FG Question, Blocked at the goalpost?
DaBeef
Posts: 2,478
in Sports Talk
With all these returned fg's for tds in the last few years, I was wondering if a Defensive player can jump at the goalposts to block the kick, or would this be goaltending like in basketball. I cant imagine they can, but after Cromarties td this weekend, it has come up . Has it ever happened?
Am I speaking Chinese?
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1994 Pro Line Live
TheDallasCowboyBackfieldProject
How is spiking the ball not intentional grounding?
The qb is in the pocket
he is no throwing in the area of any recievers
so how is this not intentional grounding?
http://sportsfansnews.com/author/andy-fischer/
From the NFL.com Rules Digest:
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.
It's not grounding because there is no imminent loss of yardage due to pressure from the defense.
Kicking Rules
<< <i>really.. Wow, Im shocked it has never happened. >>
The inability of most people to jump 30' in the air is probably what has stopped it from happening yet. Maybe someday
(and there is also the rist of knocking it through the goal post)
<< <i>High Performance Helicopter >>
"I'd have to see some visual evidence"
<< <i>So then why don't all 11 defensive players line up right in front of the goal post to try to block that darn kick. Wouldn't that make good sense? They could even try to stand on top of each other like those Chinese circus acts and block that darn kick. >>
I know your not allowed to gain height from another player. For example, you cant jump on another players back to block a kick, you cant have a guy launch you in the air to gain height. I saw a Fg attempt once where a guy ran up, put his foot in the hands of another guy who flipped him up. Refs called a penalty.
I would say the reason you dont have all 11 guys in the end zone is because if its 4th down, they would just pick the ball up and get the first down. If its the end of the game, winning field goal, different story i would imagine. Kickers can make it all day long from 55 yards in practice, if you have guys attempting to blcok it, they have to angle it up a little more, more pressure, etc.
What would happen if it hit the upright, fell down to a defender who was in the end zone. Is it a dead ball once it hits the upright?
I miss the old monday night football spots, "you make the call" those were great
I found the childhood book I was referring to in my previously unedited post.
The book is titled: The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories
by Howard Liss
1976 Random House
page 41 has a story titled "Field-Goal Tending" and tells the story of R.C. Owens, a wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts, who had been a basketball player and high jumper in college. He once led the nations in rebounds (27.7 per game) and had high jumped seven feet.
He got the idea of trying to block a field goal while with San Francisco, but his coach Red Hickey would not let him try it. However, when he was later traded to the Colts, his new coach Weeb Ewbank decided it was worth a try.
He tried it in a game against the Redskins, and per the book:
"Bob Khayat of the Redskins attempted a field goal from the Balitmore 40-yard line. Owens waited under the crossbar. He had been practicing his block for a long time to get the timing right. The kick went off. The ball rose, and then as it began to descend, Owens flexed his legs and let go with a mighty leap. His fingers made contact with the ball and tipped it away."
Morris Stroud (born May 17, 1946), was a former tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He did not play in the 1969 regular season but was on the roster for the 1969 AFL Championship Game. From 1970 to 1974, he played for the NFL's Chiefs. At 6'-10", Stroud is the tallest player in Pro Football history. He wore uniform #88.
As a student at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, the Miami, Florida-born Stroud was a center and power forward on the Panthers' basketball team. Despite Stroud having little experience on the gridiron, Chiefs head coach Hank Stram selected him in the third round of the 1969 NFL Draft as a tight end. He thus supplanted the 6'-9" Ernie Ladd as the NFL's tallest player. Coincidentally, Ladd had spent the 1967 and 1968 seasons — the final two years of his eight-year professional career — with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In seven years, Morris Stroud caught 54 passes for 977 yards, seven touchdowns, and averaged 18.1 yards per reception. However, Stroud became a notable special teams player — specifically at blocking field goals. On many opponents' field goal attempts, Stroud lined up under the goalposts and tried to deflect the ball as it came down. Later rules changes led to the adoption of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (informally known as the "Stroud Rule"): "Goal tending by any player leaping up to deflect a kick as it passes above the crossbar of a goal post is prohibited. The referee could award 3 points for a palpably unfair act".
There you have it.
-Skinpinch
2006 Official NFL Rule Book
This is the actual Rule Book and not the NFL Digest that is available via the NFL website. The rule in question is on page 87 ... of 148! So many pages!
I ran a quick search on the rule and came across this inquiry:
<< <i>However, the wording could be interpreted to mean that a block in front of the crossbar is permissable. >>
Here's the link:
Question Re: Goal-Tending Rule
So the rule reads, "Goal-tending by any player leaping up to deflect a kick as it passes above the crossbar of a goalpost is prohibited." But wait, when the ball is deflected, is it not IN FRONT of the goalpost and not "above the crossbar"?
I realize this is a technicality, but above the crossbar is above the crossbar and any deflection would most likely be in front of the crossbar and not above. Just more food for thought I suppose.
/s/ JackWESQ
/s/ JackWESQ