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Fumble

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A fumble in American and Canadian football occurs when an offensive player such as the quarterback or a running back drops the ball while it is still in play. A fumble may also be forced by a defensive player who either grabs or punches the ball or butts the ball with his helmet (a move called "tackling the ball"). A fumbled ball may be recovered and advanced by either team (except at the end of the game, when the original fumbler is the only offensive player permitted to touch the ball, and even he may not advance it). It is one of two events considered to be turnovers, where possession of the ball can change during play.

Fumbles usually occur during the snap, while running the ball, or in a failed attempt at a lateral pass. Technically, however, if a player drops the ball while attempting to catch a lateral pass it is a muff (you can't "fumble" a loose ball). The result is the same and most announcers will still call it a fumble. Muffs also result when the ball is improperly fielded on kicking plays such as punts.

Contents

Rules

If the ball is fumbled the defensive team may recover the ball and even advance it to their goal. The same is true for the offense, but usually when the offense recovers the ball it simply tries to down it. The offense cannot advance the ball if it recovers its own fumble on fourth down, or in the last two minutes of the game. However, if the offense fumbles the ball, the defense recovers and then fumbles back to the offense, they would get a first down since possession had formally changed over the course of the play even though the ball had never been blown dead.

This is not the same thing as when a forward pass is attempted and the intended receiver does not catch it. In this latter case, it is simply an incomplete pass. However, if the receiver were to catch the ball, but then drop it after gaining control of the ball, that would be considered a fumble.

Any number of fumbles can be committed during a play, including fumbles by the team originally on defense. Most famously, Dallas Cowboys defender Leon Lett fumbled during Super Bowl XXVII while celebrating during his own fumble return.

A sometimes controversial rule is usually referred to as "the ground cannot cause a fumble." If a player is tackled and loses control of the ball at or after the time he makes contact with the ground, the ball is treated as dead and not in play.

The effects of fumbles vary when the ball goes out of bounds without being recovered:

In all cases, a fumble recovered by an out-of-bounds player is considered an out-of-bounds fumble even if the ball never leaves the field of play.

A punted ball that touches any part of a player on the receiving team, whether or not the player ever gains control, is also considered to be live and is treated like a fumble, except that the kicking team may only recover the ball in that situation.

In statistics

Game box scores commonly record how many fumbles a team made and how many it recovered. A fumble is credited to the last player who handled it from the possessing team, regardless of whether it may have been his fault or not.

Play during fumbles

Since footballs tend to bounce in unpredictable ways, particularly on artificial turf, attempting to recover and advance a fumbled ball is risky even for those with good manual coordination. Coaches at lower levels of the game usually therefore prefer that players, particularly those such as interior linemen who do not normally handle the ball in the course of play, simply fall on the ball. Gaining or retaining possession is more important in most situations than attempting to advance the ball and possibly score, and there have been many instances where those attempting to do so have wound up fumbling the ball back to the other team.

Recovering and advancing a fumble is also made difficult, and potentially injurious, by the effect on play. Since neither team is on offense or defense while the ball remains loose, there are no restrictions on the type of contact allowed as long as all players are making legitimate efforts to recover it. A loose ball has been described as the only situation in football where the rules are suspended.

If the ball remains loose, every player on the field will eventually gravitate towards it, increasing the chaos around it. Spectators relish the suspense. Some players, particularly offensive linemen, have a reputation for taking advantage of the situation to do things to opponents that would otherwise draw penalty flags, since the referees' attention is necessarily focused on the ball and away from the players trying to get to it. Most commonly, players will "pile on" opponents already down trying to recover the ball. Some NFL players also report that pokes in the eyes, pinches or other abuse is common in post-fumble pileups, conduct which has sometimes led to confrontations, fights or even brawls.Stier, Kit; September 22, 2004; [Behind the Scenes:The Fumble Follies]; Rockland Journal News

The usual aftermath of a fumble, at every level of play, is a pile of players, many still squirming diligently despite the whistle, surrounded by teammates pointing upfield (the hand signal for a first down) while the officials slowly extricate them in an effort to determine who has won possession. If two different players have hands on the ball, it is often a judgement call on the referees' part as to which team gets it. In the NFL this has often been the occasion for coaches to call for a review of the instant replay.

Fumbles recovered for touchdowns in the end zone are often the only way offensive linemen in the NFL have scored points.

Proper fumble recovery

The most obvious way to recover a loose football would be to fall prone atop it and cradle it between both arms against the abdomen. Amateur players are seen doing this all the time, particular when playing touch football, and it can even be seen in professional contests.

However, coaches tell players not to do this in game situations if at all possible, since not only is the ball likely to squirt loose again once other players pile on, there is also a possibility of injury from the ball being driven into the soft organs with great force.

Instead, players are taught to fall on their sides and augment their cradling with a thigh and upper body, if possible. This greatly reduces both the chance of losing the ball and the potential for injury (at least from the ball).

Coaches are also increasingly encouraging their players to use the "scoop and score" method of picking it up and attempting to return it.Easterbrook, Gregg, October 11, 2005, [Tuesday Morning Quarterback], NFL.com

Effect on game

While a change of possession has often led to, or preserved, victories, fumbles as a whole do not tend to have the impact on a game that an interception does. The latter are a more drastic change of play and more likely to result from actual skill, whereas recovering a fumble is often literally a function of luck. Teams capitalize on interceptions more frequently than they do on fumbles.

Intentional fumbling

A very rarely-used trick play known as the "fake fumble" calls for the quarterback to lay the ball on the ground as he backs up after receiving the snap, so that a pulling guard can pick it up and run the ball around the end. Coaches are very leery of calling this, however, as a team must be able to execute it flawlessly in order for it to have a chance of working in a game situation. The guard must also be able to run the ball competently and protect it when being tackled, both not usually part of the skill set for the position.

The "fake fumble" is in fact a real one as far as the rules are concerned, and if the defense manages to get the ball, the coach's judgement is likely to be questioned by fans and media alike. While it is a crowd pleaser when done properly, the risk far outweighs the likely reward. For this reason it is most likely to be used in informal touch football games. It was sometimes used in the college game before the NCAA banned it in 1992. It has almost never been used in the NFL or any other professional league.

The best-known fake fumble is probably the Fumblerooski play in the 1984 Orange Bowl (see below).

Fumbling forward, as the Holy Roller play (see below) demonstrated, once was a viable offensive tactic in desperate situations, but the rules have been changed to discourage that.

Use in place of opening coin toss

The XFL, a competing pro league which played its sole season in 2001, used a fumble recovery instead of a coin toss to decide which team would get to choose whether to kick off or receive at the opening of the game and before overtime. A player from each team would sprint, alongside the other, toward a loose ball at the middle of the field, and whoever was able to gain possession won the right for their team to decide.

The idea was that such a key element of the game would be decided by a test of playing skill, not chance. While it intrigued some fans and commentators, it is unlikely to be adopted by the NFL, NCAA or any other governing body.

Famous fumbles

Fumbles have sometimes played a role in deciding games. Some of these have been so unique as to not only earn their own distinctive sobriquets, but to change the way the game has been played afterwards.

College football

NFL

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NFL

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Reference

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
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