I had no idea there was a goaltending rule in the NFL.
Quote:
The NFL currently has a rule against goaltending on field goals and extra points: A player who jumps up and touches a ball as it is about to go through the goal posts in an attempt to block a field goal is flagged for goaltending, a 15-yard penalty.
It was part of the following article on an interesting proposal
I had no idea there was a goaltending rule in the NFL.
Quote:
The NFL currently has a rule against goaltending on field goals and extra points: A player who jumps up and touches a ball as it is about to go through the goal posts in an attempt to block a field goal is flagged for goaltending, a 15-yard penalty.
It was part of the following article on an interesting proposal
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
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.
Hey I actually used Google and this was the first thing noted:
Morris Stroud No. 88 Position: Tight end Personal information Born: May 17, 1946 Miami, Florida Died: October 17, 2016 (aged 70) Kansas City, Missouri Height: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Weight: 255 lb (116 kg) Career information High school: Fairmont High school College: Clark Atlanta NFL Draft: 1969 / Round: 3 / Pick: 76 by the Kansas City Chiefs Career history Kansas City Chiefs (1969–1974) Career highlights and awards Super Bowl Champion (IV) AFL Champion (1969) Career NFL statistics Receiving yards: 977 Receptions: 54 Receiving TDs: 7 Games started: 49 Games played: 69 Player stats at PFR Morris Stroud Jr. (May 17, 1946 – October 17, 2016) was a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He did not play in the 1969 regular season but was on the roster for the 1969 AFL Championship Game. From 1970 to 1974, he played for the NFL's Chiefs. At 6 foot 10 inches tall, Stroud is believed to have been the tallest tight end, and the second tallest player at any position, in the history of the NFL.[1] Stroud wore uniform #88.
As a student at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia, the Miami, Florida-born Stroud was a center and power forward on the Panthers' basketball team. Despite Stroud having little experience on the gridiron, Chiefs head coach Hank Stram selected him in the third round of the 1969 NFL Draft as a tight end.
In seven years, Morris Stroud caught 54 passes for 977 yards, seven touchdowns, and averaged 18.1 yards per reception. However, Stroud became a notable special teams player — specifically at blocking field goals. On many opponents' field goal attempts, Stroud lined up under the goalposts and tried to deflect the ball as it came down. Later rule changes led to the adoption of Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 (informally known as the "Stroud Rule"): "Goal tending by any player leaping up to deflect a kick as it passes above the crossbar of a goal post is prohibited. The referee could award 3 points for a palpably unfair act".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Legit question.
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 .....
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.
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.
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..
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.
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...
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.
It would give the backup and 3rd string qb's a play to get in on during snow games.
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.
