Fumble vs. Muff

[bamajake]

For the benefit of those who do not know this, a kicking team cannot advance a muffed punt when it is past the neutral zone. If a member of the receiving team attempts to catch a punt in flight and he does not catch it but makes contact with the ball, the kicking team can recover it but they cannot advance it. If the return man actually gains possession of the punt and then fumbles, the kicking team can then pick it up and run.

In my game last night, the home team was trailing late in the first half. They punted to the visiting team. The return man tried to catch the punt but couldn't do so. A member of the home team picked it up on the fly and ran about 30 yards to the end zone. The home team fans were just about ready to lynch us when we spotted the ball on the 31 or 32 yard line and they didn't get the touchdown.

 

[Jref]

And it doesn't matter if the kick has touched the ground or is still in the air when it's muffed. The same rule applies: K can recover but not advance.

(MUFF = unsuccessful attempt to gain possession of a loose ball)

 

[tidehawk]

Good discussion. Most people don't realize the differrence in a muff and a fumble. A lot of that comes from them watching TV and getting faulty information from TV commentators.

 

[bamajake]

What? You mean that TV announcers don't always know what they are talking about?

By the way, for those who don't also know, if a punt (or kickoff) bounces off of the receiver and into the endzone and a member of the kicking team recovers it, it is not a touchdown, it is a touchback. The ball is dead immediately when it breaks the plane of the goal.

 

[bamaump8]

What? You mean that TV announcers don't always know what they are talking about?

By the way, for those who don't also know, if a punt (or kickoff) bounces off of the receiver and into the endzone and a member of the kicking team recovers it, it is not a touchdown, it is a touchback. The ball is dead immediately when it breaks the plane of the goal.

To add to this, the reasoning for this is because the kick or punt had not ended. It doesn't end until possession has been gained.

 

[Jref]

Another strange-looking play can occur on blocked punts that rebound into the kicking team's end zone.

If the kicking team falls on the ball in it's own end zone, or it goes out of bounds in the end zone, the result is a safety.

To the uninitiated, this seems to be wrong. After all, the receiving team's player blocked the kick, which caused the ball to go into the end zone. Why isn't this a touchback?

By rule, the original impetus (or force) was provided by the kick, and that force is not changed by the block. So the kicking team is responsible for the ball being in their end zone, and must get it out or suffer the consequences.