People Said He Was Useless, Them People All Were Fools
I really need to improve at this whole "post-graduation blogging" thing, because at this rate, I'm getting paid more for lower production than (receiver) Roy Williams.
What's that?
Oh, I'm not getting paid for this?
Let's just move along.
You would think that I would come to you today with some sort of deep insight gleaned from the completion of law school, and maybe that is coming at some point in the future, but right now, I come to you, my dear readers, seeking the answer to a question that has troubled me for years. Also, before some of you check out upon seeing that the topic of that question is football, perhaps your insight as a sports outsider will be even more beneficial to solving this conundrum.
Here's the question: When a quarterback "spikes" the ball at the end of the game to stop the clock, why is this not intentional grounding?
Isn't that the very definition of intentional grounding? At least in other situations where the quarterback actually gets called for intentional grounding he, and everyone else around him, is engaging in the process of actually trying to complete, or trying to prevent him from completing, a pass to an eligible receiver.
When the quarterback walks up to the line seeking to stop the clock, takes the snap from the center, and throws the ball directly into the turf at his feet, wouldn't that seem to be the essence of intentional grounding?
Mike Carey, if you're reading this, please bring your insight to bear on this troubling question.Labels: Burning Questions, Football
posted by Justin @ 5/13/2009 04:36:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I think the distinction is that a QB is penalized for intentional grounding, the purpose of the grounding is to avoid an imminent sack.
I give you the official rule from the NFL Rulebook:
1. Intentional grounding of a forward pass is a foul: loss of down and 10 yards from previous spot if passer is in the field of play or loss of down at the spot of the foul if it occurs more than 10 yards behind the line or safety if passer is in his own end zone when ball is released.
2. Intentional grounding will be called when a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage due to pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion.
3. Intentional grounding will not be called when a passer, while out of the pocket and facing an imminent loss of yardage, throws a pass that lands at or beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player(s) have a realistic chance to catch the ball (including if the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or end line).
Peter,
You've hit the proverbial nail on the head with the reasoning behind the intentional grounding/spike distinction.
Also, if the call hinges on whether the QB throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion, should the Raiders ever be able to get off of a pass without getting called for grounding?
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