NFL Gameday Week 2 • Page 9

Taking bets on next TNF's controversy. It's Panthers/Texans so maybe roughing the passer?

 

When a defender enters the neutral zone prior to the snap, causing the offensive player to react or when a player routinely lines up parallel to the ball even after a warning.

 

That just drives my OCD / information science brain nuts. That makes no sense to separate those two rules.

 

Anyway I guess I was wrong again w/e

 

They are under the same rule article. The sense in separating the two is it gives more clarity to the rule, not less.

Effectively if you are lined up and not moving, you're in a neutral zone infraction, if you move into the Neutral Zone, it's offsides.

 

I’m not trying to make this a whole argument - but the latter logic is why I thought it was NZI and NOT offsides. He didn’t move until the ball moved. I didn’t pay attention to angles so he very well could’ve been past the line of scrimmage and for sure committed a penalty that hurt his team, but the slow motion replay showed the ball being snapped slightly before he bursted toward the backfield.

 

Like this is the only way it makes sense to me… and that’s a very petty distinction to make and doesnt seem like a very defining characteristic to distinguish the rules

 

Lawrence moved first. You can see the 'lift' of him moving before the ball goes.

 

Lmao I’m actually not the only one saying this but Mike Florio sucks so this isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement

 

The timing is SO close. But yeah from this video he definitely looks lined up further than the ball. I just still think it’s NZI but this is a non issue since that still loses them the game, I just am really at least trying to make sure I understand the distinction

 

Yeah you're making my point. He moved on the flex of the arms, into the neutral zone. It's a penalty. It was called a penalty.

 

see, but, it’s only a penalty on the offense to “move early”, only OL have to be perfectly still before the snap. The flex of the arms shouldn’t matter - the defense should be allowed to move early as long as they don’t move past the ball. That’s how you time the snap count if you’re off-ball, on-ball DL are under higher scrutiny but I just think it should be fair game as long as your helmet doesn’t pass the ball.

But we don’t have the aerial view. They did one aerial angle last night and it showed the ball staying ahead of Lawrence’s helmet. But it probably also showed him being in the neutral zone to begin with and I missed that.

 

Randall I'm not reading that.

Lawrence moved into the Neutral Zone before the ball was snapped.

 

I’m just saying the “flex of the arms” isn’t a thing haha, the defense can move all they want before the snap if they stay lined up behind the ball. Dexter was apparently just lined up wrong so regardless whether he jumped early or not didnt matter.

 

Tldr, my overall opinion is they should’ve punished the alignment and not the timing. Offsides is a timing based penalty and his timing itself was correct.

Punishing the timing there sets a precedent that now defenders can’t even time the snap count, because even if they don’t beat the ball itll be called offsides if it’s “too close”. I just don’t like that haha. If he was lined up wrong to begin with then just say that and call it Neutral Zone Infraction. They still lose the game but that’s an actually correct reason to punish him

 

how is your tldr almost the same length as the original lol

 

Tldr for the whole argument haha. I wanted to better summarize my point so people don’t think I’m out here saying the Giants should’ve won lol. They definitely lost, and I wanted WFT to win so I’m satisfied with the outcome… but calling the right rule is still important for establishing future officiating patterns, much like legal precedents

 

Yeah that's why it's a penalty lol Lawrence moved before the snap.

 

I am stopping, my last several paragraphs already explains my stance pretty well haha

man the Jags are gonna lose to Denver too aren’t we

 

At least roughing the passer is a subjective rule that is often poorly managed haha

 

True, true. Ooo - illegal forward pass!

 

Ineligible receiver downfield is my bet

 

Yeah it's timing based. If that timing is any time during a football game.

 

Well then, I was wrong.

Neutral zone infraction is redundant lol. Why have a dead ball version of the same thing? Just call both offsides?