T1B

Not sure if this has been covered before or not, but I’ll ask anyways.

Why is it that a player cannot advance a muffed punt? For example, I was watching a game recently (South Carolina I believe) where the punt returner muffed the punt and the defender caught the ball in the air before it even touched the ground and ran it into the endzone. Since it was ruled a muff, the recovering team got possession of the ball, but only at the point of the recovery.

I can’t see ANY reason why a muffed punt where the punt returner drops the ball while trying to catch it can’t be returned. The only thing I could think of at all is if the punter purposefully kicked the ball at someone with their back to him or something from someone just beyond the line of scrimmage. That is a far stretch to me to account for this rule though.

Happened to us against Kal last season when Justin Wyatt recovered the muff and took it to the house, only to get called back.

Perhaps the rule was intended to be a deterrant against the kicking team intentionally making a reception of the kick impossible.

Web Page Name

couldn't find the explanation, but it's in there somehwere!

Adel,

I know it's a rule. I was just wondering why that was put into effect.

To bottom line it, the kicking team can not advance a kick.

A muff does not end the kick. Only possession or the ball becoming dead by rule ends the kick play. That is why if possession is gained by the receiving team and then they fumble the kicking team can advance the ball. In that situation the kick play ends when the receiving team gains possession and a running play starts.

Hope that clears it up for you.

Lefty,

Basically, the "reason" given for my question of WHY this rule came into effect is "because we say so".

I can accept that. It's just that some rules, such as the halo rule or 5 yard chuck rule, were implemented with a specific reason or purpose. I was hoping for something of that nature. Guess it isn't so.

Indy, from what I gather it comes down to definitions. The kicking team can't advance a kick. If we changed the definition to say that a muff ends a kick many other things would change too including momentum. Not sure we want to go there.

But this rule has been on the books as long as I have been playing, and remember that the coaches are the ones who make the rules.