2007 Football Rules & Interpretations

2007 FOOTBALL RULES & INTERPRETATIONS

QUIZ: WEEK #7

1. PLAY: Fourth and 4 on A's 45. A4's punt lands on B's 10 where A82 bats the ball backward. B22 picks up the ball on B's 20 and runs to B's 30 where he fumbles. A4 recovers while grounded on B's 30. During B22's run, B76 blocked A54 below the waist on B's 35.

2. PLAY: Free kick on A's 30. B44 catches the ball on B's 10, advances and an inadvertent whistle sounds when the runner is on A's 35. During B44's advance, B56 grasps and twists A72's face mask on B's 32.

3. PLAY: Second and 10 on B's 18 at the left hash mark. A14 drops back to pass. B76 tackles A14 by grabbing and jerking A14's face mask on B's 27. A14 is downed at the right hash mark on B's 24 without throwing the ball.

4. PLAY: Fourth and 9 on B's 41. B23 muffs A8's scrimmage kick on B's 1 and the ball rolls into B's end zone. B23 picks up the ball and starts to run but fumbles the ball while still in B's end zone. The fumble rolls out of bounds on B's 5. During B23's fumble, B55 clips A74 at B's 6.

5. PLAY: Fourth and 16 on B's 49. A9's punt is blocked and rolls toward A's goal line. A9 accidentally kicks the ball on A's 26 as he reached down for the ball. The ball rolls to A's 6 where B82 bats the ball forward and out of bounds in A's end zone. Clock?

6. PLAY: Try on B's 3. The score is A26-B28. Time has expired in the fourth quarter. QB A18 is running the option when B96 incidentally grasps A18's face mask. A18 pitches the ball from B's 6 to A45. A45 catches the pitch on B's 8 and advances to B's 2 where he is downed. A45 gets up and spikes the ball.

7. PLAY: Free kick on A's 30. A4's short free kick is bouncing near the sideline when B77, who has a foot on the sideline on B's 48, reaches and picks up the ball on B's 49 while the ball is in the field of play.

QUIZ ANSWERS: 2007 WEEK #7

1. RULING: B 1/10 B10. The clock starts on the snap. A2's bat is not a foul since the ball was batted backward. Acceptance of the 15-yard penalty for B76's blocking below the waist foul would be enforced from B's 30. Team A will decline the penalty. Team B will then elect to take the ball at the spot of illegal touching, B's 10.

2. RULING: B 1/10 B17. Team A has the first option as to whether or not to accept the penalty for the live ball foul. Team A will accept the penalty. The 15-yards is enforced from the spot of the foul, B's 32. If Team A declines the penalty, then Team B has the option to replay the down or to take the ball on A's 35. Team B would take the ball on A's 35. The foul has to be handled before the inadvertent whistle rule gets involved. In this play, Team A will accept the penalty and that will be the end of it. When the penalty is accepted, the inadvertent whistle is ignored. Rule 4-1-2-c trumps Rule 4-1-2-b-1.

3. RULING: A 1/goal B9. The ball is spotted at the left hash mark. There is no legal forward pass. A14's run ends behind the previous spot. The 15-yard penalty is enforced half the distance from the previous spot, B's 18, at the left hash mark. The personal foul penalty carries a first down.

4. RULING: B 1/10 B3. A8's scrimmage kick provided the impetus for the ball being in B's end zone. B23's fumble goes forward and out of bounds between the goal lines. The ball is returned to the spot of the fumble. The result of the play would be a touchback. The basic enforcement spot is B's 20.

5. RULING: A 4/1 B34. The clock starts on the snap. An accidental kick is a muff. B82 commits an illegal batting foul and also provides new impetus to the punt. If the penalty is declined, it is a touchback. The penalty will be accepted. The 15-yard penalty is enforced from the previous spot, B's 49.

6. RULING: A retry B16. The basic enforcement spot when a running play ends beyond the neutral zone is the end of the related run. There may not be more than one running play behind the neutral zone if no change of team possession occurs. Thus, there is one running play. The 5-yard penalty is enforced half the distance from the end of A45's run, B's 2. The 15-yard penalty for A45's spiking the ball dead ball foul is enforced from the succeeding spot, B's 1.

7. RULING: B 1/10 A46. If a live ball is declared out of bounds and the ball does not cross a boundary line, it is out of bounds at the ball's most forward point when it was declared dead. The ball is out of bounds and dead at its foremost point in the field of play. The out of bounds precedes the touching by interpretation. This is a free kick out of bounds and a foul. Team B will most likely have the penalty enforced from the spot where the subsequent dead ball belongs to team B, B's 49.