Kickoff

[fudilligas]

this came up in a recent discussion:

official hands the ball to the player standing next to the tee for a kick off...the player takes the ball places it on the tee...after the RFP the player picks up the ball from the tee, throws a backward pass to a teammate who then proceeds to dropkick the ball down the field

questions:
1. is this legal
2. what happens if the player drops the backward pass and the ball does or does not go OB,
3. what happens if the player takes the ball from the official and passes (backward) to teammate before the RFP and the receiver waits for the RFP and then dropkicks the ball

[ncwingman]

1) It's not legal, but not because he picked up the ball -- it's a violation of 6-1-2, once the spot of the free kick has been designated, the kick must take place at that spot. By placing the ball on the tee, that's the spot... so if K drop kicks somewhere else, that would be a free kick infraction.

2) Not relevant. The ball is not made live by a snap on a free kick down. Picking up the ball is of no consequence.

3) As long as formations are legal, and the drop kick takes place on the free kick line (not 3 yards behind), that's perfectly legal.

[bama_stripes]

this came up in a recent discussion

I think y’all stayed waaaay past closing time.......

[fudilligas]

I think y’all stayed waaaay past closing time.......

this was brought up by a coach who wanted to know if he could utilize this in a game...for what reason i do not know

[ncwingman]

I think this coach is confused on several points, and "inspired" by a rash of teams trying a 'quick kick' on the kickoff by drop kicking the ball right at the RFP to catch R unaware and potentially recover the ball, or maybe whatever this was supposed to be

I didn't mention it above, but the BJ (or whoever gets that call in whatever man mechanics you got) doesn't have to hand the ball to the kicker. Anybody can kick the ball after that, so whoever gets handed the ball can absolutely hand the ball to somebody else -- forward, even -- because, the ball isn't live until it's kicked.

[KWH]

this was brought up by a coach who wanted to know if he could utilize this in a game...for what reason i do not know

 I think maybe a couple coaches stayed way past closing time...   

[HLinNC]

I think maybe a couple coaches stayed way past closing time...

Nah, they're just doing what they always do, dream up fantasy poo while thinking "THIS will make me the next Vince Lombardi, Steve Spurrier, Bill Belichick, fill in your fave coaches name here ____________"

[KWH]

Nah, they're just doing what they always do, dream up fantasy poo while thinking "THIS will make me the next Vince Lombardi, Steve Spurrier, Bill Belichick, fill in your fave coaches name here ____________"

So another example might be when the legalized marijuana in California allowing Kurt Bryan & Steve Humphries to take 8 Bong hits and introduce the A-11 Offense?

[bama_stripes]

So another example might be when the legalized marijuana in California allowing Kurt Bryan & Steve Humphries to take 8 Bong hits and introduce the A-11 Offense?

I thought we has a filter for that....

[AlUpstateNY]

I think this coach is confused on several points, and "inspired" by a rash of teams trying a 'quick kick' on the kickoff by drop kicking the ball right at the RFP to catch R unaware and potentially recover the ball, or maybe whatever this was supposed to be

I didn't mention it above, but the BJ (or whoever gets that call in whatever man mechanics you got) doesn't have to hand the ball to the kicker. Anybody can kick the ball after that, so whoever gets handed the ball can absolutely hand the ball to somebody else -- forward, even -- because, the ball isn't live until it's kicked.

Excuse me, "handing the ball to a (potential) kicker" is NOT authorization to kick the ball.  A useful, practical mechanic  is, when handing the ball, physically point out the Referee (downfield) and INSTRUCT the player to wait for the Referee's signal before putting the ball in play (while you retreat to your free kick position and signal the Referee you are ready).

[BIG DON]

Excuse me, "handing the ball to a (potential) kicker" is NOT authorization to kick the ball.  A useful, practical mechanic  is, when handing the ball, physically point out the Referee (downfield) and INSTRUCT the player to wait for the Referee's signal before putting the ball in play (while you retreat to your free kick position and signal the Referee you are ready).

I thought it was too,   went and looked at the ban words and it was not there. 
so I fixed it

[refjeff]

this was brought up by a coach who wanted to know if he could utilize this in a game...for what reason i do not know

  It sounds like an innovative onside kick.  While R is standing there waiting for the kicker to place the ball on the tee, he kicks it.  All of R will be surprised, some won't know what to do.

[ncwingman]

Excuse me, "handing the ball to a (potential) kicker" is NOT authorization to kick the ball.  A useful, practical mechanic  is, when handing the ball, physically point out the Referee (downfield) and INSTRUCT the player to wait for the Referee's signal before putting the ball in play (while you retreat to your free kick position and signal the Referee you are ready).

Did I say that it was authorization to kick the ball? I certainly didn't mean to imply it if I did.

Somebody on K will get the ball before a free kick. Yes, they then have to wait for the RFP before kicking it, but they also generally take physical possession of the ball to set it up on the tee (or to drop kick it) first. The person who takes the ball from the official, the person who sets it up on the tee and the person who eventually kicks the ball (after the RFP!) can be three different people -- OR MORE!

Come to think of it, there's no specific rule coverage about this, so I guess I should invoke 9-9-1 and eject somebody for flagrantly teeing up the ball. 

[CalhounLJ]

Sometimes, a SLOW, careful reading of a statement can PREVENT, or POSTPONE, or OTHERWISE impact, influence, and maybe even AVOID a real, POTENTIAL, and/or perceived MISINTERPRETATION of the intended meaning of said statement. In the end, though, the only thing that MATTERS is what YOU, as an Official, actually saw, thought, heard, or thought..


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[Ralph Damren]

We had a coach inquire about this several years ago :

(1) My "kicker" will put the ball on the tee so that it falls off; (can be practiced at home instead of study)
(2) he will then pick the ball up and hand it to our "real kicker" and ask him to hold it on the tee;
(3) R players will be asleep when our kicker quickly turns and drop-kicks;
(4) We would recover and Coach Belicheck would be proud.

My response was that Case 9.9.1 would cover that and you would then be kicking off from your 25.