Fed: time between shift & motion

[ajmc]

"Beauty, is in the eye of the beholder", as is determining whether a player has shifted, or has gone in motion. NF 7-2-6 defines a "minimum of 0ne second" that "all 11 players of A shall come to an absolute stop and shall remain stationary" before the snap.

NF 7-2-7 explains that AFTER 7-2-6 has been satisfied (ALL 11 players have been still for at least 1 second) one player may go in motion and continue in motion at the snap. Determining the exact duration of a second, is a judgment made by each official.

Several years ago an interpretation was issued suggesting that in circumstances where a player may have misjudged the snap count and inadvertently "started in motion" and then tried to stop, be considered to have committed a false start (dead ball foul), to shut down the play, rather than allow the play to continue and assess either an illegal shift or illegal motion (live ball) foul.