RULE 6: Kicks Flashcards
The ball is kicked while teed illegally, punted on a kickoff or kicked from a spot between the hash mark and the nearer sideline
RULING: Illegal kick. Dead-ball foul. Penalty—Five yards from the succeeding spot (Rule 2-16-1-b).
Kicker A11 places the ball on the tee in the center of the field for a free kick with four teammates to the left side of the ball and six teammates to the right side of the ball. The ball blows off the tee. A55, who was lined up to the left of the ball, then holds the ball on the tee for right-footed kicker A11. No other Team A players move. When the ball is kicked by A11, A55 is to the kicker’s right.
RULING: Foul by Team A for illegal formation at
the kick. Penalty—Five yards from the previous spot or five yards from the spot where the subsequent dead ball belongs to Team B.
Free-kicker A11 places the ball on the tee just inside the hash mark line on his right. All of his teammates line up to his left. At the ready for play, four Team A players who were on A11’s left run to their right and are in the area to A11’s right when he kicks the ball.
RULING: Legal formation.
A11 places the ball on the tee for a free kick on the 35-yard line in the center of the field. A12 lines up near the ball. After the ready for play, A11 starts forward as if to kick the ball, and A12 suddenly crosses in
front of him and kicks the ball. When the ball is kicked, A11 is directly behind the ball with three teammates on one side of the ball. A12 plants his nonkicking foot on the same side of the ball as his three teammates.
RULING: Foul by Team A for illegal formation. Penalty—Five yards from the previous spot, and rekick if Team B chooses; or five yards from the spot where the subsequent dead ball belongs to Team B.
Team A is offside during its free kick. B27 has his knee on the ground when he recovers the kick.
RULING: Foul by Team A for offside. The ball is dead at the spot of the recovery. Penalty—Team B may choose five yards from the previous spot and another free kick, or five yards from the dead-ball spot with a first and 10. B27’s recovery started a running play that ended immediately. This scenario also would have been valid if B27 had completed a fair catch.
Team A is offside on its free kick and B17 catches the ball at his 15-yard line. B17 returns the ball to his 45-yard line where he fumbles. A67 recovers at the B-47 and runs to the B-35 where he fumbles, with B20
recovering while downed at his 33-yard line
RULING: Foul by Team A for offside. Team B may choose to have Team A kick again after a fiveyard penalty from the previous spot, or Team B may have first and 10 at its 38-yard line.
Team A is in its formation to kick off at the A-35. Two players, A33 and A66, are positioned in a four-point stance with their feet on the A-29 and their hands on the A-31. The untouched kick hits the ground in Team B’s end zone and is declared dead.
RULING: Touchback. Team A foul, illegal formation. Team B has two options for accepting the penalty: Put the ball in play at the B-30, after a five-yard penalty at the spot (the B-25) where
the dead ball belongs to them; or have Team A re-kick at the A-30. (Rule
6-1-8)
Late in the game with the score tied, Team A lines up to free kick from the A-35. Kicker A10 places the ball down at the right hash for an apparent onside kick. After the Referee’s ready-for-play signal, A10 approaches the ball and then picks up the ball runs to the left hash at the A-35, places the ball down and quickly kicks the ball.
RULING: By interpretation, once the ball position between the hash marks has been selected by Team A and after the ready-for-play, the ball may be relocated only after a charged team timeout or before any re-kick. Dead-ball foul. Dead-ball foul. Five yard penalty from the succeeding spot.
A33 illegally touches a free kick; then he or A44 illegally recovers the kick
RULING: Illegal touching by both A33 and A44. Unless there is an accepted penalty or offsetting fouls, Team B may elect to take the ball at any spot of the illegal touching.
Team A executes an on-side free kick at the A-35. The untouched kick is at the A-43 when A55 blocks B44 above the waist in the front at the A-46. A28 muffs the ball at the A-44, and after it rolls to the A-46, A88 blocks B22 at the A-42. A20 then recovers the ball at the A-44.
