Spot enforcement

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by BroKen62

Seriously, how can I wrap my mind around this rule? It gives me fits every time I think about it.

Would I be correct in saying that if the foul happened before or during a loose ball, then previous spot, but if the foul happened after the loose ball, then end of run? I'm thoroughly confused.

I gather that the rule frustrating your mind is the basic spot rule, which relies on the distinction between loose ball plays and running plays.

One helpful thing to remember is that a down can have at most ONE loose ball play, namely the last one. All action prior to that last loose ball is treated as part of the loose ball play.

So if you have a pass followed by a fumble followed by a backward pass, it's all one big loose ball play until the last loose ball is caught or recovered. The basic spot for a foul during any of that action would be the previous spot.

A down can comprise any number of running plays, each of which has its own basic spot (the end of that run). That's why when a runner fumbles beyond the LOS, we mark the end of the run with a beanbag. That's our basic spot for fouls that occurred during that run. If the foul occurs when the ball is loose, then we're back to a loose ball play with a different basic spot.