lateral

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by ajmc

Forgive me Robert, but "forward" referencing, "when the entire ball is BEYOND the yard line...." as opposed to "backwards" referencing, " when any part of the ball is on or BEHIND the yard line...., seems pretty clear, which may contribute to the lack of necessity to enforce violations.

I don't understand. Are you saying the lack of necessity to enforce violations is because the burden of establishing the handing as being forward is difficult because the "yard line" that the hander-off is on is unclear?

BTW, the NFL rule on this references the relative positions of the giver & receiver of the ball, which, while it's not always easy to see at the moment of exchange (mostly because an exchange of possession is always a more gradual event in fact than the instant the rules specify -- which of course is a pretty much unavoidable problem with all ball possession rules), at least has one compare human body to human body rather than body to ball. I suspect officials in Fed & NCAA are actually using a rule in their head like NFL's rather than the letter of Fed's & NCAA's. (NFL also has a possibly superfluous & older provision on the direction of the handoff based on the motion given to the ball by the "passer" -- it's considered a pass -- at the exchange. I suppose it may be possible for a pass to be ruled as forward under this provision even if not under the body-positions provision; it's not clear whether the notwithstanding language they use supersedes it both ways.)

In rugby the comparable ruling is based on the foot positions of the players.

Anyway, let's take a practical example in Fed. A1 takes a handed snap and turns his entire body to face a sideline. A2 comes directly from a line position and "pulls" towards A1, who gives A2 the ball. At the instant the ball is released by A1, the entire ball is ahead of the midline of A1's body, but mostly within A1's frame if you were looking at him from the sideline. A2 on taking the ball moves ahead of A1. Forward handing or not?