Punt play

[NJOfficial]

K 4th and 10 from K 10.  Its a bad snap and K5 picks up ball at K3 and intentionally throws the ball out of the back of the endzone.  Whats the call?

[sir55]

There is no foul, any player can throw a backward pass.  K forced the ball out of its own end zone, so its a safety.  2 points for the defense, K free kicks from its own 20.

[Atlanta Blue]

sir55 has it right.  Let's add a little more just for edification.  In FED, not only can anyone throw a backward pass, they can do it from anywhere, for any reason.  The same is NOT true in the NCAA or NFL, where a backward pass cannot be thrown OOB in order to conserve time.

[NJOfficial]

I had asked someone about this and they thought it would be intentional grounding, but I don't think you can have intentional grounding on a backward pass.

[VALJ]

Intentionally grounding is a form of an illegal forward pass (7-5-2-d,e).  In Fed rules, there are only illegal forward passes, not illegal backward passes.

[NJOfficial]

Intentionally grounding is a form of an illegal forward pass (7-5-2-d,e).  In Fed rules, there are only illegal forward passes, not illegal backward passes.

Thank You, I tried explaining that but he was still doubting me.  Maybe I will send him link to this topic.

[bbeagle]

Thank You, I tried explaining that but he was still doubting me.  Maybe I will send him link to this topic.

Yes, it seems like 'intentional grounding', but it's not a legal forward pass, so it can't be.

Just like if a running back ran the ball 20 yards down the field, and then intentionally threw the ball forward out-of-bounds with nobody around. That's not 'intentional grounding' either - it meets all the requirements BUT being a LEGAL forward pass.

Same with your play, it has to be both a forward pass and a LEGAL forward pass. A backwards pass is neither.

[bdalyatwork]

In this case, the punter simply fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone.

[Atlanta Blue]

In this case, the punter simply fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone.

Officially, he did not.  A fumble is loss of player possession other than by handing, passing or a legal kick.  He passed it out of the back of the end zone.

To a layman he did, just like there are forward laterals and offside penalties.  But if you are here, I assume you are an official, or want to understand the game like one.  To an official, this isn't a fumble.

[CalhounLJ]

Good post AB. Sounds picky but words are vitally important when discussing and applying rules.


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[AlUpstateNY]

Thank You, I tried explaining that but he was still doubting me.  Maybe I will send him link to this topic.

Ignorance can usually be corrected by simply providing relevant information, unfortunately correcting STUPID
is a far more complicated process, that sometimes proves uncorrectable.

[NorCalMike]

Ignorance can usually be corrected by simply providing relevant information, unfortunately correcting STUPID
is a far more complicated process, that sometimes proves uncorrectable.

Ain't that the truth.