I feel certain that this has been overlooked and not the intent of this rule, however, the rule reads during a kick 'down'...not during the kick. Why did they choose the word 'down' in this rule? With that, it means ANY K foul during the 'entire down', not just the kick part.
So, K punts from the K30. R22 catches punt at R20, runs to the R30, where K80 commits a facemask penalty and causes R22 to fumble. R44 recovers the fumble and runs to the 50 where he is tackled.
Because K fouled during the 'down', this foul can be tacked on from the succeeding spot, 50yd, and R will get the ball at the K35.
This cannot be the intent, but is exactly what the rule reads currently. Has there been any word to the contrary?
This was the intent of the rule which is why the rule reads the way it does. Restated, the rule is in effect for ANY Live Ball K foul during the down.
Yes, in your play the succeeding spot is the 50. Enforce the FM foul from there.
Note that in your play if R22 had been Facemasked but not fumbled, continued on, and returned the ball to the 50, the FM penalty would also be enforced from the 50.
What am I missing???
Can we go back to this play for just a minute. Just to make sure I understand. Does this mean that during a kicking down, the basic spot has been changed because of this new exception? Before this exception, we would go back to where R22 fumbled and make that the basic spot of enforcement, because that was the end of the run which was related to the foul. But now, what I'm gathering is that for K fouls during a kick down, that is no longer the case. Now, the end of the related run in this scenario would have no significance, because K fouled during a kicking down and the exception states that foul is enforced from the succeeding spot. Is that what we are saying?