I always thought that a team could kneel down and give up a single on a missed fg of any distance to get the ball back at the 35 yard line. However, my buddy found a different rule:
If the single point was scored as the result of an unsuccessful field goal attempt, the team scored against may elect to scrimmage the ball at any point between the hash marks on its own 35-yard line or at the previous line of scrimmage.
I don't remember any discussion of kneeling down a long fg (say a 55 yarder) to get the ball at the 47. Can someone please confirm what the correct rule is?
Once, it was ball comes out to the place on the field where it was scrimmaged before the missed kick.
Friday night at Ottawa, Medlock struck the upright - or a rigid Ottawa goalpost ribbon. Now, on that instance, is the ball placed on the twenty five, as in the dead ball rule, or brought back to the los from which the ball was kicked?
I get the dead ball rule. No single has been scored, so the ball is placed at the 25. However, my question is regarding instances when a single HAS been scored on a long fg.
Is the ball placed at the 35 or can a team choose to get better field position on a really long missed attempt?
My understanding is that when the single is scored after a field goal attempt, the team scored against then scrimmages from the 35 or the previous line of scrimmage, whichever is further from the goal of the team scored against.
The rule was changed to discourage teams not being aggressive offensively and “settling” for 40+ yard field goals … once upon a time anything near or over 40 was too risky to try and were FAR less common.
Actually, that is the rule for a rouge on a field goal attempt, although not for a field goal. For a few years, it was the rule for both, but it discouraged long field goals.
[b]RULE 3 - SCORING
SECTION 2 – DEFINITIONS
Article 2 – Field Goal[/b]
After a field goal, the team scored against may scrimmage or kickoff from its own 35 yard line or require the scoring team to kickoff from its 35 yard line.
A team scoring a field goal on a play that started after the 3 minute warning has been given in the 4th quarter will kickoff from their own 35 yard line.
Article 4 — Single Point Or Rouge
After a rouge, the team scored against shall next put the ball into play by a scrimmage as first down at any point between the hash marks on its 35-yard line.
If the single point was scored as the result of an unsuccessful field goal attempt, the team scored against may elect to scrimmage the ball at any point between the hash marks on its own 35-yard line or at the previous line of scrimmage.
Interesting that the team scored against with a field goal also has the option of kicking off to the team that just scored. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a team use that option. And I can’t think of any reason why a team would elect to do so.
Well, if you were now 1 pt behind or tied, and the game was in the last seconds, and you had a stiff wind at your back, you might elect to kick the ball to try and get a rouge yourself.
It’s a vestigial holdover rule from rugby football rules where the team scored against kicks off. Like in gridiron, the ball must travel 10m in rugby on the kickoff. Without down and distance scrimmage or the forward pass, the run of play and altering possession generally takes place in the middle of the field I that sport.
In Canadian football as field position became more important, kickers’ abilities improved and the American style of scrimmage was adopted, the option was added for the team scored against to receive the kickoff and the kickoff spot was progressively moved back from midfield (where it takes place in rugby and soccer) to the 45 and then to the 35 where it is at the pro level today.