Unintentional Forward Pass Beyond LOS

[MD Longhorn]

I believe both rule and clinic have been VERY clear on this... regardless of the hit from behind --- if the quarterback attempts a pump fake and the ball comes out, it's an incomplete pass. The only way this is a fumble is if the arm was not in a throwing motion - and it sounds like it definitely was.

Besides, you don't KNOW that this time was going to be a pump fake - this could have been the play they were setting up with the previous pump fakes - so the defense wouldn't bite on the short pass.

Let me ask this --- had this happened on the first play of the game, and you hadn't seen any pump fakes yet, would there have been ANY question in your mind that this was an incomplete pass?