DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum NFL Goaltending rule

I had no idea there was a goaltending rule in the NFL.



It was part of the following article on an interesting proposal

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...h-the-uprights/

huh, i would actually like to see this now that i think about it. put some really athletic guys under the post on a long FG, can make something even more interesting

actually, i've always wondered about this. thanks

I think that there wasn't a rule for "Goaltending" for a long time. Then, KC drafted a guy named Morris Stroud or something like that. He was a TE who could jump. I think this was in the late 60s or early 70s. He would line up and try to block FGs. I believe the NFL came up w/the rule due to him.

I too did not know this was a thing. As a joke when I would play friends in Madden, I would always line a guy up back there and jump like crazy as it went through.

I had no idea how it came to be. Thanks for the info.

As an aside,

I've come to the realization that the entire FG/PAT post should be put back in the endzone (where it rightly belongs).

Using it as a pick was a true talent for QB and receiver.

Good for highlights - keep the secondary and LBs honest, especially for red zone plays. Add some drama to an increasingly sterile game.

Yep. Dad was right all along.

Especially now with guys over 7 feet tall, jumpers, and such. Especially brilliant and possible for longer FG where it will be driven low.

Today, I learned. Thankssoververymuch!

I had forgotten there was a rule in place against goaltending. Erich Barnes was one we put back there to try and block on long kicks.

I wonder why it is ok to try and block a kick at the beginning of the play but not at the end? Makes no sense to me.

You mean like...basketball?

Similar but actually quite different..

NFL adds new rule making it a 15-yard penalty to clear snow off field before kicks


The Colts would not have made it to overtime last year if they had been correctly penalized

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-a...d-before-kicks/

The Bills and Colts played one heck of a weird football game last year, with the two questionably talented teams engaging in slow-motion battle in a Buffalo-area blizzard. Snow was dumping so hard before the game you couldn't see what was actually happening on the field, and the footage captured from the game was marvelous.

The game went completely off the rails, with Buffalo eventually winning in overtime. The game only went to the extra period because longtime Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri buried a knuckleballing extra point after Colts players and game-day personnel helped clear the field for his kick.

Should the same situation unfold in 2018, the Colts would be assessed a penalty, according to a change to the 2018 NFL rulebook. As noted by the helpful striped gents at Football Zebras, the NFL added a provision making it illegal for non-players to clear snow off the field prior to any kind of kick.

"It is impermissible for the grounds crew or other team personnel to clear away snow for a Try, field goal, punt, or kickoff," the rule now reads. "Officials should try to prevent this as soon as they see someone coming out on the field, thus avoiding the need to call a penalty."

The rule also notes that "players may help clear snow, using only their hands and feet (no towels, etc.)."

If you go back and look at the extra point in question, you see both happen. Originally, with 1:16 left on the clock and the Colts trailing 7-6, the players are all kicking snow everywhere, trying to open up a spot for kicking the long extra point. It's pretty hilarious to watch.

But what you don't see among the players kicking and right before the kick is that the Colts called timeout and sent a bunch of members of their game-day staff -- mostly grounds crew type folks, I believe -- onto the field in order to help clear out the spot where Vinatieri was going to kick.

Football Zebras helpfully points out this was already against the rules in the NFL's game-day operations manual, but there previously wasn't anything in place to actually punish anyone for engaging in the snow-clearing behavior. At best, you would have to warn the group on the field or warn the sideline before actually punishing the team.

At the time, the officials did all they could, sprinting over and chasing the group off the field.


Perhaps this was the rare savvy in-game decision by Chuck Pagano? More than likely it was just a desperate move designed to try and make the kick easier for Vinatieri. It certainly worked, with the Colts kicker waffling one in to tie things up and send the game to overtime.

(Quick aside: this is a perfect example of how gambling on football makes things more interesting and runs counterintuitive to rooting for a team. The Colts tied the game up but it actually hurt anyone who bet on the Colts, who were underdogs in this game. The Bills would score a walk-off touchdown in overtime, covering the spread. The under certainly hit though!)

Now, however, sending anyone off the sideline and onto the field in order to clear out snow wouldn't have the same result. Instead, the Colts would be penalized 15 yards and Vinatieri would be staring down a field goal even he probably wouldn't be able to bury in that kind of snowstorm.

Wow!

This burning issue is what the NFL needed to address? Just astounding. How much time to snap it is a concern. Use a TO and tidy up some. Inane. I am missing something here.

I think they do not want to have the grounds crew helping the home team .. but possibly not the away team .. so only players on the field can try to clear an area.

Question...

What if you're at the 5 yardline and send the grounds crew out to the 20 yardline to clear snow. You're assessed the 15 yards but the ground where you're kicking is now clear of snow.

Is this a viable option and a loophole in the rule? But I guess if it's that bad from 5 yards, the amount of snow you can clear is irrelevant.

Can you drag a backup WR around to clear a spot to kick from?

How about building a fort, to protect the kicker from any outside pressure.

I suspected that. But for that, it is silly. Why not have game stoppage and clear it? Or let me take the penalty (cause it) and clean two areas. Just sillier as I look at it. Can you throw snowballs at the ball like skeet shooting or to interfere with the kicker? Really would ice him!

I see potential for a lot of crowd appeal. Has no bearing on any stadium.

Legit question.

Good one!

I like the way you think Device. Belichik would do something like this and be called a "genius".

Maybe have the entire kicking team do snow angels .....?

I still like the idea of snow banks on the outside. imagine the visuals of opposing players blowing through the banks ..... snow exploding everywhere .....

Can the defense come over and kick snow back onto the spot?

I actually thought the rule was common sense. I even enjoyed the line about the towel, but I could see it as micromanaging.

If I recall the Baltimore Colts in late'50s to early '60 used R.C.Owens in this capacity,hence he earned nickname Alley Opp.

This is BS. The ball is in play until it goes through the uprights. Why does the NFL continue to take great plays away from their fans?

I wondered that myself during the Colts/Bills game. Why not? Heck, if it's about crossing the line of scrimmage, pick up the snow and throw it.

I would think that would be awesome gamesmanship. The team is desperately trying to clear out a patch of snow, while the defense is pouring in volley of snowballs against them.

If you did that, you would have just cleared the spot from where you are now snapping.. not from where you are kicking. (this is something the Browns would do) Belichick would go clear around the 27/28 yard line..

But I see your point..

It would give the backup and 3rd string qb's a play to get in on during snow games.

I remember Erich Barnes doing that - knocking the ball away to stop a game tying field goal.. the other team recovered the ball and scored a touchdown to win the game...

Alternate reality where Brock Osweiler is an all-pro goaltender and leads the Browns to a wildcard game. Of course our luck is short, even in this universe, and the game ends when the Steelers kick a short 56 yard, game winning field goal that bounces off of Brock's helmet and over the field goal post. Brock would never be the same after that and the Browns end up signing JR Smith the following off-season.