Spotting the ball

[bsaucer]

I'm a fan, but I sometimes like to "nit pick". I have questions about spotting the football.

1. As I understand it, the forward point of the ball marks the line of scrimmage. Is that correct?

2. If team A downs the ball so that the rear end of the ball breaks team A's goal plane, is that a safety, or does the entire ball have to be behind the goal line?

3. When the ball goes "over on downs", is the line of scrimmage moved to the other end of the ball, or is the ball moved to the other side of the line of scrimmage?

4. If the ball is down with the ends pointing toward the sidelines, how is it spotted for the next play? If the ball is turned 90 degrees, can that result in a touchdown, first down, or a safety?

[Adam]

1. The length of the ball is the neutral zone; but yes, the distance covered is determined by the forward most point of the ball.
2. the entire ball has to come out of the EZ to avoid a safety. I doubt you'll ever see a safety, though, where it isn't clear to everyone that the ball never came out.
3. The ball doesn't move.
4. If it's downed sideways, they'll use the farthest point where the ball reached, then they'll turn it sideways and put the nose of the ball at that point.

[maven]

1. Each team has its own line of scrimmage, which goes through the point of the ball on their side. The "neutral zone," which is as wide as the ball is long, is neutral because it is on neither B's side of the ball nor A's.
2. What Adam said.
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.
4. What Adam said.

[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.