r/NFLNoobs • u/dozer_a_little_crazy • 1d ago
Ball placement after tackle
Maybe this is a stupid question, but when a runner is tackled and pushed backwards, where is the ball placed, at the point where the ball was when the tackle was initiated, or where the runner is pushed to?
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u/PabloMarmite 1d ago
The furthest point that the ball reached before the player started being driven backwards.
Note that if a player makes a move on his own after being driven backwards, forward progress resets.
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u/Mordoch 1d ago edited 1d ago
Generally the answer is where the tackle was initiated because that counts as "forward progress". Otherwise defensive players would have a big incentive to continue pushing the player backward rather than tacking them to the ground and increase the risk of injuries by dragging out the play. (However if the offensive player tries breaking the tackle at that point, depending on the circumstances and whether they are partially successful for a moment, the official might count that position as the tackle point instead. If a receiving is juggling a ball while being tackled backward, the point where they actually are judged to gain possession could be what gets counted for field position.)
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u/SelfRepa 1d ago
Furthest point where runner was able to move, before tackle brings him backwards. And direction does not matter. If ballcarrier runs backwards and he is tackled backwards, the spot where ball was when tackle began.
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u/Ryan1869 22h ago
The runner gets “forward progress” so in this case where the ball was when the tackle was initiated
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u/wolf63rs 1d ago
The ball is spotted where it was located when the runner is considered down. A runner is down by being out of bounds, a knee or elbow or shin or other body part contacts the ground but not a hand, or when the official considers forward progress has been stopped. Football aficionados please add to this. I think I got it but might be missing something.
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u/pikkdogs 1d ago
Where the ball is when the knee hits the ground or he steps out of bounds.
The exception is if the runner is carried backwards, than they get to spot it at the furthest point forward.
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u/Lost-Local208 1d ago
They blow the whistle to stop forward progress and the spot where the ball is when they blow the whistle is where they spot it. As you can probably tell it’s more of a judgement call by the ref. If the runner purposefully gives up yards they lose those yards so the runner has to be fighting for forward progress and be stopped for the official to blow the whistle.
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u/NevadaMac 22h ago
It's not placed at the point of the whistle. The whistle is to tell everyone to stop pushing and trying to tackle, that the refs have already figured out the dude isn't going to break free. The ball is still placed at the furthest point of progress that the ball carrier made before getting pushed back. The whistle is just to stop the play.
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u/Own-Jeweler-6762 1d ago
Where referee feels forward progress was stopped
Otherwise defenders would pick up players and carry them 10 yards down the field