FanPost

Best Seat in The House: What the Heck is 'Encroachment?'

Nope, no encroachment here, just some winners and losers. - Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Well this is starting to get to be a weekly thing, nearly. It almost seems like some people may not see the greatness staring them right in the face. Only joking, guys. There’s no way the OFD Premium subscriptions could cover the liability insurance for someone like me driving the Company Car anyway.

Lamborghini-veneno-elite-daily_medium


I can’t even qualify for my own real driver’s license due to what they call a "pre-existing condition."

How’s everyone feeling after this last week off? I know, personally I completely gorged myself on some delicious cheeseburgers and became overjoyed seeing our beloved Fig Things move up in the rankings after playing a competitor this week that was, actually, more difficult than some of the teams ahead of us in the polls(Looking @ you, BAYLOR). Anyway, the Purdue game gave me so much good officiating-themed content that I want to submit another rules lesson and mix in some mechanics and behind-the-pigskin content around another interesting scenario that happened during the game. Here’s the clip:

This caused some confusion and frustration in the post-game thread. Since I was at the game, myself, I have no idea if y’all were cursing your televisions DURING the game but it was interesting to read this comment the day after:

"Officiating was a mess. Can they call offsides before the ball is snapped like that?
-Goodoltk"

I initially misunderstood our Good Ol friend, TK. It thought he was asking about the defense going offside and the play is blown dead if the defender has a clear path to the QB or if he immediately threatens a lineman. In both of these situations, the ball is declared dead(Rules 7-1-5-2 & 5). What he was ACTUALLY asking about was rule 7-1-3-c. My humblest of apologies, TK. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.

"Rule 7-1-3

Offensive Team Requirements – Prior to the Snap

Each of the following(a-d) is a dead-ball foul. Officials should blow the whistle and not allow the play to continue. After the ball is ready for play(RFP), and before it is snapped:

a. Snapper: The snapper(Rule 2-27-8):

i. May not move to a different position nor have any part of his body beyond the NZ

ii. May not lift the ball, move it beyond the NZ or simulate the start of play

iii. May take his hand(s) off the ball, but only if this does not simulate the start of play

b. Nine-yard Marks.

i. Each Team A Substitute must have been between the nine-yard marks. Team A players who participated in the previous down must have been between the nine yard marks after the previous down and before the next snap.

ii. All Team A players must have been between the nine-yard marks after a charged team timeout, an injury timeout, a media timeout or the end of the period.

c. Encroachment. Once the snapper is established no other Team A player may be in or beyond the neutral zone [Exceptions: (1) Substitutes and departing players; and (2) offensive players in a scrimmage kick formation who break the neutral zone with their hands to point at opponents.]

d. False start. No Team A player may commit a false start(Rule 7-1-2-b) or contact an opponent.

PENALTY- [a-d] Dead-ball foul: five yards from the succeeding spot."

~~~

What do I think of this after seeing it a few times and applying my experiences to this situation? Well the first thing that jumps out to me is that Mayock is partially right in his initial commentary. He’s incorrect that the call can only be made when the ball is snapped because, as we read in the rule this is a DEAD ball foul. He then says "..he could just get back." Well, by RULE that is not right, but officiating is an art and not a science. It’s very similar to being a law enforcement officer in that sometimes you can let go a person going 49 in a 45 mph zone. If you’re going by the strict letter of the law then immediately after the center touches the ball only incoming and outgoing substitutes are allowed to be briefly in the NZ as they move to their position. Will Fuller is not in this category so by rule, he has violated encroachment rules.

HOWEVER, in practice I don’t like this call. This is where I side with Mayock. The reason for encroachment is to prevent interior linemen from gaining an advantage. If you were run blocking and your RG is a whole head across the NZ, he’s got a split second more than the defender across from him has in the area of making a blocking play. For WR…this is not the case. There are two scenarios that lead me prove this out. The Redding Study Guide(which is not a substitution for the rulebook but is the best addendum to the rules available) has only two plays to help us.

"After the RFP and after snapper A52 touches the ball, A63 lines up with his head in the NZ. Ruling: Encr."

In talking about this rule as it relates to a SCRIMMAGE KICK, there is this play scenario:

"After the RFP, the snapper places his hands on the ball, WR A90 goes into a 3-pt stance. His head breaks the plane of the SCR line. Ruling: Encr."

Now the second play makes it seem like the WR can be called for this in general, but since this section is about SCRIMMAGE kicks, what they’re talking about is something like this, which is basically the same thing I’m describing. A foul by an interior lineman gaining a blocking advantage:

I agree with Mayock here because the HL really should be less strict on this. In the post-game thread, Cyrish actually asked if the official shouldn’t he help with the alignment of the outside receiver?

And yes, that’s part of the pre-snap mechanic. The receiver goes out and tells the official nearest him whether he’s on or off the line. After the game, Kelly informed us that Fuller actually failed to check up on this particular play and because of this, I’m more lenient in criticizing the Line Judge for this call, but unless he was habitually lining up in the NZ I still disagree with making this call. Just tell him, "Hey! #7, the line is here." Try to prevent a foul from occurring when you can, especially here, because Fuller isn’t gaining ANYTHING by being a foot over the line way out there.

The other thing that I don’t understand(and maybe this is a crew thing just for this crew) but see the signal the L is making? That’s called the "Iron Cross" and is used to indicate a substitution. You’ll see that mostly by the official whose sideline is on offense. He relays it to the R who will then mimic the signal to the U who will then stand over the ball long enough to allow the defense to match substitutions. However, since ND is on offense and the L is on the Purdue sideline there shouldn’t be any reason for him to indicate a substitution. I don’t know if that’s something these guys do to indicate "hey, I’ve got someone over the LOS" but it seems strange to do that, to me. The last little nit that I have here is the R saying on the mic that this foul is for "Offside." Only the defense can be OFFSIDE(well the kicking team can be offside too, but that’s a kick). This penalty is ENCROACHMENT. I’m thinking the L probably told him "offside" and that’s why he said it.

In the end, I don’t disagree with the CALL because it is 100% proper to make it, but I kind of disagree with actually calling it for this particular instance. The official likely won’t be marked for this but his mates and the evaluator for this game may ask him why he made it and encourage him to refrain in the future. I hope everyone learned something from this. Happy calling, everyone!

FanPosts are primarily for readers of One Foot Down to share and express information and commentary. The content provided doesn't always reflect the voice or collective thought of One Foot Down.