jdavidbakr wrote:
There is also the issue of being able to make a fair catch on a free kick as well, which you can then immediately try an uncontested field goal (anyone ever seen that happen?)
Only in a high school game.
jdavidbakr wrote:
I'm still looking for a qualified explanation on the safety free kick onside kick rules. I will probably have to actually look at the official rule book, the NFL rule digest seems to imply that the two situations are different but is more vague than anything.
From the 2016 NFL Rulebook:
RULE 6. FREE KICKSSECTION 1 - PROCEDURES FOR A FREE KICKARTICLE 1. FREE KICK
A free kick is a
kickoff or safety kick that puts the ball in play to start a free kick down...
ARTICLE 4. CATCH OR RECOVERY OF A FREE KICK
The following applies to the catch or recovery of a
free kick:
If a player of the receiving team catches or recovers the ball, he may advance.If the ball is declared dead while in the simultaneous possession of two opposing players, the ball is awarded to the receiving team.A player of the kicking team may legally touch, catch, or recover the ball if:
it first touches a receiving team player; or
it reaches or crosses the receiving team’s restraining line.The ball is dead if it is caught or recovered by a player of the kicking team. If the catch or recovery is legal, the ball belongs to the kicking team at the dead-ball spot.If the ball comes to rest inbounds after reaching the receiving team’s restraining line and no player attempts to possess it, the ball becomes dead and belongs to the receiving team at the dead-ball spot.