Week 1 Officiating Issues

[Bobref]

Each week we’ll open a new “Question“ in this Forum, in which we’ll address all things officiating-related occurring during that week’s games. See a signal you didn’t understand? Need a rules interpretation?  Question about penalty enforcement?  This is the place to go. Even if you just want to vent ... provided you supply some specific details explaining your dissatisfaction. “They s*cked!” is unhelpful, and it’s only funny about the first 50 times you hear it. We all passed that long ago.

Good luck this week to the third team on the field!
 

[oldtimeqb]

On 8/21/2020 at 12:42 PM, Bobref said:

Each week we’ll open a new “Question“ in this Forum, in which we’ll address all things officiating-related occurring during that week’s games. See a signal you didn’t understand? Need a rules interpretation?  Question about penalty enforcement?  This is the place to go. Even if you just want to vent ... provided you supply some specific details explaining your dissatisfaction. “They s*cked!” is unhelpful, and it’s only funny about the first 50 times you hear it. We all passed that long ago.

Good luck this week to the third team on the field!
 

I could use a refresher on the endzone rules because I know they differ between NFHS, NCAA, and NFL. 

Recovered fumbles and interceptions can be brought out of the EZ by the defense.  However punts and kickoffs cannot be brought out by R team. I think I have those correct?? 

On a punt, if a player from K team has a foot on the goalline when he touches the ball rolling dead at the 1 - the ball is at the 1 and not a touchback.  This was the discussion between my friends and I, but I think there is some differences between the levels on that interpretation, or maybe I am wrong. 

[Bobref]

6 minutes ago, oldtimeqb said:

I could use a refresher on the endzone rules because I know they differ between NFHS, NCAA, and NFL. 

Recovered fumbles and interceptions can be brought out of the EZ by the defense.  However punts and kickoffs cannot be brought out by R team. I think I have those correct?? 

On a punt, if a player from K team has a foot on the goalline when he touches the ball rolling dead at the 1 - the ball is at the 1 and not a touchback.  This was the discussion between my friends and I, but I think there is some differences between the levels on that interpretation, or maybe I am wrong. 

You’re correct. Under the National Federation code, a kick (other than one that scores) is dead when the ball breaks the plane of the goal line. In your example, the only thing that determines whether a kick results in a touchback is the position of the ball. 

[Esso Ayche]

On 8/23/2020 at 9:45 PM, Bobref said:

You’re correct. Under the National Federation code, a kick (other than one that scores) is dead when the ball breaks the plane of the goal line. In your example, the only thing that determines whether a kick results in a touchback is the position of the ball. 

In my four-ish decades of watching HS football I cannot recall a tight to the goal line punt occur that wasn't a blatant touchback or not. Many were very, very close, but none that really needed an instant replay.  I just saw one this week, stopped on the one foot (inch?) line, with the gunner laying half in the endzone. Huge uproar on the receiving team side of it, naturally, but the crew nailed it. Ball never crossed the plane. Had I not seen this post I would have been on the ignorant side of the rule book. With this information I was able to quell the uprising in my (socially distanced) section of the stands. Thanks, as always, for the great information!