Jets fans and some of the NY media are atwitter over the block to end last night's game, saying the official improperly moved Dont'a Hightower, rather than give him a flag for improperly lining up over the long snapper. The rules state that "When Team A presents a punt, field-goal, or Try Kick formation, a Team B player, who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage, must have his entire body outside the snapper’s shoulder pads at the snap."
Hightower was clearly within the snapper's pads, though it's questionable whether he was within a yard of the play. Had he been flagged for it, it would have, per Rule 9-1-3(a) (PDF link to the rule book), resulted in a five-yard penalty, perhaps altering Nick Folk's kick strategy.
The video is below:
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Apparently, this happens regularly. InsideHandoff.com's Zoltán Buday:
It took me 10 minutes to find two PATs over the past two weeks where a referee helped a player not line up across the long snapper
— Zoltán Buday (@zoltan_buday) October 17, 2014
Ignoring the multitude of blown calls that benefited the Jets, not the least of which was the reception on the final (David Nelson's?) drive that really ought to have been reviewed, did the officials screw this one up?
Hightower was clearly within the snapper's pads, though it's questionable whether he was within a yard of the play. Had he been flagged for it, it would have, per Rule 9-1-3(a) (PDF link to the rule book), resulted in a five-yard penalty, perhaps altering Nick Folk's kick strategy.
The video is below:
Loading
View on Instagram
@-webkit-keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} } @keyframes"dkaXkpbBxI"{ 0%{opacity:0.5;} 50%{opacity:1;} 100%{opacity:0.5;} }
Apparently, this happens regularly. InsideHandoff.com's Zoltán Buday:
It took me 10 minutes to find two PATs over the past two weeks where a referee helped a player not line up across the long snapper
— Zoltán Buday (@zoltan_buday) October 17, 2014
Ignoring the multitude of blown calls that benefited the Jets, not the least of which was the reception on the final (David Nelson's?) drive that really ought to have been reviewed, did the officials screw this one up?