I watched some Alabama games on YouTube recently, mostly from the late 70's. I was struck by the way the referees spotted the ball on run plays and the forward progress given on passes. Running backs were usually spotted where the knee or elbow hit the ground, not where the ball was at the time. On pass receptions, the reception was often marked at the point where the receiver went down, even if he caught the ball 2-3 yards downfield and was knocked backwards by the tackle. Maybe those were the rules at the time, but on the running plays especially, the runner was often shorted a yard and a half on a carry. It makes me wonder how the current method of spotting the ball would have impacted the rushing yards of some of the great backs of that era. Does anyone know if this was a change in rule or a change in method by the officials. I also noticed that unlike today, balls were seldom marked exactly on a yard marker. Today, the number of times a ball is not directly in line with a marker on the field are few. It happens inside the 10 more than anywhere on the field.
