Revised Brain Teaser

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

1st and 10 on the 50 yard line. A88 lines up as WR. After the snap, he runs 5 yards out of bounds and 5 yards behind the Line of Scrimmage to the 45 yard line. A12 rolls out in his direction. As A12 nears the sideline and the line of scrimmage, he tosses the ball backward and across the sideline toward A88 (the ball crosses the sideline at the 49). A88 leaps into the air, “catches” the ball with both hands, and before hitting the ground throws it (soccer throw-in style) slightly forward back across the field to A22, who catches the ball at the 47 and then throws a forward pass to A80 at the other team’s 40, who then runs it for a touchdown.

A) How many fouls are there on the play, if any?
B) What are Team B’s options, if any?
C) Where is the ball spotted for the next play, and what down is it?

State your ruleset and the rules you are using to justify your call.

CANADIAN RULING:

A) (i) A88 went OB on his own. He cannot participate further in the play. If he does, it's 10 yards from PLS. [1-10-8] (ii) A22's pass is the second forward pass, which is illegal. 10 yards from PLS. [6-4-2] So there are two fouls.

B) Since the penalties are the same, any accepted penalty will give 1D/20 @ A-40.

C) There is precedence that says a player who is OB because of valid reasons to be OB, CAN participate, only if he is back inbounds. From that it can be inferred that the airborne A88 is still OB, even though airborne. Therefore, once he touched the ball, the ball is dead and the play is over, meaning that there is no foul for the second forward pass. Therefore, B decides only upon the illegal participation foul. Accepted: Team A 1D/20 @ A-40. Declined: Team A 2D/15 @ A-45.