Tuck rule

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The tuck rule is a rule in American football, currently used only by the National Football League (NFL).

Ordinarily, if the quarterback drops or loses the football while he is bringing the ball forward in a passing motion, and the ball touches the ground, it is considered an incomplete pass. If the quarterback drops or loses the football at any other time, it is considered a fumble, as if any other player had dropped it.

The tuck rule is an exception to this rule. It applies if the quarterback brings his arm forward in a passing motion, but then changes his mind and tries to keep hold of the football rather than making a pass. In this situation, if the quarterback loses the ball while stopping his passing motion or bringing the ball back to his body, it is still considered a forward pass (and thus an incomplete pass if the ball hits the ground).^[1] Mike Pereira, the NFL's director of officiating, notes that the design of the rule obviates the need to consider the quarterback's intent.^[2], though this seems to be incorrect, since the rule states that "When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass", thus meaning that the referee must judge whether the forward movement of the arm was intentional on the part of the player or not.

The rule is not without its critics. former Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs said, "It makes no sense to me. It's the way it's worded. I think everybody probably sees that and says it's a bad rule."^[2]

[edit] 2002 controversy

The tuck rule resulted in a controversial finish to an NFL playoff game on January 19, 2002, between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders.

In the closing moments of the game in a snowy Foxboro Stadium, with New England trailing by three points, New England quarterback Tom Brady dropped back to pass. Charles Woodson came off the strong side corner blitz to knock the ball out of his hands after he had begun a passing motion, pulling his hand down below his shoulder and touching it with his left hand. Raiders' Middle Linebacker Greg Biekert fell on the loose football. The officials initially called the play a recovered fumble, which would have sealed the victory for the Raiders. But after instant replay, referee Walt Coleman reversed this call, declared the play an incomplete forward pass, and gave possession back to New England. In explaining the reversal to the stadium crowd and the television audience, the referee stated that the ball was moving forward at the time it was dropped.^[3] However, instant replays showed that, at the moment Woodson stripped the ball from Brady, Brady had already brought the football back into his non-throwing hand, which would suggest that the "throwing motion" governed by the rule had already been completed and the play should have been ruled a fumble. In later interviews, the referee stated that it was his explanation, not the reversal, that was in error; the ball was moving backwards when it was lost, but the tuck rule applied. In any case, Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri later tied the game with a dramatic 45-yard field goal, and the Patriots took advantage of the momentum they had seized, defeating the deflated Raiders in overtime on another field goal and eliminating them from the playoffs. Three weeks later, the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI.

While the NFL has defended the call, not everybody has agreed. Bruce Allen, who ran the front office for the Raiders at the time of the game, still believes it was a fumble. "The rule itself doesn't bother me," he said. "But the way the rule is written, it was a fumble."^[2] Nevertheless, when the NFL's Competition Committee re-examined the rule after the 2001-2002 season, they made no changes to the rule; Pereira notes that attempts have been made to revise the rule, but such revisions have always proven to be more difficult to enforce than the current rule.

[edit] References