NFL - NEWS & NOTES

The rule is fine. Why should a team get rewarded for screwing up. Giving the ball back to the offense makes no sense. The defense just did a great job of causing the fumble and shouldn’t be punished. The only thing that they could do is give the team that fumbled the ball at the fifty yard line and they have to gain whatever they needed from there. It would royaly screw the defense if it was still in FG range.

 

Once the ball breaks the plane.....the play is over. I don't really see the complaint.

 

Not sure how you can view it as screwing the defense. Yeah they caused the fumble but they didn't recover it.

What if a player simply drops the ball? What if it's raining and that's why the ball slipped out?

I'm okay with backing up the offense in that scenario. Or a loss of down. Something. I've never liked the rule as it stands.

 

What don’t people understand about touchbacks? If a team puts the ball in the opponent’s end zone loose and it goes out of bounds it’s a touchback. There are so many rules that benefit the offense. This is a good rule and should be left alone. I can’t think of a way to make it fair for the defense unless they back it up and out of FG range.

 

Name another time in football that an offensive player can fumble a football forward and the defense doesn’t recover it but the end result is the defense gets the ball.

Don’t lecture anyone on not understanding rules.

 

when it doesn't convert a fourth down. I know this isn't what your looking for but it's true.

 

They didn’t get the ball because of the fumble in that situation...it’s because of the offenses failure to convert. Apples to oranges.

Name a time it happens because of a fumble the defense didn’t recover.

 

I have zero problem with that rule, was it Belichek who said reach for the pylon and you hit the bench or something to that effect? No one forces these guys to stretch to the absolute limit of their fingertips. Speaking of the pylon tho, its not even on the fucking field! The pylon is OB yet players can score a TD by either touching it with the ball or waving the ball over the OB pylon and saying abracadabra. Just one more way they bend the rules to help the team with the ball.

But sure lets all light a candle for those poor widdle Offenses for suffering thru one rule which doesnt benefit them when virtually every other aspect of the entire game is now slanted for them. Defenses get screwed left and right these days, i have no problem sticking this one to the Offense. Fuckem.

 

You're right of course, but i do have a couple of issues with this rule.

Personally id like to see it be required for the QB to complete a process. Sure you can reach over and break the plane, but where ever you land/end up, be it the backfield or the endzone you need to still have the ball. JMO. The side effects re RB's/WR's may make that a bad change but there's just something that annoys me about QB's doing that. The little fuckers.

Also, this reaching forward with the ball rule is enforced differently depending where on the field it happens. Thats why they never do it on QB sneaks at midfield cos the D can knock the ball out and its a legal fumble. But isnt forward progress forward progress? Apparently not. There's just something i dont like about the exact same action being officiated in two completely different ways based on nothing but field position.

 

Because 99% of the time you must maintain possession until you're considered down. Brees never does his "ball poke routine" when he's trying for a first down on 4th and short. Because he knows there's a good chance when you extend the ball out it can be knocked out of your hands. But when you get to the goal line you can risk losing possession as long as you break the plane first. It's a nice advantage to the offensive player that is someone mitigated by the fact that if it gets knocked out and goes out the side / back of the end zone you are going to lose possession. I like the balance.

 

Should have read this before I responded. Agree with Everton.

 

Not on a run play.

Yeah but on this play...the play is over once you are tackled or go to the ground. The ball is still live until that happens. On a play at the goal line....the ball is dead once it crosses the plane.

The only way you're going to get it is if the play continues once a touchdown is scored....and how does that work? Does the ball have to cross the plane and stay there for a few seconds before it's a touchdown? What about when a receiver catches the ball standing up in the endzone....can he spike it right away or does he have to hold it for a certain period of time?

This feels like complaining just to complain.

 

Duh. And of course you do.

What does completing the process look like though? You stretch the ball out and it breaks the plane....what else are you required to do?

The only thing I can think of is changing it that the players body has to break the plane...but how do you even do that?

Not saying I love the rule as it is....but it's pretty cut and dry to me whereas so many other NFL rules lack logic.

 

We're on different wave lengths. By 99% of time I meant anywhere else on the field of play - you must maintain possession until you're down.

Yep, that's what I don't like. I think you should have to maintain possession until you're down or the whistle blows.

Simple. Until the whistle blows.

 

Yeah I get that. This changes at the goal line because once the ball touches the plane with possession of the ball....play over.

So if a running back is running free in the open field and crosses the line for a touchdown.....can I run up and try to tackle him and make him fumble the ball? Or is he free to do a touchdown dance? Should there be a time limit?

Well on the play your complaining about....the whistle blows when an official sees the ball break the plane.

 

Okay thanks. If you say it one more time I might get it. Three times is simply not enough.

As to the rest... I'm not advocating they change this rule. I just think it is balanced by the out of the end zone change of possession. Leave them both alone. That way you can continue complaining just to complain about the other rule.

 

Clearly.

Sorry...I just don't see how giving the other team possession when they didn't recover or possess the ball is fair.

 

The only solution I can think of that makes any sense would be to have the offense retain the ball, lose the down and return to the original line of scrimmage.

Or, if the play happened on 4th down - The defense gets the ball at their own 20.

 

The rule that says if a player fumbles forward through the endzone and it rolls out of bounds without recovery, the ball goes to the defense is the worst rule in sports. Rome sums it up best. It really is an absurd rule that makes no sense:

 

I think this is fair. You aren't punishing the defense because they never recovered the ball.