Horse-Collar Tackle

[HLin NC]

If he was well out of bounds, then you would have a DBPF. I wouldn't split hairs if its close though.

[jdmara]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

If he was well out of bounds, then you would have a DBPF. I wouldn't split hairs if its close though.

Agreed

-Josh

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

If he was well out of bounds, then you would have a DBPF. I wouldn't split hairs if its close though.

Agreed. Any tackle after the runner is out of bounds would likely be a DBPF. This was true before the horse collar became a tackle. Last year's clarification of live ball was primarily focused on the situation where the collar is grabbed while the runner is still in bounds but the tackle is completed after the runner goes out of bounds. Some weren't clear on whether that was a live ball or dead ball foul.

[Official]

Does the runner have to actually be brought to the ground to classify as a horse collar?

[HLin NC]

k. Grab the inside back or side collar of the shoulder pads or jersey of the runner and subsequently pull (backward or sideward) that opponent to the ground (Horse-collar), even if possession is lost. The horse-collar foul is enforced as a live-ball foul.

[maven]

Originally Posted by Official

Does the runner have to actually be brought to the ground to classify as a horse collar?

That's just it. The name of the foul is "horse collar tackle." No tackle, no foul.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: But remember that if he is grabbed clearly after he's crossed the sideline and then brought to the ground, it can't be a 'horse collar tackle.' You're perfectly justified in calling it a DBPF, but it can't be a horse collar since by definition a HCT is committed against a "runner" and once he crosses the sideline he's no longer a runner.

[ajmc]

Damn those Rule 2 details. NF 2-32-13, "A runner is a player who is in possession of a LIVE ball or is simulating possession of a LIVE ball."

NF: 2-41-5, "The out-of bounds Spot is where the ball becomes DEAD because of going out-of bounds, as in 4-3-1, 2, 3.