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Penalty Enforcement & Positioning

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Penalty Enforcement Terms

  • Team A = Team that snaps Team B = Opponent
  • Two types of fouls
          • Live Ball
              • A foul which occurs during a down
              • Ex: Flag guarding, pass interference
          • Dead Ball
              • A foul which occurs in the time between the end of the previous down and the next legal snap
              • Ex: False Start, unsportsmanlike conduct

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Penalty Enforcement Terms

  • Basic Spot:

Point at which a penalty is enforced

  • Previous Spot:

Where the ball was last snapped or kicked

  • End of the Run:

Where the player loses possession or the ball becomes dead

  • Succeeding Spot:

Where the ball would next be snapped if a foul had not occurred

  • Spot of the Foul:

Where the foul occurred

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Types of Plays

    • Loose Ball Play
        • A legal forward pass, or the run that precedes it

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        • A punt

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        • A backwards pass behind the line of scrimmage

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        • Ex: Pass Interference = Foul during loose ball play

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    • Basic spot of enforcement = Previous Spot

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Types of Plays

  • Running Play
        • Anything that is not considered a loose ball play

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        • Plays are usually considered running once possession is attained

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        • Ex: Flag guarding = Foul during running play

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    • Basic Spot of Enforcement = End of the run

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Loose Ball v. Running Play

    • Can happen on same play

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    • Fouls during QB pass = loose ball

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    • Fouls after WR catches = running play

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All-But-One Principle

  • All fouls are penalized from the basic spot UNLESS the offense (Team A) fouled behind the basic spot

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  • These fouls are penalized from the SPOT OF THE FOUL
        • Most common example is flag guarding

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  • SCREW THE OFFENSE!
  • EXCEPTION: Fouls committed behind the line of scrimmage are enforced from the previous spot.

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The Four W’s

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Penalty Enforcement

1. What type of play was it?

2. What is the basic enforcement spot for that type of play?

3. Was the foul by Team A behind the basic spot?

Penalize from the spot of the foul (unless behind the previous spot)

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Penalty Enforcement Terms

  • Double Foul

When both Team A and Team B commit live ball fouls and there is no change of possession, the fouls offset and the down is replayed

  • Multiple Foul

When one team commits two or more live ball fouls during the same down, only one may be enforced

  • Live Ball foul follow by Dead Ball foul are both administered in order of occurrence.

Note: This also applies to multiple dead ball fouls

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Penalty Enforcement Terms

  • Clean Hands Principle: If the defense obtains possession of the ball prior to committing a foul, they keep possession if they decline all live ball fouls by offense

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  • Half the Distance: a measurement cannot take the ball more than half the distance from the enforcement spot to the offending team’s goal line

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Special Enforcements

  • Roughing the Passer: The penalty for roughing the passer on a completed forward pass will be enforced from the end of the last run when the run ends beyond the neutral zone

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  • Fouls on a Touchdown: If there is a foul by the defensive team during a down which results in a TD, the scoring team may choose to have the penalty enforced on the try or at the 14-yard line. Never decline the penalty!

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Foul During Try

  • If either team commits a foul, Team A cannot change where the Try will be attempted
  • If a double foul occurs during the down, the down shall be replayed
  • When a distance penalty is incurred by Team A during a successful try, the score is nullified and the down will be repeated
  • If a penalty by Team A carries a loss of down, the Try has ended and will not be repeated
  • After a Try, the ball shall be snapped at the 14 yard line, unless moved by penalty

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Foul During Onside Conversion

  • Fouls that carry over from a score or successful try are not enforced on the onside conversion. Those fouls are enforced at the succeeding spot following the conversion. There may be rare instances where there are multiple fouls that carry over to that succeeding spot.
  • Fouls by B during an onside conversion are enforced as they would be for point after tries.
  • Dead ball fouls by A are enforced as customary.
  • All live ball fouls by A carry a loss of down. If A commits a live ball foul during a conversion, they do not get to reattempt the conversion.
  • Double fouls will still offset during a conversion, resulting in a replay of the conversion attempt.

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Announcing Penalties (SAWS)

  • Signal Silently (Preliminary)
  • Ask Captain
  • Walk off
      • LJ
      • R
      • FJ
  • Speak

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  • **Exception: Only give final signal and announcement for delay of game, false start and encroachment.

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Establishing the Zone Line-to-Gain

  • Live Ball Fouls: mark off penalty yardage then establish the zone line-to-gain

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  • Dead Ball Fouls PRIOR to Ready-for-Play: mark off penalty yardage then establish the zone line-to-gain

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  • Dead Ball Fouls AFTER the Ready-for-Play: establish the zone line-to-gain then mark off penalty yardage