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OT, but a serious question that I've had for a while now

QuattroCane

QuattroCane

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Say team A has it 3rd & 3 at the ops 25 can they line up in FG formation and fake it, not make it and then kick on 4th down. I keep thinking it would be an illegal formation?

Help a brother out here.
 
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Why would you think it's illegal? Are at least 7 guys on the LOS?
 
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QuatroCane said:
Say team A has it 3rd & 3 at the ops 25 can they line up in FG formation and fake it, not make it and then kick on 4th down. I keep thinking it would be an illegal formation?

Help a brother out here.
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Well I would think that with another down they could. No different than trying to score on a normal play on 3rd down, unless there's some specific rule about that
 
So long as the kicker doesn’t kick the ball (drop kick or held) it is considered a normal play.
 
QuatroCane said:
Say team A has it 3rd & 3 at the ops 25 can they line up in FG formation and fake it, not make it and then kick on 4th down. I keep thinking it would be an illegal formation?

Help a brother out here.
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I have also wondered how the rule is written so that when the holder's knee is on the ground and he catches the ball he is not down. Also, while we are at it, can you punt a kickoff, either long or as a pooch for an on-sides kick?
 
SPAMM said:
I have also wondered how the rule is written so that when the holder's knee is on the ground and he catches the ball he is not down. Also, while we are at it, can you punt a kickoff, either long or as a pooch for an on-sides kick?
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Can do a drop kick (see Seahawks game last week) but can't punt.
 
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QuatroCane said:
Say team A has it 3rd & 3 at the ops 25 can they line up in FG formation and fake it, not make it and then kick on 4th down. I keep thinking it would be an illegal formation?

Help a brother out here.
Click to expand...

It's actually not that uncommon especially when field conditions are bad. Go for FG on third down just in case something goes wrong. If a bad snap or holder can't get the ball down, line up and try again.
 
90scane said:
So long as the kicker doesn’t kick the ball (drop kick or held) it is considered a normal play.
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I thought the rule was, even if kicked, as long as the ball does not cross the line of scrimmage (blocked and recovered by the kicking team) it can still be kicked again. (on say 4th down in this scenario)
 
Teams try FGs on 3rd all the time, in case of a bad snap. They still get to try it again on 4th down. They can't take a down away from you.
 
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SPAMM said:
I have also wondered how the rule is written so that when the holder's knee is on the ground and he catches the ball he is not down. Also, while we are at it, can you punt a kickoff, either long or as a pooch for an on-sides kick?
Click to expand...

That's actually a good question that I have never thought of.
 
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g8rh8rMD said:
That's actually a good question that I have never thought of.
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There's some weird exception where the holder has to be touched to be down. If he stands up then he becomes a normal ball handler and abides by the normal rules. However, when he receives the snap there is an exception for him as long as his knee remains on the ground. Theoretically he could sit there with the ball forever and the play wouldn't end until he was touched or he lifted his knee off the ground then put it back down.
 
SWFLSWAGG17 said:
Not illegal at all. At the end of games I have seen teams line up and kick it on 3rd down just in case of a botched snap so they could fall on it and retry on 4th down.
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Botched yes, but not missed. I THINK that if you kick it, possession ends. Bad snap and fallen on = rekick.

As for a fake FG, yes. If you throw an incomplete pass on 3rd down, you get a 4th down. At least that's what I always understood.
 
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