Zebra
Somewhere in, NJ
Male, 62
I've officiated football for over 30 years, now in my 26th on the college level. I've worked NCAA playoffs at the Division II and III level. In addition, I've coached at the scholastic level and have been an educator for over 35 years. I have no interest whatsoever in being an NFL official! Ever!
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I'm not sure why you reference the 3rd and 4th down interval. In college, and as far as I know in the NFL, when the play ends (in this case the pass is incomplete) the 40 second clock starts. If it expires, it's a delay on the offense.
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I'm assuming the ball is in player possession when it crosses the goal. If a runner puts the ball in his possession over the line, it is a touchdown; play is over and the "recovery" is irrelevant. You use the concept of a "pane of glass"; if you break the glass, it's a TD. If a receiver catches the ball in the air over the endzone, he must come down to the ground with possession. So if a reception is made in the air, and the ball is knocked out of the receiver's hands before he establishes contact with the ground, it's incomplete.
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Any rule - in the appropriate spot - can and should be called. The situations that have been described, while possibly helping the runner, just aren't so clear cut as to be fouls (e.g. pushing the pile). Now, that being said, there may be situations (which I cannot nor do I choose to think of at this time) when a player might be "helped" and that should be called. To your point about coaching it, I'm not sure what you're going to tell your players to do. And if you coach them to do something and it gets called, that's on you. I'm not sure what is going on that it is being called and is generating such angst. But it really isn't worth continuing; you're right - the horse is dead; it's time to dismount.
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Th defenseless player call is a live ball foul, that is, during the play. The unsportsmanlike would probably have been a dead ball foul. after the play is over. You can enforce a live ball and a dead ball foul.
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The ref is correct. Most youth programs that I'm familiar with use high school rules, with appropriate modifications for the age of the younger and smaller players. The National Federation (that's high school) rules book has two points on this. Rule 9, Section 3, Article 2b: A player shall not block an opponent below the waist except to tackle a runner or player pretending to be a runner. And specifically on tripping, there's Rule 9, Section 3, Article 7: A player shall not trip an opponent who is not a runner. These are safety issues. The theory, I would guess, is that a runner is expecting to be hit at any time and from, literaly, any angle. Blocking below the waist can be very dangerous. You're hearing a lot about it now with the NFL restricting hits above the shoulder; analysts - many of them former players - are now saying tacklers are going to go low to avoid the head shots, and that can be a very dangerous hit. Tripping is also legal against the runner only in college.
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First, you don't indicate the yards to go, so I can't know if there was a first down made. The penalty in this play would be marked off from the spot of the foul since it was beyond the line of scrimmage and behind the end of the run (with me so far?). It is likely at least 2nd down because if the penalty is accepted, you replay the down.
Your third point: you could make a first down, have a penalty by the offense at the end of the run, and be pushed back with the penalty enforcement but still have first down.
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