AboutDarrel Expertise I can answer most general NFL questions, don't know much about the college game. I can help with any kind of rules questions, federation, college, or pro.
Question QUESTION: Is there a rule preventing a player with the ball, who needs to stop the clock (as he is about to tackled in bounds, for instance) from simply turning and throwing a lateral out of bounds?
I have never seen this done at any level of play.
ANSWER: Yes, there is a rule in all levels of football which would prohibit this action, aside of the loss in yardage, the clock would start on the referee's ready for play instead of the snap of the ball.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Darrel,
Thanks for the answer, but I have three follow-up questions:
1. Is there a certain time or game situation when this rule comes into play.
2. Is there an exception if there's a player in the area to receive such a lateral, and if so, would it be a judgment call whether said player missed it on purpose so it (the ball) could go out of bounds.
3. The consequences you describe (without a run-off, for instance) would still allow a team to save a meaningful amount of time in certain desperation situations, so I really don't understand why it's never used.
Thanks,
Paul
Answer 1. There are no exceptions to the rule, but in reality no one would probably even consider it until late in a game or half.
2. If someone was in a position to receive a lateral, then yes that would have to be considered a judgement call.
3. The NFL does use a 10-second runoff rule, and with the referee winding the clock on the ready for play + the yardage marked off for the penalty it would be prohibitive for a team to attempt such a play.
So, I'm not sure a team would actually gain anything aside of perhaps being able to call a play while the penalty options were accessed.
