sideways in the end zone for about 3 seconds, and is then tackled in the end zone. *

Safety, or 1st and goal for R at the 1? Why?

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

Had this happen in a game the other day:

4th down for K at K's 20ish yard line. K lines up in punt formation. *Snap goes over the punter's head, rolls toward the goal line. *The punter picks it up at about the 1, and immediately gets shoved back into the end zone by 2-3 R players. *The R guys never really wrap him up, and the punter escapes, runs sideways in the end zone for about 3 seconds, and is then tackled in the end zone. *

Safety, or 1st and goal for R at the 1? Why?

I'll answer with a question: Where was his forward progress stopped to the point he could not progress any further?

[yankeesfan]

safety. after he escaped he is on his own.

[jTheUmp]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

I'll answer with a question: Where was his forward progress stopped to the point he could not progress any further?

He picked up the ball (and secured possession) at the 1. I don't remember if his momentum was taking him towards the goal line at that point or not.

[whitehat]

Safety, although R would prefer their ball on the 1! One of those where coaches can/will argue on both sides of the fence depending on which side they are standing!

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by whitehat

Safety, although R would prefer their ball on the 1! One of those where coaches can/will argue on both sides of the fence depending on which side they are standing!

Once again it sounds like a 100% judgment call; was the runner stopped at the 1 yl and subsequently knocked back into EZ, or did he escape the attempted tackle at the 1 yl and retreat into the EZ in an attempt to continue advancing the ball.

It all depends on what the covering official decides he saw. His opinion is the only one that matters.

[Mike L]

He gets knocked back, is not wrapped up, escapes and then runs around for 3 seconds before getting tackled.....can't be anything other than a safety.
His momentum at the time of picking up the loose ball is immaterial.

[jTheUmp]

Thanks for the input guys. We did in fact rule it a safety, but we were unsure at the time if that was the correct call.

Originally Posted by jTheUmp

Thanks for the input guys. We did in fact rule it a safety, but we were unsure at the time if that was the correct call.

From your OP, sounds like the right call. That's something coaches b***h about all the time, that the runner was "stopped" when he got hit, therefore what happened after that is immaterial. Coaches have that stupid Sunday afternoon mentality, you know, that thought once the quarterback is in the grasp, he's down. They bring that mentality to the HS level and expect us to call every runner down when they are simply in the grasp, or knocked backwards more than just a couple of yards. If they would collectively get their heads out of their a**es, then our job would be so much easier. Rant off. Give yourself a pat on the back.

[DocLogic]

This is one of those judgement calls where it probably is easier to see it to call it.

But when the punter escaped the tackle to scramble, and the play was allowed to continue, then this is a safety when he was tackled in the end zone.