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Last Updated: Dec 12, 2008 - 4:54:39 PM |
My wife is what I’d call a casual football fan. Meaning, she has an interest in the outcome of her favorite teams, but while watching a game with me, isn’t all that interested in the the “technical” aspects of what she’s seeing on the tube. After having refereed football for over 20 years, I often times find myself far too absorbed in those very things she doesn’t seem to notice. More often than not, I’m watching the game as a referee rather than as a fan, trying to officiate the play rather than just enjoy the game as most football fans do.
Each week, I get several questions from readers of this column that remind me that the rules of the game of football aren’t all that easy for the casual fan like my wife to stay on top of, but I hope this column has helped some of you to better understand some of the things we see when watching our favorite teams. With that in mind, a reader asked if I could devote most of a column to answering questions I had received about some unexplained and unusual things that have happened somewhere on a football field on an average weekend.
Len from Coralville asks about a punt play he saw at a game he attended last week: “A punt was tipped by a lineman of the receiving team just after it was kicked. The kick then travels down field and after bouncing once, hit the leg of a player on the kicking team. The punt receiver picked up the ball and ran about five yards then he fumbled, which was recovered by the kicking team. But the referee gave the ball back to the receiving team, ignoring the fumble. Was he correct?”
The touching of a punt by a receiving team member is ignored if it is touched behind the line of scrimmage but continues in flight beyond the line of scrimmage. It was, however, a violation for the kicking team to touch the ball beyond the line of scrimmage before the receiving team does, even though accidental. This violation isn’t “flagged”, but gives the receiving team the option of possession at the spot of illegal touching. Even though the punt receiver attempted to run and then fumbled, the receiving team is allowed to accept the result of the play or be awarded the ball at the spot of the illegal touching by the kicking team. As Len described this play, the officials ruled correctly.
Ken from Cedar Rapids asks about a couple of plays he saw on TV. “A quarterback took the snap from center on his own two yard line, rolled back to pass and while being pursued by a defensive lineman, ran out of the back of the end zone and a safety was called. Yet in another game I watched, a defensive back intercepted a pass in the end zone then ran out of bounds in the end zone and it was called a touchback. Why are these two plays ruled differently?”
These two plays were both ruled correctly. Anytime a ball enters the end zone, it is done so with “momentum”. Momentum in football is defined as the “impetus” given to the football by a player that kicks, passes, snaps or fumbles the ball causing it to go over the goal line. In both of these plays, the ball was put into the end zone by actions of the offensive team. In the first play, the quarterback ran the ball into the end zone, therefore when he stepped out, safety. In the second play, the intercepted pass was put into the end zone by the offense’s forward pass. The momentum came from the offense. When the player intercepting this forward pass steps out of bounds it is ruled a touchback because the force that put the ball into the end zone was the offense’s forward pass. If the intercepting player had run the ball out of the end zone, then retreated back to the end zone and was then tackled or ran out of bounds, the momentum getting the ball into the end zone would then be his and a safety would be called.
Nick from Iowa County asks, “I saw a game last week (small college) where on a two point conversion attempt after a touchdown, the defense intercepted the ball and ran it 104 yards the other way and was awarded two points. I had never heard of that. Is it permissible?”
NCAA rules do allow the defensive team to return an unsuccessful point after touchdown by returning it the other way and crossing the offensive team’s goal line. Two points are awarded because the offense was attempting a two-point conversion.
With the start of the basketball season upon us, the focus of this column will gradually progress to that sport. But as always, feel free to ask questions about any sport, anytime of year, regardless of the season. If it’s not a sport I have officiated, such a wrestling or volleyball, I’ll get an answer from a veteran official of that sport.
Send your questions to ref@eiherald.com or write to P.O. Box 336, Victor, IA, 52347.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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