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distance to the goal, then the ball is placed at the spot of the foul, instead. For example, if the line of scrimmage is at the 16-yard line, and the foul occurs at the 7-yard line, it is greater than half the distance (8-yard line) but less than 10 yards (6-yard line) so it is placed at the spot of the foul.
145:, such as well out of bounds. If a receiver is nearby but fails to catch the ball, or if a defender deflects the pass, there is no penalty. Conversely, if the pass is caught by an ineligible receiver, intentional grounding may still be called if there is no nearby eligible receiver (although a penalty of
253:
If the foul occurs when the line of scrimmage is inside the offense's own 20-yard line, then the penalty would be assessed half the distance to the goal, rather than the full 10 yards. In such a case, if the spot of the foul is within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage but is greater than half the
126:
on the line. If the quarterback scrambles to either side and is closer to the sideline than that side's tackle lined up, there is no penalty. The NFL added this element of the rule in 1993 in order to protect quarterbacks;
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the ball automatically results in a penalty of intentional grounding, regardless of any other factors. However, the rules explicitly allow the quarterback to spike the ball immediately after receiving it from the center to
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A ball carrier, in any location, commits intentional grounding when throwing a pass with no realistic chance of completion in order to avoid a sack; for instance, throwing the football down near himself. In particular,
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and return the ball to the line of scrimmage, avoiding any loss of yardage); instead, the penalty of intentional grounding effectively continues play as if the defense had succeeded in sacking the quarterback.
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followed suit in 2022. However, intentional grounding can be called on a quarterback (or other offensive ballcarrier) outside the pocket if the pass fails to go beyond the line of scrimmage. In the
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The passer must face "imminent loss of yardage." There is no violation when the passer is not about to be tackled but the receiver simply fails to run the route the quarterback expects.
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In the NFL, the offense is penalized 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, except in specific circumstances. In college football, the ball is placed at the spot of the pass.
396:
439:
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135:, the quarterback is not subject to an intentional grounding penalty regardless of his location, so long as the pass reaches the line of scrimmage.
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is a violation of the rules where "a passer...throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion." This typically happens when a
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The penalty for intentional grounding has several components so that the offense gains no benefit from the violation:
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mistakenly spiked the ball when the clock was stopped. He was correctly penalized for intentional grounding. See
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of the game clock, if the defense desires. This ensures that intentional grounding is not an effective means of
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Like many offensive penalties, intentional grounding committed near the end of either half results in a
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39:. Without this rule, the quarterback could almost always avoid a sack by intentionally throwing an
320:"Revised Intentional Grounding, Chop Block Rules Headline 2022 High School Football Rules Changes"
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322:(Press release). National Federation of State High School Associations. February 17, 2022
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would also be called, forcing the defense to decide which penalty to accept, if any).
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Intentional grounding is called only if all of the following components are present:
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rather than replaying the down, as is the case for most other penalties.
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Stopping the clock implies the clock was running. On
November 3, 2018,
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207:, intentional grounding is legal in order to make the game safer.
234:"Ref made the right call on Patrick Mahomes grounding penalty"
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The rule against intentional grounding seems to date from
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If the quarterback threw the pass from his team's own
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The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Football
35:
passes the ball toward an area of the field with no
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368:Theismann, Joe; Tarcy, Brian (July 2001).
141:The ball must be passed where there is no
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122:(or "pocket"), the area between the two
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714:
371:The complete idiot's guide to football
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277:Official Rules of the NFL, Rule 8-3-1.
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118:, the quarterback must be inside the
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397:"The Pro Bowl's search for meaning"
395:Jackson, Scoop (January 26, 2012).
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306:"More Protection Awaits Qb Assets"
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524:Illegal touching of a free kick
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341:Beacom, Mike (3 August 2010).
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1:
554:Ineligible receiver downfield
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290:The Forward Pass in Football
180:being scored by the defense.
16:Penalty in American football
7:
722:Gridiron football penalties
195:
176:, the penalty results in a
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10:
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641:Helmet-to-helmet collision
304:Don Pierson (1993-07-23).
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651:Illegal hands to the face
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621:Blocking below the waist
236:. NBC Sports. 2018-11-04
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701:Unsportsmanlike conduct
559:Neutral zone infraction
60:, two seasons after an
165:The offense loses the
64:ceased to result in a
605:Intentional grounding
534:Illegal participation
287:Berry, Elmer (1921).
25:intentional grounding
686:Roughing the snapper
656:Illegal forward kick
600:Illegal use of hands
544:Illegal substitution
519:Illegal forward pass
468:Equipment violations
129:high school football
681:Roughing the passer
676:Roughing the kicker
646:Horse-collar tackle
569:Sideline infraction
139:Target of the pass:
590:Helping the runner
308:. Chicago Tribune.
225:Kansas City Chiefs
102:Imminent pressure:
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708:
661:Pass interference
614:15-yard penalties
585:Block in the back
578:10-yard penalties
514:Illegal formation
449:Gridiron football
185:ten-second runoff
143:eligible receiver
124:offensive tackles
37:eligible receiver
21:gridiron football
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549:Illegal touching
482:5-yard penalties
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539:Illegal shift
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43:(which would
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499:Encroachment
463:Penalty flag
404:. Retrieved
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326:February 25,
324:. Retrieved
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238:. Retrieved
227:quarterback
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70:forward pass
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31:about to be
24:
18:
504:False start
374:. Penguin.
347:. Penguin.
29:quarterback
626:Chop block
494:Time count
473:Unfair act
406:25 January
262:References
240:2024-02-14
120:tackle box
636:Face mask
452:penalties
108:Location:
72:in 1906.
716:Category
696:Tripping
691:Spearing
631:Clipping
401:ESPN.com
205:Pro Bowl
196:Pro Bowl
174:end zone
92:time out
76:Elements
66:turnover
666:Leaping
595:Holding
564:Offside
200:In the
154:Penalty
116:college
110:In the
83:spiking
52:History
378:
351:
178:safety
33:sacked
211:Notes
408:2012
376:ISBN
349:ISBN
328:2023
167:down
114:and
58:1914
202:NFL
133:CFL
112:NFL
19:In
718::
399:.
270:^
94:.
23:,
441:e
434:t
427:v
410:.
384:.
357:.
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293:.
243:.
191:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.