Charles
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Officially Speaking: Inadvertent Signals
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
We are all used to seeing football players celebrate when they score a touchdown with anything from a simple pointing to the sky or spiking the ball to more complex and planned celebrations. Lately there seems to be a trend among some players to celebrate a touchdown, especially on a long run, by dropping the ball as soon as possible after crossing the goal line. I’m not entirely sure if there is a reason for this but it has the potential to go disastrously wrong if a player drops the ball before they cross the goal line. Pretty much all Ohio State fans are already pointing toward the touchdown return by Oklahoma from last week but there has been a rash of these kind of incidents already this season including notable examples in the Clemson-Troy and California-Texas games. Let’s take a look at these three plays and then discuss how they were handled by the officials and how they should have been handled.
In all three cases the ball carrier dropped the ball before crossing the goal line and the officials on the field signaled a touchdown. Let’s start by looking at the definition of a touchdown.
Rule 8-2-1. A touchdown shall be scored when:
1. A ball carrier advancing from the field of play has possession of a live ball when it penetrates the plane of the opponent’s goal line. This plane extends beyond the pylons only for a player who touches the ground in the end zone or a pylon.
2. A player catches a forward pass in the opponent’s end zone.
3. A fumble or backward pass is recovered, caught, intercepted, or awarded in the opponent’s end zone.
4. A free kick or scrimmage kick is legally caught or recovered in the opponent’s end zone.
5. The referee awards a touchdown under the provisions of Rule 9-2-3 Penalty.
In all three plays a ball carrier was advancing from the field of play but dropped the ball before it crossed the goal line, player possession ends as soon as the ball is dropped (Rule 2-4-1-a) and so none of these three plays were a touchdown. The officials who signaled the touchdown were incorrect. Yes ,these were close plays but in all three there were officials on the goal line good position to see the ball. I’m not sure if they just couldn’t get a good look at the ball or if they were anticipating a touchdown and went with the signal. With no defender all that close to the ball carrier in these plays, there was no reason for an official to rush the touchdown signal, they could have easily taken a second to think and make sure they saw the ball cross the goal line.
Even though we know that the officials in these plays were wrong to signal touchdown, we now have to deal with that incorrect signal. What we have now is an inadvertent signal/whistle and so we look at the rules concerning that.
Rule 4-1-2. a. A live ball becomes dead as provided in the rules or when an official sounds his whistle (even though inadvertently) or otherwise signals the ball dead.
1. If an official sounds his whistle inadvertently or otherwise signals the ball dead during a down:
2. When the ball is in player possession, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where declared dead or repeat the down.
3. When the ball is loose from a fumble, backward pass, or illegal pass, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where possession was lost or repeat the down.
4. During a legal forward pass or a free or scrimmage kick, then the ball is returned to the previous spot and the down repeated.
5. After Team B gains possession on the try or during an extra period, then the try is over or the extra-period possession series is ended.
When the officials in these plays signaled touchdown, even though it was incorrect, the ball became dead at that moment. Since the ball was loose from a fumble, the team in possession, i.e. the team that last had the ball, would have gotten the choice to replay the down or get the ball for a new play where they lost possession. Of course none of these teams would have chosen to replay the down so they should have all had first and goal from somewhere around the one yard line, wherever they let go of the ball. The one exception to this is if there is an inadvertent whistle during a fumble or backward pass and there is an immediate recovery, i.e. the action of the recovery happens so fast that the inadvertent whistle/signal doesn’t influence it, the ball will belong to the recovering team.
In the Ohio State-Oklahoma game, the officials never realized their mistake and the touchdown stood which was incorrect. In the California-Texas game the replay booth took a look at the play, ruled that the ball had been dropped before the endzone and that there was thus an inadvertent signal and gave the ball to Cal on the one yard line; this was the correct way to handle it. In the Clemson-Troy game the replay booth ruled that the ball had been dropped before the goal line but that there was an immediate recovery by Troy despite the inadvertent whistle; this was then ruled as a touchback for Troy. The video of the Clemson-Troy play doesn’t show the recovery of the ball so it is impossible to say if this was a correct ruling of an immediate recovery.
What Should Have Happened
For all three of these plays, the officials on the goal line should not have signaled touchdown, instead they should have treated the play as a fumble, thrown their bean bag at the spot of the fumble and allowed the players to go for the loose ball. Most likely the teams would have realized that there was no touchdown signaled and that the ball was still live and then gone after the loose ball. However, as a hypothetical, what would have happened if both teams had mistakenly assumed that there had been a touchdown, despite the lack of a whistle or signal, and just left the ball laying on the ground? Do the officials just stare at the ball indefinitely until someone picks it up? No, that isn’t the case though it would be funny to watch.
Rule 7-2-5. When a backward pass or fumble comes to rest inbounds and no player attempts to secure it, the ball becomes dead and belongs to the passing or fumbling team at the dead-ball spot.
So if neither team makes a move to secure the loose ball, the official will wait however long they judge to be appropriate and then blow their whistle to signal the ball dead. The ball then belongs to the team that fumbled at the spot the ball has come to rest instead of the spot where it was dropped. This means in the case of the Ohio State-Oklahoma game where the ball bounced into the end zone and came to rest there, it would have still been a touchdown for Oklahoma.
