Author Topic: Play clock  (Read 2886 times)

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Offline br0ckt0n

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Play clock
« on: September 06, 2017, 07:25:12 AM »
Question: During a team A touchdown run, a team B defender is injured. Play clock on the try is set to :25 or :40? 


Per 3-2-4-c-8, after a score it should be :25. However, 3-2-4-c-4 states it's set to :40 for a defensive injury. Does a defensive injury supersedes most :25 clock situations? I see no way to manipulate a dead clock and would be inclined to go with :25. I've been looking through past AR's and CFO bulletins with no luck as yet. The recent CFO document on timing put out on 9/1 is similar in that it doesn't address this scenario. Any help you can give would be great. 


Offline Kalle

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Re: Play clock
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2017, 08:24:25 AM »
A.R. 3-3-5-VII says that if an injury and a media time out are combined, the play clock is set to 40, so I'd say that it is set to 40 any time there is only a team B injury.

Offline NVFOA_Ump

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Re: Play clock
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2017, 08:29:22 AM »
I believe that the rationale for the 40 seconds after defensive injury was to avoid the D scheming to save 15 seconds off of a running game clock.  That doesn't apply here so I see no reason to worry about the issue here.  If you want to go with a rigid reading of the rule go with 40 seconds.
It's easy to get the players, getting 'em to play together, that's the hard part. - Casey Stengel

Offline Kalle

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Re: Play clock
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2017, 08:40:47 AM »
Hmm, the game clock starts on the referee's signal after a media timeout so the A.R. does not really apply after all. Otherwise I'd agree with NVFOA_Ump's reasoning.

Offline ElvisLives

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Re: Play clock
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2017, 08:55:58 AM »
A.R. 3-3-5-VII says that if an injury and a media time out are combined, the play clock is set to 40, so I'd say that it is set to 40 any time there is only a team B injury.

Kalle, in that AR, the only reason the clock was stopped was for the injury, so, following the media time out, the game clock (and play clock) would start on the referee's signal.  That's why 40-seconds is unquestionably proper in that AR. 

But, as Brockton notes, there is minor ambiguity regarding scenarios in which the game clock was stopped for other reasons.  Team B gains no clock advantage if the clock would not start until the snap (e.g., incomplete pass, BC/ball out of bounds with less than 2-minutes in half), or not at all, as in the case of a Try.  Allowing the 40-second rule to supersede makes it simple, although a bit nonsensical in some scenarios.  I doubt anyone would even notice if you used 25, in either case - certainly not on a Try.  As silly as it may be, though, I would use 40, unless and until Shaw issues something that says otherwise.

Offline bossman72

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Re: Play clock
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2017, 08:26:04 AM »
I believe that the rationale for the 40 seconds after defensive injury was to avoid the D scheming to save 15 seconds off of a running game clock.  That doesn't apply here so I see no reason to worry about the issue here.  If you want to go with a rigid reading of the rule go with 40 seconds.

This is exactly why we go to 40 secs for Team B injury.  Put it at 25 for the try since the clock does not run.