Mark5 Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Is it illegal for the punting team to catch the ball IN THE AIR after the guy waives for a fair catch? Say he lets it go over his head or just waives for a fair catch around the 10 yard line and doesn't make any attempt to catch it. Do they have to let it bounce? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbob Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I thought there was a game a couple of weeks a go when the punting team was penalized when a fair catch was called and the ball hit a player from the punting team in the back. I am not sure if it was for interfering with the called fair catch, as he was close to the returner. Maybe Big John remembers the game and situation that I am thinking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 I thought there was a game a couple of weeks a go when the punting team was penalized when a fair catch was called and the ball hit a player from the punting team in the back. I am not sure if it was for interfering with the called fair catch, as he was close to the returner. Maybe Big John remembers the game and situation that I am thinking of. When a player calls for a fair catch, he must be given enough room to make the catch, otherwise it is a 15-yard fair catch interference call. That includes the punting team catching the ball in front of him. Except no call is made if a member of the punting team is blocked into him by a member of the receiving team. On the other hand, if the fair catch caller then chooses not to catch the ball (by staying away from the ball), the punting team can touch the ball at anytime including in the air, and the fair catch caller then may not block any member of the punting team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark5 Posted January 14, 2008 Author Share Posted January 14, 2008 When a player calls for a fair catch, he must be given enough room to make the catch, otherwise it is a 15-yard fair catch interference call. That includes the punting team catching the ball in front of him. Except no call is made if a member of the punting team is blocked into him by a member of the receiving team. On the other hand, if the fair catch caller then chooses not to catch the ball (by staying away from the ball), the punting team can touch the ball at anytime including in the air, and the fair catch caller then may not block any member of the punting team. Thank you Big John, I saw one instance this weekend where the punting team could have probably caught it at the 3 but it ended up going into the endzone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.