Revised Brain Teaser

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by The Roamin' Umpire

I believe A88 has committed illegal participation for violating 9-6-2: "No player shall intentionally go out of bounds and return." When did he return? When he leaped into the air! As previously mentioned, while airborne he is by definition no longer out of bounds. I count that as returning. 15 yards from previous spot, replay the down.

While I like where you tried to go here, I don't believe this player has returned in bounds. Why? Because he's neither in nor out of bounds. A player who legally catches a normal pass over in-bounds territory is not yet in bounds until he lands on the ground with 1 or 2 (depending on ruleset) feet in bounds. Neither is the player in our sitch here.

For those who disagree, I recommend enforcing the same penalty with a different justification: 9-9-5 "Neither team shall commit any act which, in the opinion of the referee, tends to make a travesty of the game." This allows R to enforce any penalty he feels equitable.

LOL. I don't know if any official ever invoking this rule, at any level. However, if any situation calls for it, I can see invoking it here. By any other rule, there was nothing illegal about this play in any ruleset.