2012 Rule Changes - Free Kicks - Play Situations

[TXMike]

From the CFO

2012: RULES CHANGES—PLAY SITUATIONS FREE KICKS
Penalty Enforcement. For free-kick situations 1 through 4, unless otherwise stated enforcement of any yardage penalty against Team A may be either at the previous spot with a re-kick or at the spot where the dead ball belongs to Team B.
1. After the ball is marked ready for play at the A-35, nine Team A players have one foot on or beyond the A-30. A44 and A22 are both standing with their front feet touching the A-29. A44 then kicks off. RULING: Live-ball foul, illegal formation.
2. After the ball is marked ready for play at the A-35, all Team A players except A44 are between the A-30 and the A-35. As A44 approaches the ball A22 runs laterally toward the sideline along the A-33. A44 then kicks off. RULING: Legal Play.
3. After the ball is marked ready for play at the A-35, all Team A players except A44 are between the A-30 and the A-35. As A44 approaches the ball, A22 cuts in front of him and kicks off. RULING: Live-ball foul, illegal formation.
4. After the ball is marked ready for play at the A-35, all Team A players except A44 are between the A-30 and the A-35. As A44 approaches the ball, A22 cuts in front of him and kicks off. B55 blocks below the waist at the B-30 (a) during the kick; (b) during the return by receiver B23. RULING: (a) Team A illegal formation, Team B illegal block: offsetting fouls, re-kick at the A-35. (b) Team B may elect offsetting fouls, or they may refuse offsetting fouls with the penalty for blocking below the waist administered by rule (10-1-4-Exc. 1).
5. Team A executes an onside kick at the A-35 and the ball goes high into the air. Receiver B22 is standing in position to receive the ball at the A-47. Just as B22 is about to grasp the ball A66 leaps within a yard in front of him, grabs the ball and lands on the
 
ground at the A-49 with the ball firmly in his control. (a) The ball is kicked directly into the air off the tee; (b) the ball is driven off the tee directly into the ground and rebounds into the air in the manner of the ball in (a); (c) it is very difficult to tell whether the ball hits the ground before going high into the air or flies into the air directly off the tee. RULING: (a), (b), and (c). Foul by A66, interference with the opportunity to receive the kick. 15-yard penalty at the spot of the foul, first and 10 for Team B at the A-32.
6. Team A executes an onside kick at the A-35. The ball quickly strikes the ground off the tee, hits again at the A-38, and bounds high into the air. Receiver B22 is standing in position to receive the ball at the A-47. Just as B22 is about to grasp the ball A66 leaps in front of him, grabs the ball and lands on the ground at the A-49 with the ball firmly in his control. RULING: Legal play. B22 does not have protection because the ball hits the ground a second time. First and 10 for Team A at the A-49.
7. Team A kicks off at its 35-yard line. The ball goes into Team B’s end zone (a) where it first touches the ground; (b) and touches the ground after bouncing at the B-5; (c) where B22 catches it and takes a knee. RULING: (a), (b), and (c) Touchback. Team B’s ball, first and 10 at the B-25.
8. Team A kicks off at its 35-yard line. Receiver B22 catches the kick and returns the ball to the A-3. There he fumbles the ball which rolls into the goal line pylon or through the end zone and across the end line. RULING: Touchback. Team A’s ball, first and 10 at the A-20.
9. Team A kicks off at its 35-yard line. The ball is untouched when it rolls out of bounds at the B-25, which is a foul by Team A. Team B does not want the ball re-kicked. RULING: Team B’s ball, first and 10 at the B-35.

[Atlanta Blue]

Under the old rule, for a ball kicked off from the A30, the difference between a ball kicked OOB and a touchback was 20 yards (ball on the B40 for OOB, on the B20 for a TB).  Since the kickoff line has been moved, but without a change in "30 yards from the kickoff" placement, the difference between OOB and a TB is now only 10 yards.  This should lead to a lot of kickoffs being aimed for the pylons in order to pin teams to returns against the sideline, as the cost of an "error" (kicking OOB) is not as great.

OK, for 7 man crews, where there is an official on each pylon, probably not a big deal.  But in HS games using (basically) NCAA rules, if you only have a five man crew with only the R on the goal line, this is going to be a lot tougher to officiate.

I still think NCAA rules with 5 man mechanics lead to all kinds of issues and holes in coverage.

[TXMike]

OK, for 7 man crews, where there is an official on each pylon, probably not a big deal.  But in HS games using (basically) NCAA rules, if you only have a five man crew with only the R on the goal line, this is going to be a lot tougher to officiate.

I still think NCAA rules with 5 man mechanics lead to all kinds of issues and holes in coverage.

I think every official in  Texas and Mass will agree with you on the issues and holes statement.

We have 2 back on KO's, 1 at ea pylon, unless short free kick mechanics are used, so we will not have that much of an issue with it.

[VA-Ump]

This is probably going to be a no-brainier once we get on the field, but assuming there will be no changes in the Free Kick positioning, has anyone seen or heard the proposed mechanics for covering the restrictions on the kickers?  Obviously the B & U will be the responsible parties but has there been a discussion on just how.  Will one of us move back?  Will we rely on our ability to see the kickers positioning in relation to the A30?  What if we have several of the kickers moving laterally before the kick.  How did the NFL do it?

In reality, if one of them is slightly behind the A30, is there really much advantage gained?  In my mind, this will be 2012's "wedge".  We will beat it to death and the coaches will take care of it ....   

[Atlanta Blue]

The NFL has an official on each side of K's restraining line, but none behind there.  They look to see if they see each player's foot touching the 30.  I don't think it's that hard to see.

The New Orleans Saints have an interesting formation.  Ball is on the right hash.  Four players to the kicker's right, foot on the 30, spread evenly from near the hash to near the sideline, all stationary.  The remaining six players are bunched all the way over on the left sideline, in a single file, with their left foot on the 30, facing the center of the field.  On a signal from the kicker, they sprint toward the center of the field, with the first guy getting all the way to the middle of the field, the last guy getting to about the numbers near the left sideline.  As the kicker moves forward, so do they.  They met the rule of starting no more than five yards back, but still have a full head of steam when they turn to go downfield.

Is it effective?  Apparently not, as the Saints ranked 28th out of 32 teams in Kickoff Return yardage allowed.

[Rulesman]

Rumor on the street has it the Saints spent more time before games making sure the "pot was right" than they did practicing KO coverage. 

[mattlipsey]

This is probably going to be a no-brainier once we get on the field, but assuming there will be no changes in the Free Kick positioning, has anyone seen or heard the proposed mechanics for covering the restrictions on the kickers?  Obviously the B & U will be the responsible parties but has there been a discussion on just how.  Will one of us move back?  Will we rely on our ability to see the kickers positioning in relation to the A30?  What if we have several of the kickers moving laterally before the kick.  How did the NFL do it?

In reality, if one of them is slightly behind the A30, is there really much advantage gained?  In my mind, this will be 2012's "wedge".  We will beat it to death and the coaches will take care of it ....   

we did a college spring game last month and discussed this very issue.  We tried it two different ways. First, the normal long kick mechanics which we had some problems.  When we used short kick mechanics, it was a lot easier to deal with.  Still trying to work out the bugs but looks prommising for 5 man mechanics.