Loose ball plays and penalties..help :)

[kdf5]

Originally Posted by footballref

One thing confusing me is 2-33-1d: A loose ball play is action during (d) the run or runs which precedes such legal or illegal kick, legal forward pass, backward pass or fumble

Here's one for you. A snaps the ball at their 20 1/10. A1 throws a pass to A2 who catches the pass at the A-30. B1 inadvertantly grasps A2's face mask at the A-30 but lets go. A2 runs back behind the A-20 escaping tacklers and then fumbles the ball at the A-18. A3 recovers at the A-15. Ruling?

Even though the pass was caught beyond the NZ, A2's run ended behind the NZ when he fumbled. Therefore the pass and A2's run were all part of a loose ball play since A2 fumbled the ball behind the NZ. The face mask foul, if accepted will be enforced from the previous spot. It will be 1/5 from the A-25.

Now let's say that there was no facemask on A2. Instead the same play happens and A3 recovers the ball at the A-15 and runs out to the A-30 where he's tackled. During A3's run A4 blocks in the back at the A-40. Now we have a running play and the basic spot is going to be the end of the run since the BIB occurred beyond the basic spot. Had the BIB occurred at the A-28 (behind the basic spot) you'd enforce it from there since it was a foul behind the basic spot (the One in the All But One).