RULING: The
block by A55 is a foul and the touching by A28 is illegal, because Team A is not eligible to touch the ball since it has not gone 10 yards nor has it been touched by Team B. The block by A88 is legal because it occurs after the ball has gone 10 yards. Team A is in legal possession of the ball when A20 recovers it at the A-44. Team B has two options: Decline the penalty
for the illegal block and have the ball at the A-44 via the illegal-touching privilege, or cancel the illegal-touching privilege by having Team A re-kick from the A-30 after the 5-yard penalty for the block by A55. Note that the dead-ball spot, the A-44, is not an enforcement spot because the ball does not belong to Team B when the down ends. (Rule 6-1-12)
A kickoff from Team A’s 35-yard line goes out of bounds untouched by Team B, and Team A has illegally touched the kick.
RULING: Team B has four options: It may snap the ball at the spot of the illegal touching violation; accept a five-yard penalty from the previous spot with Team A
kicking from the 30-yard line; put the ball in play at the inbounds spot on its 35-yard line; or put the ball in play at the inbounds spot five yards from where the ball went out of bounds (Rule 6-1-8).
Team A is offside or commits a substitution infraction, and the kickoff from the 35-yard line goes out of bounds after it has been touched by Team B.
RULING: For either the offside foul or the substitution foul, Team B may elect to have the kick repeated at Team A’s 30-yard line, or snap the ball at the inbounds spot five yards from where the ball went out of bounds (Rule 6-1-8).
A free kick from Team A’s 35-yard line, untouched by Team B, goes out of bounds between the goal lines, and Team A was offside.
RULING: Team B has these options: It may accept a five-yard penalty at the previous spot with Team A re-kicking from the 30-yard line; snap the ball at its 35-yard line at the inbounds spot; or snap the ball at the inbounds spot five yards from where the ball went out of bounds.
A free kick from Team A’s 35-yard line, untouched by Team B, goes out of bounds between the goal lines, and Team A fouled after the ball went out of bounds.
RULING: Team B has the choice of Team A kicking again after a five-yard penalty followed by a 15-yard penalty, or putting the ball in play at the inbounds spot either on the 50-yard line or at the inbounds spot 20 yards beyond the spot where the ball went out of bounds.
A free kick in flight strikes a Team B player who is in his end zone, and the ball then goes out of bounds at the three-yard line
RULING: Team B’s ball, first and 10, on the three-yard line at the inbounds spot
Free kick at the A-35. B17 leaps from inbounds and is the first player to touch Team A’s free kick when he grasps the ball while airborne. He then lands out of bounds with the ball in his control
RULING: Not a foul for free kick out of bounds. B17 is inbounds when he touches the kick. Team B will have the ball at the yard line where B17 crossed the sideline. (Rule 2-27-15)
After a punt travels five yards beyond the neutral zone, B33 touches the ball. It then rebounds behind the zone, where A33 recovers it in the field of play
RULING: The ball is dead when recovered and may not be advanced. First down for Team A (Rules 6-3-3 and 6-3-6-a). Clock starts on the snap following a legal kick down.
Team A’s untouched punt or field goal attempt goes beyond the neutral zone in flight, is blown back by the wind and first touches the ground, a player or an official behind the neutral zone.
RULING: By rule, the kick is not considered to have crossed the neutral zone until it has touched the ground, a player, an official or anything beyond that zone. Any scrimmage kick may be advanced after catch or recovery by Team B, or after catch or recovery by Team A in or behind the neutral zone if the kick had not crossed the neutral zone (Rule 2-16-7).
A1 interferes with B1’s opportunity to catch a kick when a scrimmage kick fails to cross the neutral zone.
RULING: Interference with the opportunity to catch a kick does not apply (Rule 6-4-1), and all players are eligible to touch, recover and advance the ball. Therefore, any player legally may push an opponent in an actual attempt to get at the ball (Rule 9-3-6); but
no player may hold an opponent to prevent his reaching the ball or in an attempt to permit a teammate to reach it (Rules 9-1-5 Exception 3).
