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514 Questions

Last Answer on January 23, 2021

A fumble by the offense that goes out of bounds in the field of play is awarded to the offense at the point that it went out of bounds. A fumble out of the endzone by the offense is given to the defense, why?

Asked by Steve in Motown over 5 years ago

Steve, you're asking the same question. I can't answer it any differently. There is consistency in the fact that when the offense puts the ball into their opponents endzone (e.g. punt) it's a touchback. Same here.

358 Votes

A youth (8B) football game last night in Wilmette Il. Offsve player ran with ball, contact made and fumbled at 3 yd line, ball went fwd to end zne, another offsve player recovered. Refs ruled a TD. Correct? Or if recoved by O, back to spt of Fmb

Asked by Jonathan Frawley over 5 years ago

They're correct. Ball is inbounds and is still a live ball.

353 Votes

A few weeks ago we saw onside kick in which kicker tossed ball 10 feet into air, hit ground, bounced 5-6 feet, and was easily kicked high. NFL later said that was illegal. Was that just the NFL, or was there something in rule book making illegal?

Asked by Jay over 5 years ago

No, it's illegal. An onside kick is a free kick which must be from a tee or by dropkick. A dropkick, by definition, is a ball kicked immediately after hitting the ground, not 3, 4, or 5 feet in the air. A similar mistake was made in a college game a few weeks ago.

352 Votes

On a safety, QB flagged for illegal touch (bad snap & kick ball out instead of trying to recover). Smart play, but ref made the other coach choose to decline the penalty to get safety, No option for safety & apply penalty on freekick, Correct call?

Asked by Paul E Miller over 5 years ago

There was no "illegal touch"; the foul was for illegally kicking the ball. The result of the play - the ball going over the endline because of the kicking - was a safety. You can't have the result of the play and the penalty.

351 Votes

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How can they let Kelse #87 for Kansas City wear gloves that are the same color as the referees flags ?
It potentially confuses the other team into letting up as they my think a flag was thrown... !!
I don’t think that that should be allowed !!

Asked by Ken Stamp over 5 years ago

The NFL us very tight in ruling on uniforms and equipment. I'm not sure how a glove can he confused with an official's flag. And a flag does not stop s play so its unlikely anyone would be letting up ifctheyvsaw a flag...or a glove.

350 Votes

Concerning dead ball fouls, why are they only enforced if it happens after the play, why not if they happen during the play? By definition, fouls should not happen, period. Why offset during the play but not after? Makes no sense to me.

Asked by dmuellenberg over 5 years ago

Yes, fouls happen...after the play they "shouldn't" happen because the play is over. The player screwed up by going after an opponent after the play.

348 Votes

In the Browns vs. Bengals game yesterday, CLE TE appears to come down with catch, but ball is stripped out by CIN player as both go to ground. Eventually ruled an INT. Why wasn't CIN player ruled "down by contact?"

Asked by JLINK8 over 5 years ago

Yiu write there isxa strip as they go to the ground. Meaning no one is down. So if possession changes before they go to the ground and the defender has control once on the ground, you have an INT.

346 Votes

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Football Official

Ask me anything!

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A fumble by the offense that goes out of bounds in the field of play is awarded to the offense at the point that it went out of bounds. A fumble out of the endzone by the offense is given to the defense, why?

A youth (8B) football game last night in Wilmette Il. Offsve player ran with ball, contact made and fumbled at 3 yd line, ball went fwd to end zne, another offsve player recovered. Refs ruled a TD. Correct? Or if recoved by O, back to spt of Fmb

A few weeks ago we saw onside kick in which kicker tossed ball 10 feet into air, hit ground, bounced 5-6 feet, and was easily kicked high. NFL later said that was illegal. Was that just the NFL, or was there something in rule book making illegal?

On a safety, QB flagged for illegal touch (bad snap & kick ball out instead of trying to recover). Smart play, but ref made the other coach choose to decline the penalty to get safety, No option for safety & apply penalty on freekick, Correct call?

Also on Jobstr...

How can they let Kelse #87 for Kansas City wear gloves that are the same color as the referees flags ?
It potentially confuses the other team into letting up as they my think a flag was thrown... !!
I don’t think that that should be allowed !!

Concerning dead ball fouls, why are they only enforced if it happens after the play, why not if they happen during the play? By definition, fouls should not happen, period. Why offset during the play but not after? Makes no sense to me.

In the Browns vs. Bengals game yesterday, CLE TE appears to come down with catch, but ball is stripped out by CIN player as both go to ground. Eventually ruled an INT. Why wasn't CIN player ruled "down by contact?"

Football Official

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

A fumble by the offense that goes out of bounds in the field of play is awarded to the offense at the point that it went out of bounds. A fumble out of the endzone by the offense is given to the defense, why?

A youth (8B) football game last night in Wilmette Il. Offsve player ran with ball, contact made and fumbled at 3 yd line, ball went fwd to end zne, another offsve player recovered. Refs ruled a TD. Correct? Or if recoved by O, back to spt of Fmb

A few weeks ago we saw onside kick in which kicker tossed ball 10 feet into air, hit ground, bounced 5-6 feet, and was easily kicked high. NFL later said that was illegal. Was that just the NFL, or was there something in rule book making illegal?

On a safety, QB flagged for illegal touch (bad snap & kick ball out instead of trying to recover). Smart play, but ref made the other coach choose to decline the penalty to get safety, No option for safety & apply penalty on freekick, Correct call?

Also on Jobstr...

How can they let Kelse #87 for Kansas City wear gloves that are the same color as the referees flags ?It potentially confuses the other team into letting up as they my think a flag was thrown... !! I don’t think that that should be allowed !!

Concerning dead ball fouls, why are they only enforced if it happens after the play, why not if they happen during the play? By definition, fouls should not happen, period. Why offset during the play but not after? Makes no sense to me.

In the Browns vs. Bengals game yesterday, CLE TE appears to come down with catch, but ball is stripped out by CIN player as both go to ground. Eventually ruled an INT. Why wasn't CIN player ruled "down by contact?"

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How can they let Kelse #87 for Kansas City wear gloves that are the same color as the referees flags ?
It potentially confuses the other team into letting up as they my think a flag was thrown... !!
I don’t think that that should be allowed !!