Did I get this right?

[clearwall]

Unfortunately, I dont have any visual aids for this so hopefully I'll be able to sufficiently paint the picture any y'all can tell me if I made the right call.

JV game(not that it matters) and the QB is in shotgun formation, normal splits, one receiver to my side and two to my H's side. My receiver steps back 5 or so steps at the LOS for an apparent screen, QB takes a 3-step drop. As he is beginning to throw, the QB is hit from behind as his arm is going forward and loses the ball.

First thing that came to my head is we have a backward pass, so I signal it and let the play go. A tries to recover the ball, fumbles it around, B tries to pick it up and run and inadvertently kicks it down the field, another B player tries to pick it up and fumbles around some more and eventually falls on the ball. At that point, I kill it and give the ball to B. The only question I have is there any way that should have been an INC? It was pretty clear to me that the receiver was setting up for the backward pass, but does the QB getting hit affect that?

[TXMike]

Any intentional forward movement of the arm towards the NZ starts the fwd pass.  No matter where it goes after he is then hit, it is still a fwd pass. 

[foureyedzebra]

I respectfully disagree.

Rule 2-19-2-b does not apply because of the intended direction of the pass not being forward.


Rule 2-19-2-a does apply


SECTION 19. Passes
Passing
ARTICLE 1. Passing the ball is throwing it. A pass continues to be a pass until
it is caught or intercepted by a player or the ball becomes dead.
Forward and Backward Pass

ARTICLE 2. a. A pass is forward if the ball first strikes the ground, a player, an official or anything else beyond the spot where the ball is released. All other passes are backward passes. When in question a pass thrown in or behind the neutral zone is forward rather than a backward.

b. When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward toward the
neutral zone, any intentional forward movement of his hand or arm starts
the forward pass. If a Team B player contacts the passer or ball after forward
movement begins and the ball leaves the passer's hand, a forward pass is
ruled regardless of where the ball strikes the ground or a player (A.R. 2-19-
2-I).

So the answer is: if the ball first struck the ground, a player,
an official or anything else beyond the spot where the ball was released then it should have been INC because by rule it would have been a forward pass rather than a backward pass.

[TXMike]

The way I read the original post was the pass was toward the NZ which is why I specified that in the post.   

[NVFOA_Ump]

Case play is a bit confusing - "QB is in shotgun", then a three step drop, then pass with "his arm going forward" to an intended receiver who was "at the LOS" and dropped back 5 yards or so?  QB has to be behind the receiver as described here and his arm is "going forward" when hit.  I agree with Mike - this by rule has to an incomplete forward pass and 2-19-2-b is the applicable reference.

[foureyedzebra]

Case play is a bit confusing - "QB is in shotgun", then a three step drop, then pass with "his arm going forward" to an intended receiver who was "at the LOS" and dropped back 5 yards or so?  QB has to be behind the receiver as described here and his arm is "going forward" when hit.  I agree with Mike - this by rule has to an incomplete forward pass and 2-19-2-b is the applicable reference.

Agree with NVFOA_Ump that the original post is somewhat confusing.

My previous post was based on the last sentence "It was pretty clear to me that the receiver was setting up for the backward pass, but does the QB getting hit affect that?"

From which, I surmised that the intended receiver must have been behind the QB at the time the pass was released. I could have possibly misunderstood the somewhat confusing post. If so, and the pass was toward the NZ, then I retract my previous post.

[Atlanta Blue]

QB is is a shotgun formation = best estimate, at least 5 yards behind the line, maybe 7
QB taks a 3 step drop = now he's at least 8 yards behind the line, maybe 10
Receiver drops 5 steps = he's about 5 yards behind the line

So how is this a "backward pass"?  It's certainly a pass behind the line, but it sure sounds forward to me.

[Sonofanump]

Thank you for posting.  I misremembered part b of the rule.

[GameWillTravel]

Let me add to this 'What if the ball is tip and goes backwards'

[JasonTX]

Let me add to this 'What if the ball is tip and goes backwards'

If the ball is tipped in advance from where it was released it is a forward pass.  The direction it goes after the tip is irrelevant.