Team A’s punt from behind its own goal line crosses the neutral zone into the field of play, strikes a Team B player and rebounds back across Team A’s goal line, where A32 recovers.
RULING: Safety (Rules 6-3-3, 6-3-6-a and 8-5-1-a)
Team A illegally touches its kick; then after Team B has touched it, Team A recovers
RULING: Touching by Team A after Team B has touched the kick is legal; and, in order to get the ball, Team B must take it where Team A illegally touched it. Unless illegal touching is also illegal recovery by the
kicking team and no fouls are involved, the receiving team may play the ball with the assurance that it later may elect the ball at any spot of illegal touching.
During a scrimmage kick, A1 commits a touching violation, after which B1 recovers, advances and fumbles. A2 recovers the fumble and, during the advance, B2 holds, trips or punches
RULING: Team A may have the ball where left by the penalty for Team B’s foul; but if Team A declines the
penalty, Team B will have the ball by electing the touching violation. B2 is ejected if flagged for fighting
Team A’s punt goes beyond the neutral zone and is first touched by A80, then picked up by B40, who runs five yards and fumbles. A20 picks up the fumble and scores. During A20’s run, B70 holds
RULING: The score does not count. Five- and 10-yard penalties are not administered on the try or the succeeding kickoff. The penalty for Team B’s foul is declined by rule, because there is no enforcement spot. The ball belongs to Team B at the spot of illegal touching (Rule 10-2-5-a-2).
Team A’s punt goes beyond the neutral zone and is first touched by A80, then picked up by B40, who runs five yards and fumbles. B70 holds during B40’s run. A20 picks up the fumble and scores
RULING: The score does not count. Five- and 10-yard penalties are not administered on the try or the succeeding kickoff. Because the illegal touching provides an enforcement spot, the penalty for Team B’s foul may be enforced, per Rule 5-2-4. The ball belongs to Team B, either at the spot of illegal touching if Team A declines the penalty, or at the spot after the enforcement if Team A accepts the penalty (Rules 10-2-2 and 10-2-5-a-2).
Team A punts from its own 30-yard line. The untouched kick is bouncing at Team B’s three-yard line when A3 blocks B1 into the ball, forcing it through the end zone and over the end line.
RULING: Touchback. Since A3 blocked B1 into the ball, B1 is deemed not to have touched it (Rule 2-11-4). Impetus is from the kick, not from B1’s touching (Rule 8-7-1).
Team A’s long field goal attempt is first touched when A1 bats the rolling ball backward into nearby B1
RULING: Illegal touching by A1. Team B is not deemed to have touched the ball (Rules 2-11-4 and 8-4-2-b).
During a scrimmage kick the untouched ball is at rest on the Team B three-yard line when B22 blocks A80 into the ball, forcing it into the end zone where it touches the ground.
RULING: The ball is dead when it touches the ground in the end zone. Touchback—Ignore touching by A80 (Rule 2-11-4). By rule, neither team has touched the kicked ball (Rule 8-6-1-b).
As the punted ball rolls along the ground, punt receiver B22 is blocking A88 to prevent him from downing the ball. The two players are still engaged when the ball bounces into B22’s leg. A44 recovers at the B-30.
RULING: Team A’s ball, first and 10 at the B-30. This is not forced touching. Although B22 was in contact with A88 when he touched the ball, this touching was not caused by the contact (Rule 2-11-4). The game clock starts on the snap.
As a punt rolls along the ground A44 blocks B33 into the ball, which bounces away and strikes B48 in the leg. Team A recovers.
RULING: Team A’s ball, first and 10 at the spot of recovery. Although the touching by B33 is forced, that by B48 is not (Rule 2-11-4). B48’s touching of the ball allows Team A to recover legally. (Rule 6-3-4-a)
A33 illegally touches a punt and the ball then rolls into Team B’s end zone, where Team B recovers and advances the ball into the field of play
RULING: The ball is dead when it strikes the ground in the end zone. Team B may choose a touchback or take the ball at the spot of Team A’s illegal touching (Rule 4-1-3-c).
