Question: Some games I see Defensive backs pushing receivers well beyond 5 yards. Other times the littlest bump after 5 yards draws a flag. There doesn't seem to be any consistency on that call. Does it look as bad to you as it does to me? J. C. Oakton, Va.
Answer: The foul for Illegal Contact on an Offensive receiver more than 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage only applies if the quarterback stays in the pocket. If the quarterback rolls out, the 5-yard contact restriction does not apply. Next time you notice the contact, check to see where the quarterback is.
In the NCAA rulebook, there is no distance limit. The Defensive back can contact the receiver before the pass is thrown and until the receiver is even with the defender.
Play: Dan Marino is back in a shotgun formation. The snap goes over Marino's head. The Steelers Chad Brown scoops up the rolling ball and runs it in for a score.
NFL ruling: Touchdown for the Steelers.
NCAA ruling: Defensive team's ball first and ten at the spot that the snap was recovered. A snap is a backward pass. If an opponent of the passing team recovers a backward pass, the ball is dead.
Question: Why does the NFL play with a ball without white stripes, but the NCAA has half stripes on the ball? W. P. San Mateo, Calif.
Answer: I think the stripes go back to the days of the first night games. The stripes make the ball easier to see in less-than-ideal light. As time marched on, lights got better and quarterbacks became prima donnas. The perception is that the painted stripe was slippery and hurt a quarterback's grip on the ball.
The NCAA compromised. They left half the stripe for visibility and took the stripe off the half where the quarterback's thumb would hit the stripe.
The NFL must have decided that the lights are good enough that the stripe wasn't needed anymore.
Definitions: Catch-Securing possession of a ball in flight.
Recovery- Securing possession of a ball which has touched the ground.
Fumble-Losing possession of a ball a player possesses.
Muff-Touching a ball in an unsuccessful attempt to gain possession of a ball.
Truth, stranger than fiction--Referee Magazine reports that a scholastic game was delayed until the wife of one of the officials could bring the toupee he liked the best.
No Sense of Humor: A minor league umpire tossed a public address announcer, two scoreboard operators and a team mascot. Just after tossing a coach one night, the PA announcer read a promo for the night's give away-sunglasses. In another game, the scoreboard operators put up glasses after a close call. Out they went, followed by the mascot. Umps shouldn't have to take excessive grief, but if you lose your sense of humor, life can be awfully tough.
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