"Sleeper" Play

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

To those late in the thread that would not call this illegal because they can't hear, and thus think there may not be any verbal cues... this is EXACTLY why they changed the rule from just verbal to 'actions or verbal'. I do agree that if someone was shouting, "snap it now", that might make it different... but it seems blatantly clear to me (and honestly, it worries me that it's not obvious to you) that this was a DESIGNED event intended to make the defense not believe a snap was imminent. I mean - they all look to the side, and only one player takes off at the snap. How could this not be designed to make the defense fall asleep. This play is the very definition of this rule.

Saw something similar in a playoff game this year, but the QB was the only one looking to the sideline. Do you feel that is a foul as well? The other issue the crew missed is the QB was still in motion when the ball was snapped and the RB next to him had taken 2 steps to the side to receive the snap. They should have been flagged for an illegal shift or illegal motion (depending on whether you judged the back had stopped for 1 second prior to the snap).

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

Saw something similar in a playoff game this year, but the QB was the only one looking to the sideline. Do you feel that is a foul as well? The other issue the crew missed is the QB was still in motion when the ball was snapped and the RB next to him had taken 2 steps to the side to receive the snap. They should have been flagged for an illegal shift or illegal motion (depending on whether you judged the back had stopped for 1 second prior to the snap).

No, of course not... and I've seen crews miss the illegal motion call on these offenses that do this often as well. It was an area of focus about 5 years ago at a clinic I attended in Dallas - it got better after that but not perfect.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

No, of course not... and I've seen crews miss the illegal motion call on these offenses that do this often as well. It was an area of focus about 5 years ago at a clinic I attended in Dallas - it got better after that but not perfect.

I agree, but if 1 guy looking is OK and 10 guys looking is not, what is the cutoff? This is a judgement call for all officials so you will probably never see consistency.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

I agree, but if 1 guy looking is OK and 10 guys looking is not, what is the cutoff? This is a judgement call for all officials so you will probably never see consistency.

The cutoff (for me) is somewhere between 1 and 10.

Sometime before all the linemen (except the snapper) stand up and stare at the coaching staff.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by Adam

The cutoff (for me) is somewhere between 1 and 10.

Sometime before all the linemen (except the snapper) stand up and stare at the coaching staff.

At least you have a clear line of demarcation! This is definitely a judgement call. I would tell the coach he's running a risk by running the play. He may force to make a judgement call, and he may not like our judgement. Play football and it shouldn't be a problem.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

I agree, but if 1 guy looking is OK and 10 guys looking is not, what is the cutoff? This is a judgement call for all officials so you will probably never see consistency.

There is no numeric cutoff. The rule is about the offense designing their actions to fool the defense into thinking the snap is not imminent. If linemen are ready to play and back are looking off to the side, I likely don't see this as intended deception. If linemen go from a stance to standing up and looking to the sideline - and the ball is then snapped ... this seems clearly designed to make the defense think there's no snap coming. Especially if the first immediate action is ONE player heading downfield for a pass and no other players reacting to the snap other than the QB.