Thought this might be a good idea after the discussion on illegal forward pass, which is mentioned first.
- A quarterback can throw a pass with the ball past the line of scrimmage. The QB can be stretched out across the line and throw. As long as any part of his body is still behind the line (even a heel or foot), the pass is legal.
- A team can attempt a field goal after making a fair catch with no defensive rush put on them. This is very rare, but most of you are probably aware of this one. Mason Crosby actually attempted such a field goal late in 2008, a 69 yarder that came up just short. Since there are very few situations where you would want to use this, it's rare. The most common is right before the end of a half, or potentially, a game if a fair catch was made with no time left and a 65 yarder could win it. The defense must play at least 10 yards back. The only restriction on the offense is that a tee cannot be used, it must be held like a field goal. I believe such a kick can be attempted even if time expired on the punt.
- A team can make the extra point without actually kicking it though the uprights. If the snap is botched, and in the scram is knocked out of bounds IN the endzone last touched by a defensive player, the offensive team is awarded one point.
- A team can get the ball at the 40 on a kickoff without the ball actually being kicked out of bounds. The receiving player must simply place a part of his body so it touches the sidelines while he is touching the ball in the field of play, and a flag will be thrown for illegal kickoff out of bounds. Cobb did this last year and Jeremy Ross early this year.
- When there is a 5 yard penalty by one team on a play, and a 15 yard penalty by the other team, by rule the 5 yard penalty MUST be declined and only the 15 yarder is enforced. The only exception is if there was a change of possession on the down. In that case, the penalties still offset.
- When a team is playing at home and is on defense, the referees can, at their discretion, take a timeout from the defense or call a 5 yard penalty on the defense (if they are out of timeouts) for excessive crowd noise if they determine that the crowd noise is preventing the offense from hearing signals. (can't remember the last time this was actually enforced)
- A quarterback can throw a pass with the ball past the line of scrimmage. The QB can be stretched out across the line and throw. As long as any part of his body is still behind the line (even a heel or foot), the pass is legal.
- A team can attempt a field goal after making a fair catch with no defensive rush put on them. This is very rare, but most of you are probably aware of this one. Mason Crosby actually attempted such a field goal late in 2008, a 69 yarder that came up just short. Since there are very few situations where you would want to use this, it's rare. The most common is right before the end of a half, or potentially, a game if a fair catch was made with no time left and a 65 yarder could win it. The defense must play at least 10 yards back. The only restriction on the offense is that a tee cannot be used, it must be held like a field goal. I believe such a kick can be attempted even if time expired on the punt.
- A team can make the extra point without actually kicking it though the uprights. If the snap is botched, and in the scram is knocked out of bounds IN the endzone last touched by a defensive player, the offensive team is awarded one point.
- A team can get the ball at the 40 on a kickoff without the ball actually being kicked out of bounds. The receiving player must simply place a part of his body so it touches the sidelines while he is touching the ball in the field of play, and a flag will be thrown for illegal kickoff out of bounds. Cobb did this last year and Jeremy Ross early this year.
- When there is a 5 yard penalty by one team on a play, and a 15 yard penalty by the other team, by rule the 5 yard penalty MUST be declined and only the 15 yarder is enforced. The only exception is if there was a change of possession on the down. In that case, the penalties still offset.
- When a team is playing at home and is on defense, the referees can, at their discretion, take a timeout from the defense or call a 5 yard penalty on the defense (if they are out of timeouts) for excessive crowd noise if they determine that the crowd noise is preventing the offense from hearing signals. (can't remember the last time this was actually enforced)