Grahamhawker
Well-known member
pmedic920":7v2d9tr6 said:On this note, I have a serious question.
What is the rule regarding “off sides” / “neutral zone infraction?
And why does it seem that the Packers get so many free plays out them.
Is it totally up to the refs in f they blow the whistle to stop the play?
I think it somewhat comes down to ref judgement. Just like those game-changing holding calls that appear from nowhere.
The issue is that offsides by itself is not a dead ball foul. A defensive player can jump offside and get back on the d side with no penalty or whistle. Encroachment (contact made presnap) is a dead ball foul. Neutral zone infraction (forcing a false start) is a dead ball foul. Offsides -when accompanied by "player safety risk" ie unabated to QB- is a dead ball foul.
So the whole free play scenario is when a player is offside at the snap, but hasn't done enough to be called for encroachment or NZI, and is not considered to be unabated. That last part is where it's most open to judgement.
Maybe Rodgers is just better at it than the rest of the league, maybe not. The judgement call nature leaves that open for interpretation as well. Seems like a rule that could use some cleaning up. And isn't attempting to draw the defense offside technically a penalty by itself?
https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2020-nfl-rulebook/#section-4-action-at-or-before-the-snap
Item 5. Attempt to Draw Offside. Any obvious attempt by the quarterback or other player in position to receive the snap to draw an opponent offside is a False Start.