2009 Football Rules & Interpretations

2009 FOOTBALL RULES & INTERPRETATIONS

QUIZ: WEEK #3

1. PLAY: Fourth and goal on B's 7. The score is A21-B27. QB A19 muffs the snap. A67 recovers and advances into B's end zone. An official, thinking 4th down fumble, blows his whistle while A67 is running on B's 4. Time expires in the fourth quarter during the down.

2. PLAY: Third and 4 on B's 23. QB A15 scrambles and runs to B's 21 where he throws a forward pass to A88. B44 intercepts on B's 3 and is tackled by the facemask on B's 16. During the interception return, B66 held on B's 20. Clock?

3. PLAY: First and 10 on B's 45. On a down in which time expires in the fourth quarter of a tied game, B44 intercepts a long pass on B's 3. B44 advances to A's 22 where he is pulled down by the facemask. During B44's run, B77 blocked an opponent below the waist on B's 20.

4. PLAY: Free kick on A's 30. B22 muffs the ball on B's 6 and the ball rolls into B's end zone. To prevent A38 from recovering the ball, B22 bats the ball across the end line. Clock?

5. PLAY: Team A scores a touchdown to make the score A25-B27. Eight seconds remain in the fourth quarter. On the try from B's 3, QB A17 is hit on B's 9 as his arm comes forward attempting to pass. A17 catches the ball on B's 7 and immediately throws a complete pass from B's 7 to A88 in B's end zone.

6. PLAY: Fourth and 5 on B's 15. A6's low field goal attempt is blocked by B44 on B's 13. The ball falls to the ground on B's 13 where A56 picks it up and advances across B's goal line.

7. PLAY: Free kick on A's 30. A6's kick bounces high after being kicked into the ground. A89 leaps on A's 42 near the sideline and bats the ball backward to A's 37 where A77 recovers. B26 had given a fair catch signal and was next to where A89 batted the ball. Clock?

QUIZ ANSWERS: 2009 WEEK #3

1. RULING: Replay the down. A 4/goal B7. Extend the period. A67 may advance. The offense or defense may advance a backward pass that is caught or recovered on any down. A67 could not advance if A19 fumbled the ball. The inadvertent whistle rule applies. Team A will not take the ball on B's 4 since B's 4 is short of the line to gain, Team B's goal line.

2. RULING: B 1/10 B8. The clock starts on the snap. Team B did not foul before last gaining team possession. Team B will decline offsetting fouls. Team A will then accept the penalty for Team B's holding foul. The 10-yard penalty is enforced half the distance from the end of the run, B's 16, since the spot of the foul, B's 20, is in advance of the end of the run.

3. RULING: Extra period. Team B did not foul before last gaining team possession. Team B will decline offsetting fouls since they unlikely will want to give Team A another down. Team A then will most likely decline the penalty for Team B's blocking below the waist foul. If Team A accepts the penalty for B77's blocking below the waist foul, the period will be extended with an untimed down.

4. RULING: B 1/10 B20. The clock starts on the snap. Postscrimmage kick enforcement does not apply since this is a free kick. The basic enforcement spot is the previous spot. Another reasonable option is for Team A to accept the penalty from the previous spot and rekick from A's 45. Team A will probably be content with the touchback and decline the penalty.

5. RULING: A f/k A30. The score is A25-B27. A17's second forward pass is an illegal forward pass. Since the penalty carries a loss of down in addition to the 5-yard penalty, the try is not replayed. Declination of the penalty would result in a successful two point try. The penalty is accepted. The try would be successful if A17 could somehow jump, posess the ball and pass the ball to A88 before returning to the ground.

6. RULING: B 1/10 B20. Team A commits an illegal touching violation but this is not relevant in this play. The ball should have been blown dead when recovered by A56. B44 is not more than three yards beyond the neutral zone so his block is considered as occurring within or behind the neutral zone. When the ball hits the ground on B's 13, the kick has crossed the neutral zone. The ball is untouched by Team B after having crossed the neutral zone and is subsequently declared dead beyond the neutral zone. Team B will next snap the ball on B's 20 on or between the inbounds lines.

7. RULING: A 1/10 A37. The clock starts on the snap. The batting by A89 is legal since the ball had gone at least 10 yards. The batting was backwards. There is no foul for interference with opportunity since the ball had previously hit the ground. The fair catch signal, although invalid, is not a foul. The ball becomes dead when rcovered by A77.