League Scoring Question

[Deacon]

How does your leage score a fumble advance (fumble recoverd by an offensive player). This came up last season and our software did not score the yardage. Does the NFL official stats keep this seperately? Does your leage include it as rushing yardage?

[SheikYerbuti]

How does your leage score a fumble advance (fumble recoverd by an offensive player). This came up last season and our software did not score the yardage. Does the NFL official stats keep this seperately? Does your leage include it as rushing yardage?

 

Mine doesn't. The yards end when my player coughs it up.

[DMD]

To my knowledge, and I believe I am right, the NFL does not keep as an official statistic the yardage on advancing a fumble. I have never seen it that I can think of and I have seen plenty of obscure stats. Just the same as the yardage on an interception return is not an official statistic. Just look at an NFL gamebook and it shows all the official statistics.

 

Sample Gamebook

[MikesVikes]

I'm looking that the MFL scoring setup right now. I remember an issue when an offensive player advanced the ball and scored a td. I don't think any points were scored unless you included "Number of Offensive Fumble Recovery TDs" in your scoring rules.

 

There are options to include Length of Offensive Fumble Recovery for Tds if you want bonus points there.

There is an option to include Offensive Fumble Recovery Yardage as well, but I don't know any league that's ever done that or award bonus points for length of Offensive Fumble Recovery either.

[MikesVikes]

I found this one while looking at "strange plays" in the MFL system. The game was the first weekend of October.

 

There have been quite a few questions about the last play of the Jets-Colts game. For those of you that missed it, the Jets had time for just one more play, and it was a short pass down the middle. But then they tried to keep the play alive by lateralling it several times in an effort to score a TD before the game ended. Here is the documentation from the Play By Play on the nfl.com GameBook page: http://nfl.com/gamecenter/gamebook/NFL_20061001_IND

(:08) (Shotgun) 10-C.Pennington pass short middle to 29-L.Washington to NYJ 40 for 8 yards [93-D.Freeney]. Lateral to 16-B.Smith to NYJ 37 for -3 yards. Lateral to 87-L.Coles to IND 44 for 19 yards. Lateral to 10-C.Pennington to IND 37 for 7 yards. Lateral to 81-J.McCareins to IND 35 for 2 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by NYJ-16-B.Smith at IND 33. 16-B.Smith to IND 37 for -4 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by NYJ-87-L.Coles at IND 40. 87-L.Coles to IND 27 for 13 yards. Lateral to 74-N.Mangold to IND 27 for no gain. FUMBLES, RECOVERED by IND-42-J.David at IND 34. 42-J.David to IND 39 for 5 yards (29-L.Washington).

For general information on how unusual plays like this are scored, please refer to our Special Plays page here: http://www.myfantasyleague.com/special_plays.htm. For this specific play, and for a refresher on how laterals and fumbles work, read on...

A lateral is considered by the NFL to be a "continuation" of the existing play. So when a play like this starts out as a pass reception, any laterals are considered to be a continuation of the reception. So c.Pennington gets credited with 1 pass completion and the ensuing pass yardage, and L.Washington gets credited with 1 reception and the reception yardage up to the point that he lateralled it. Any players after that are credited with reception yardage, but not a reception. In other words, a player can technically end up with some receiving yards, but no receptions in a game.

A fumble during a play immediately stops the "continuation" rule, so any progress that happens after the first fumble is considered to be fumble recovery yardage. The basic difference between a lateral and a fumble is that if/when the ball hits the ground, it is considered to be a fumble.

At no point during a play like this does any player accumulate "rushing" yardage, because it started out as a succeful pass completion.

So for this specific, individual play, the following stats are credited to the following players by the NFL:

C.Pennington: 1 pass for 33 passing yards

L.Washington: 1 reception for 8 yards

B.Smith: 0 receptions, but -3 receiving yards

L.Coles: 0 receptions, but 19 receiving yards

C.Pennington: 0 receptions, but 7 receiving yards

J.McCariens: 0 receptions, but 2 receiving yards, and a fumble

B.Smith: 1 own fumble recovery, plus -4 own fumble recovery yards, and a fumble

L.Coles: 1 own fumble recovery, plus 13 own fumble recovery yards

N.Mangold: 1 fumble and a fumble lost

[jaxfactor]

I found this one while looking at "strange plays" in the MFL system. The game was the first weekend of October.

 

There have been quite a few questions about the last play of the Jets-Colts game. For those of you that missed it, the Jets had time for just one more play, and it was a short pass down the middle. But then they tried to keep the play alive by lateralling it several times in an effort to score a TD before the game ended. Here is the documentation from the Play By Play on the nfl.com GameBook page: http://nfl.com/gamecenter/gamebook/NFL_20061001_IND

(:08) (Shotgun) 10-C.Pennington pass short middle to 29-L.Washington to NYJ 40 for 8 yards [93-D.Freeney]. Lateral to 16-B.Smith to NYJ 37 for -3 yards. Lateral to 87-L.Coles to IND 44 for 19 yards. Lateral to 10-C.Pennington to IND 37 for 7 yards. Lateral to 81-J.McCareins to IND 35 for 2 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by NYJ-16-B.Smith at IND 33. 16-B.Smith to IND 37 for -4 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by NYJ-87-L.Coles at IND 40. 87-L.Coles to IND 27 for 13 yards. Lateral to 74-N.Mangold to IND 27 for no gain. FUMBLES, RECOVERED by IND-42-J.David at IND 34. 42-J.David to IND 39 for 5 yards (29-L.Washington).

