Spiking the ball

[mtridge]

Coach tells me tonight a ref the other day said his qb could not take a step then spike the ball that it was IG. He said the official said he had to spike be ball before moving his feet. The rulebook makes an exception for the immediate throwing of the ball to the ground but what qualifies as immediate. I have never called this IG, have you or have you heard of someone who has?

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by mtridge

Coach tells me tonight a ref the other day said his qb could not take a step then spike the ball that it was IG. He said the official said he had to spike be ball before moving his feet. The rulebook makes an exception for the immediate throwing of the ball to the ground but what qualifies as immediate. I have never called this IG, have you or have you heard of someone who has?

Common sense is what should be used (in most rules too). There are no such rules that say anything about how the feet should move or how many steps you literally take. So all immediate is whatever you think that is honestly. It does not mean that the QB could go 10 steps back and then spike the ball. I have never seen IG called for anything where the QB takes a step back and is motioning the ball to the ground right after the snap. Again, use common sense and really I would not pay attention that much to what a coach says.

Peace

[maven]

The rule specifies two conditions for a legal spike to stop the clock: it must come after a direct, hand-to-hand snap (no shotgun), and it must be immediate. 7-5-2e EXCEPTION

The first is pretty straightforward. The second is a judgment call: but clearly the QB needs to take a step or two back from the snapper in order to have space to spike it.

The purpose of the "immediate" restriction is to prevent a team from running a play, failing to find an open receiver, and then deliberately grounding the ball in order to conserve time.

Perhaps the coach was confabulating, or confusing something an official told him, or even reporting correctly something an overzealous official did in his game. Who knows? All you can do is understand better what the correct answer is!