Fed: time between shift & motion

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by mbyron

They might be different, but they're not distinct. It's the same one second: all shifts must end with a 1 second pause, regardless of what happens next.

"Must" or what? Illegal shift? It's not illegal even according to the case book for a shift to begin less than a sec. after another shift ended. So no, even according to the case book, not all shifts must end with a 1 sec. pause.

For example, TB & HB exchange positions, pause for half a second, then exchange positions again, pause for another half a second, then exchange positions again. They remain set for 3 weeks before the snap. No illegal shifts there, are there?

At that point, the ball may be legally snapped, or a player may go in motion (and the ball legally snapped). IOW, one is a sub-case of the other.

I'm not blind to the difference; I just don't see any conflict.

There's no conflict in there being a passage in the rule book that contradicts that passage in the case book. But there's none that supports it either, that the case book can reference. The rule book simply doesn't mention any length of time required for all players of A to be set before the motion starts.

The conflict is that there's an action by team A that's legal by the rule book but illegal by the case book: Having a player who was established in the backfield for at least 1 sec. go in motion less than a sec. after a shift ended, and continue in motion thru the snap. The case book added an additional prohibition on that action, seemingly invented from whole cloth. The case book could've specified a 2 second pause before motion, and there'd be just as much cx to the rule book; that wouldn't contradict any particular passage of the rule book either, because the rule book doesn't give any minimum time for such a case.