False start??

[mikesears]

Originally posted by jstein61
I and another official got into a discussion during a junior high game regarding this topic and I want to find out if I was correct in my interpretation of the rules. I had a receiver split wide to my side and prior to the snap he started going forward, but didn't break the plane of the neutral zone. He was going towards the line of scrimmage at the snap and no member of the defense was drawn offside. I threw my flag and allowed the play to continue. The referee was adamant that I should have blown the play dead. Later in the same game, he had a running back start forward and he blew the play dead immediately. I told him that both fouls occured at the time of the snap and they should be penalized as live ball fouls. I looked at the rule book and case book and I found nothing that doesn't support my interpretation. However, I want some second opinions to insure that I haven't lost my mind.

This always comes up several times during the year.

In my opinion, this is a false start and I believe the rulebook, casebook, and handbook all back me up on this. Any action that simulates the snap is a dead-ball false start. Did the WR's action simulate action at the snap? If yes, then it is a dead-ball. Just because a back can legally go in motion does not give a back the right to simulate the snap through such motion. Also, just because a team may legally shift, any shift that simulates action at the snap is a false start. A lot of this is covered in the Nat Fed rulebook and handbook.

This may be a bad idea, but I look to what the NFL officials do when rules are common (like a false start). I've seen NFL officials penalize backs on a number of occasions for false starts and they kill the play. I've yet to see any of them flag this as a motion penalty.

Now, some assocations/assignors out there say, "A back cannot false start". If so, do what your association/assignor tells you.

Bottom line, I'm always going to treat this as a false start unless I am instructed by my assocation or assignor to do it differently.