The post Officially Speaking: Inadvertent Signals appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
We are all used to seeing football players celebrate when they score a touchdown with anything from a simple pointing to the sky or spiking the ball to more complex and planned celebrations. Lately there seems to be a trend among some players to celebrate a touchdown, especially on a long run, by dropping the ball as soon as possible after crossing the goal line. I’m not entirely sure if there is a reason for this but it has the potential to go disastrously wrong if a player drops the ball before they cross the goal line. Pretty much all Ohio State fans are already pointing toward the touchdown return by Oklahoma from last week but there has been a rash of these kind of incidents already this season including notable examples in the Clemson-Troy and California-Texas games. Let’s take a look at these three plays and then discuss how they were handled by the officials and how they should have been handled.
In all three cases the ball carrier dropped the ball before crossing the goal line and the officials on the field signaled a touchdown. Let’s start by looking at the definition of a touchdown.
Rule 8-2-1. A touchdown shall be scored when:
1. A ball carrier advancing from the field of play has possession of a live ball when it penetrates the plane of the opponent’s goal line. This plane extends beyond the pylons only for a player who touches the ground in the end zone or a pylon.
2. A player catches a forward pass in the opponent’s end zone.
3. A fumble or backward pass is recovered, caught, intercepted, or awarded in the opponent’s end zone.
4. A free kick or scrimmage kick is legally caught or recovered in the opponent’s end zone.
5. The referee awards a touchdown under the provisions of Rule 9-2-3 Penalty.
In all three plays a ball carrier was advancing from the field of play but dropped the ball before it crossed the goal line, player possession ends as soon as the ball is dropped (Rule 2-4-1-a) and so none of these three plays were a touchdown. The officials who signaled the touchdown were incorrect. Yes ,these were close plays but in all three there were officials on the goal line good position to see the ball. I’m not sure if they just couldn’t get a good look at the ball or if they were anticipating a touchdown and went with the signal. With no defender all that close to the ball carrier in these plays, there was no reason for an official to rush the touchdown signal, they could have easily taken a second to think and make sure they saw the ball cross the goal line.
Even though we know that the officials in these plays were wrong to signal touchdown, we now have to deal with that incorrect signal. What we have now is an inadvertent signal/whistle and so we look at the rules concerning that.
Rule 4-1-2. a. A live ball becomes dead as provided in the rules or when an official sounds his whistle (even though inadvertently) or otherwise signals the ball dead.
1. If an official sounds his whistle inadvertently or otherwise signals the ball dead during a down:
2. When the ball is in player possession, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where declared dead or repeat the down.
3. When the ball is loose from a fumble, backward pass, or illegal pass, then the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where possession was lost or repeat the down.
4. During a legal forward pass or a free or scrimmage kick, then the ball is returned to the previous spot and the down repeated.
5. After Team B gains possession on the try or during an extra period, then the try is over or the extra-period possession series is ended.
When the officials in these plays signaled touchdown, even though it was incorrect, the ball became dead at that moment. Since the ball was loose from a fumble, the team in possession, i.e. the team that last had the ball, would have gotten the choice to replay the down or get the ball for a new play where they lost possession. Of course none of these teams would have chosen to replay the down so they should have all had first and goal from somewhere around the one yard line, wherever they let go of the ball. The one exception to this is if there is an inadvertent whistle during a fumble or backward pass and there is an immediate recovery, i.e. the action of the recovery happens so fast that the inadvertent whistle/signal doesn’t influence it, the ball will belong to the recovering team.
In the Ohio State-Oklahoma game, the officials never realized their mistake and the touchdown stood which was incorrect. In the California-Texas game the replay booth took a look at the play, ruled that the ball had been dropped before the endzone and that there was thus an inadvertent signal and gave the ball to Cal on the one yard line; this was the correct way to handle it. In the Clemson-Troy game the replay booth ruled that the ball had been dropped before the goal line but that there was an immediate recovery by Troy despite the inadvertent whistle; this was then ruled as a touchback for Troy. The video of the Clemson-Troy play doesn’t show the recovery of the ball so it is impossible to say if this was a correct ruling of an immediate recovery.
What Should Have Happened
For all three of these plays, the officials on the goal line should not have signaled touchdown, instead they should have treated the play as a fumble, thrown their bean bag at the spot of the fumble and allowed the players to go for the loose ball. Most likely the teams would have realized that there was no touchdown signaled and that the ball was still live and then gone after the loose ball. However, as a hypothetical, what would have happened if both teams had mistakenly assumed that there had been a touchdown, despite the lack of a whistle or signal, and just left the ball laying on the ground? Do the officials just stare at the ball indefinitely until someone picks it up? No, that isn’t the case though it would be funny to watch.
Rule 7-2-5. When a backward pass or fumble comes to rest inbounds and no player attempts to secure it, the ball becomes dead and belongs to the passing or fumbling team at the dead-ball spot.
So if neither team makes a move to secure the loose ball, the official will wait however long they judge to be appropriate and then blow their whistle to signal the ball dead. The ball then belongs to the team that fumbled at the spot the ball has come to rest instead of the spot where it was dropped. This means in the case of the Ohio State-Oklahoma game where the ball bounced into the end zone and came to rest there, it would have still been a touchdown for Oklahoma.
The post Officially Speaking: Inadvertent Signals appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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