The Tuck Rule
OK, so if you can change the rule, at what point do you change from incomplete pass to fumble? 90*? 75*? 45*?
Long boring dribble ahead... ;)
How about if it is batted or dropped??
Putting an angle on it won't change much.
What about cases where the ball is batted before it leaves the QB hand?
There is no question the QB was attempting to throw, but it's a pass if the hand went foward.
I understand the pass starts when the ball goes foward, not when it leaves the QB's posession, and this is what I feel needs to change.
I think there's enough visible and tangible elements of a completed throwing motion to base the start of a pass at that moment.
Let's say the QB drops a ball at the end of the throwing arc in an attempt to tuck it in.
Rules aside, what's missing from that to make it a thrown ball or a dropped ball?
The answer is the way the ball leaves the QBs possesion- it's momentum.
A dropped ball has an entirely different momentum than a thrown ball, even though the actual distance may not be that different.
The ball's momentum is also different on a shuffle pass, and it changes on contact of a player.
The ball's momentum is a tangible and physical attribute, and the NFL has recognized this by allowing the review of a tipped ball.
It's not reviewable in other instances- but should be.
A reciever being pushed out of bounds is a good example- they exclude it from replay because it's a judgement call.
In reality, there is the impetus of the reciever and the resulting momentum of the ball, which just happens to be partly the basis for that 'judgement'.
Bottom line:
- Make the start of the pass the moment the ball leaves the passer's possesion.
- Questions about the status of the ball being thrown vs. dropped shall be judged by the impetus of the throwing hand and resulting momentum of the ball.
- Questions about the status of the ball that is batted, inadvertantly bumped, or otherwise contacted in a way that changes the momentum of the ball to leave the passer's possesion shall be ruled a fumble.
Is there something that wouldn't be covered with that?