Can't stop an offense? Make it illegal!

[Sully]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

The fact that you can't immediately tell who's eligible out of all 11 players is part of the reason why it isn't legal. Anyone on the field can be an eligible receiver coming to the line of scrimmage because they're breaking the jersey numbering rule. That in itself gives a huge advantage over legal offensive formations. That's the point. Legal formations don't allow you to do that.

And fake punts and kicks are still perfectly safe due to the differences in jersey numbering and eligibility on obvious kicking/punting downs. That's how they closed the loophole. They revised the rules to provide distinction as to what downs would allow which formations.



Every level of football has said that it's illegal. That's the purpose of the ban. The National Federation of State High School Associations, the NCAA, and the NFL now all have rules prohibiting it.

That sounds ridiculous, to me. What if I want to punt on 1st down? (I know a local coach who makes the playoffs yearly who has done so)? What if it's late in the game and I want to try a FG not on 4th down?

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Sully

That sounds ridiculous, to me. What if I want to punt on 1st down? (I know a local coach who makes the playoffs yearly who has done so)? What if it's late in the game and I want to try a FG not on 4th down?

You're free to punt on first down if you'd like, or kick a FG on a down other than 4th. You just can't have 11 guys wearing receiver numbers on the field when you do so.