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Vikings hack the spike play to get one more snap
Illegal formations are not 10-second runoffs
Trailing by 1 and the clock running with mere seconds left, the Vikings raced to the line to get a quick snap and a spike of the ball to stop the clock. There were flags on the play as the Vikings did not have 7 players on the line, which is an illegal formation foul.
— fzclips (@fzclips) October 20, 2024
When there is a running clock inside the 2-minute warning, a certain suite of time-conserving fouls by the offense will include a 10-second runoff. Primarily, these are snap-killing fouls, intentional grounding, and illegal forward passes. Referee Clay Martin was clear to point out in his announcement that an illegal formation is considered a live-ball foul and therefore there is no 10-second runoff. The reason for that is that it does not conserve time because the play is allowed to continue and it doesn’t terminate a live play like an incomplete pass that was illegally thrown. As long as the offense has been set, we have a legal snap.
OK, I know you are zipping ahead to a big question. We’re getting there.
This play happened before in 2006 when the St. Louis Rams were leading the Seahawks, and the Seahawks did not present a legal formation. The referee that day was Ed Hochuli.
— fzclips (@fzclips) October 20, 2024
In one case, an illegal shift will convert to a false start when it’s inside the 2-minute warning with a running clock. The thinking is that the hurrying offense aren’t truly set if they are still moving, even if they paused for a full second. A player illegally on or off the line is not that type of foul that the Competition Committee felt rose to the level of not being properly set.
So this was correctly called, and the Vikings had one second remaining on the clock, confirmed by replay, 5 yards back from the spot of the snap. Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold was sacked on the final play, so the extension was moot. But it raised a lot of questions.
So, you just need a snapper and a quarterback on the line?
In a technical sense, this means that you just need a snapper on the line and a player behind the line to receive the snap and that’s it. The remaining 9 players just have to be set for one second prior to the snap, even if they are 20 yards in the backfield. And, you don’t even need to have a center snap the ball. A receiver or a tight end can legally snap the ball as long as they are on the line of scrimmage. In this case, the formation is already illegal, so the fact that the player is an interior lineman and an eligible receiver at the same time is still within the envelope of a foul. Similarly, the snap receiver can be anyone, not necessarily the quarterback.
Up until last year, “any other foul that intentionally stops the clock” was listed as a time-conserving foul subject to a 10-second runoff. An argument could be made that under last year’s rulebook, a referee could determine that having 2 players on the ball in formation would qualify as “any other foul” because the offense would be able to snap the ball much earlier than they would ordinarily be capable.
What would likely happen — but there is no written interpretation of such a thing other than right here — is that it would be considered a palpably unfair act, meaning that an action that is clearly illegal and the rulebook does not have an equitable remedy, the referee can assess a penalty to fix that. One prominent example of a palpably unfair act would be a bench player making a touchdown-saving tackle. A palpably unfair act has never been called in the NFL, but a play such as this might actually be one of those situations. One or two players close to being in position is not palpably unfair because there was an attempt to get into an actual formation. But this extreme example is a situation that does not resemble anything seen in football and bends the rules to such an extent that the referee could exercise this never-used authority to declare the half over.
For more on the rules for 10-second runoffs, bookmark our post below. For more on the palpably unfair act, Quirky Research has a post.
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Anonymous
October 21, 2024 at 6:18 am
Ah look at this.
Another example of a rule going against the lions.
And once again.
Football zebras defends it.
Why will you not hold the referees to the same standards as you hold the players?
Lions embarrassed the referees by having o lineman report 14 times against the cowboys. On the first play of the game. A run. And the last play of the game. A kneel down. The only reason to do that is to make a point to the referees. And in response the referees did everything they could to try and steal one from Detroit.
You’re going to write an entire article about how the refs gave the vikings a free play. And at the end say it’s not the refs fault for the unfair advantage and allowing the error. No. Of course not. It’s not the refs job to keep the game fair.
Oh… wait….
A few years ago, Golden Tate was tackled just short of the goal line. Time left on the clock was 8 seconds. Lions tried to line up and run a play, but because of referees error, the ball was spotted at the wrong spot, and a game ended with a 10 second clock run-off causing the lions to lose.
Fast forward to yesterday. The vikings commit a penalty with less than 5 seconds on a running clock with no time outs and get a clock stoppage. Vikings get rewarded by being allowed to run another play.
The referees are blatantly biased towards Detroit.