For general information on how unusual plays like this are scored, please refer to our Special Plays page here: http://www.myfantasyleague.com/special_plays.htm. For this specific play, and for a refresher on how laterals and fumbles work, read on...

A lateral is considered by the NFL to be a "continuation" of the existing play. So when a play like this starts out as a pass reception, any laterals are considered to be a continuation of the reception. So c.Pennington gets credited with 1 pass completion and the ensuing pass yardage, and L.Washington gets credited with 1 reception and the reception yardage up to the point that he lateralled it. Any players after that are credited with reception yardage, but not a reception. In other words, a player can technically end up with some receiving yards, but no receptions in a game.

A fumble during a play immediately stops the "continuation" rule, so any progress that happens after the first fumble is considered to be fumble recovery yardage. The basic difference between a lateral and a fumble is that if/when the ball hits the ground, it is considered to be a fumble.

At no point during a play like this does any player accumulate "rushing" yardage, because it started out as a succeful pass completion.

So for this specific, individual play, the following stats are credited to the following players by the NFL:

C.Pennington: 1 pass for 33 passing yards

L.Washington: 1 reception for 8 yards

B.Smith: 0 receptions, but -3 receiving yards

L.Coles: 0 receptions, but 19 receiving yards

C.Pennington: 0 receptions, but 7 receiving yards

J.McCariens: 0 receptions, but 2 receiving yards, and a fumble

B.Smith: 1 own fumble recovery, plus -4 own fumble recovery yards, and a fumble

L.Coles: 1 own fumble recovery, plus 13 own fumble recovery yards

N.Mangold: 1 fumble and a fumble lost

 

Thanks for that info, Mike! So if the play ended up a TD....

 

1) The QB would get credit for a completion, the total yardage, and the TD pass?

 

2) The last person to recieve the lateralled ball would get credit for recieving yardage from that point, a recieving TD, but no reception?

 

Take for instance, the Randy Moss play a few years back. I don't remember the exact yardage but Culpepper passed to Moss who then lateralled the ball to Moe Williams. Moe Williams ran the ball in from that point for a TD.

 

Culpepper- Gets completion for total yardage and TD pass

Moss- Gets credit for a reception up to the point he lateralled it and recieving yards to that point.

Moe Williams- gets credit for recieving yards from point of lateral and a TD. But what kind of TD?

 

My question for this scenario is does Moe get credit for a recieving TD, or a rushing TD? This is very important as one of my leagues gives 3 point bonus for a RB that catches a TD pass. Do I give Moe the 3 bonus points or keep it as a 6?

[MikesVikes]

Thanks for that info, Mike! So if the play ended up a TD....

 

1) The QB would get credit for a completion, the total yardage, and the TD pass?

 

2) The last person to recieve the lateralled ball would get credit for recieving yardage from that point, a recieving TD, but no reception?

 

Take for instance, the Randy Moss play a few years back. I don't remember the exact yardage but Culpepper passed to Moss who then lateralled the ball to Moe Williams. Moe Williams ran the ball in from that point for a TD.

 

Culpepper- Gets completion for total yardage and TD pass

Moss- Gets credit for a reception up to the point he lateralled it and recieving yards to that point.

Moe Williams- gets credit for recieving yards from point of lateral and a TD. But what kind of TD?

 

My question for this scenario is does Moe get credit for a recieving TD, or a rushing TD? This is very important as one of my leagues gives 3 point bonus for a RB that catches a TD pass. Do I give Moe the 3 bonus points or keep it as a 6?

 

I was searching for this play because I remember that one involving Moss. Sounds like receiving td on this one using the MFL explanation. Sounds like yes to both questions.

Edited August 19, 2007 by MikesVikes

[BS Miscreant]

To answer the initial question, no our league's and not likely anyone else's will record the yardage gained on an offensive player picking up a fumble and running with it. A couple years ago Keenan McCardell, with the Bucs, picked up a fumble ran many yards and scored. There was much confusion with the scoring of that play but ultimately McCardell was awarded, by the NFL and our league, a TD but no yardage.

[i_am_the_swammi]

The basic difference between a lateral and a fumble is that if/when the ball hits the ground, it is considered to be a fumble.

 

Partially correct...it is up to the official scorekeeper.

 

Say an RB is carrying the ball, and gets blasted by a defender. He subsequently loses the ball, but the ball pops up and is caught on the fly without hitting the ground.

 

This a fumble, not a lateral, even though it never hit the ground. Intent plays a factor in determining the play from a scoring standpoint.

 

There was much confusion with the scoring of that play but ultimately McCardell was awarded, by the NFL and our league, a TD but no yardage.

 

+1