Spotting the ball

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by maven

3. Depends: in the middle of the field (or anywhere in a sub-varsity game), we'll probably spot the ball on the other side. Nobody will begrudge the 11.x inches. In the red zone, no.

I wouldn't move it in a varsity game no matter the circumstance. JH - if I was on a line, I'd move it to stay on that line when resetting to go the other way, as long as I wasn't in a red zone.

Also, it is not just the length of the ball ... but the width of the line too.

[maven]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

Also, it is not just the length of the ball ... but the width of the line too.

Good point. 11.x inches is nothing, but the additional 4 inches will KILL you.!

That is my concession speech, instead of admitting I overlooked the line.

[Robert Goodman]

When I visited Fed HQ in Kansas City in 1980, I sat down with Brice Durbin (whom I kept calling "Bruce" because I'd never heard the name Brice before), and asked him what happens if on 3rd down, team A advances the ball with its points toward the sideline so it's just outside their end zone, and then the ball is spotted with its tail end overlapping the goal line, and then on 4th down they throw an incomplete pass? He said that's why they tell officials never to spot the ball with its tail end over the goal line.