The rules of the NFL may be, if not the most complex sport in the world, then at least one of them. Sometimes, even the league's official referees need to read the rule book at the game and confirm it before they can make accurate decisions.
There are many special situations in the relevant rules regarding successful catching of the ball and the advancement after catching the ball.
One of the regulations states that when the player holding the ball touches the ground with both knees and the opposing player does not touch the player, then the rugby ball is still a live ball and no dead ball is formed, and the game can still continue.
To give a simple example, Lu Ke is now in the pocket, preparing to pass the ball, but the pocket is torn and the opponent tries to sack the quarterback. Lu Ke did not surrender easily, and still relied on his own feet to dodge the tackle. While dodging, he accidentally fell to the ground, but the opponent player did not touch Lu Ke, so Lu Ke could stand up again. Continue to complete the pass.
This is an effective pass.
The same goes for Vernon just now.
When the ball was completed, the opponent's defensive player did not touch Vernon, which did not form a dead ball. Therefore, Vernon stood up again and continued to advance.
Next, Vernon loses his center of gravity and falls off the sideline, creating a dead ball, and the advance is terminated - or, if the opponent's defensive player can complete the tackle and force Vernon's knees to touch the ground, this can also create a dead ball and terminate Advance.
However, the frequency of this rule on the field is very low. After all, the situation is so special that some players don't even know it, or in the tense atmosphere of the game, they don't think of it for a while. After touching the ground, the advancement was abandoned.
Occasionally, you can see this scene during the game: after a player completes the ball, he falls down. The opponent's defensive player does not need to tackle or collide, but he still runs over without losing speed and gives him a gentle pat. this player.
This action is not to comfort the opponent, or to pay tribute to the opponent, but to confirm the formation of a dead ball.
…
Lu Ke stood in the pocket, straightened up, and looked around quickly. He was a little unsure about the situation on the court for a moment, and then Hubble's voice came to his ears, "Kick off! Bambi, kick off." !”
The voice was extremely urgent, even a little anxious. Lu Ke didn't know why. He faced Hubble on the left side of the court and pointed in the direction of the referee. No words were needed, the meaning was obvious: Didn't the referee terminate the game?
Hubble didn't have time to explain, and kept shouting, "Kickoff!" At the same time, he rushed forward along the sideline of the court in an exaggerated manner, constantly raising his arms to draw circles, signaling to advance and continue to advance.
Such a scene fell into Lu Ke's eyes, which not only confused him, but also made him feel happy. However, Lu Ke did not continue to ask questions. He turned around and motioned to his offensive team members to prepare for the kickoff, but he was too late. .
"The game is suspended." First there was a whistle, then a broadcast, and the referee officially announced that the game was suspended. "The New York Giants issued a challenge, and now we will conduct an official review."
At this time, Lu Ke realized what was going on.
He turned his head and looked to the right, and then saw New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin throwing a red flag, officially challenging the referee's decision.
There are two types of penalties in football games: yellow flags and red flags. The yellow flag indicates a foul and a penalty is lost; the red flag indicates a challenge, and the head coach challenges the referee's penalty.
However, the use of red flags is time-limited. It does not mean that the head coach can challenge any penalty in the entire game at any time; the challenge can only be completed in this short gap after the penalty is over and before the game restarts.
It is precisely because the thinking time is too short and the risk is too high - if it fails, a timeout of this half will be deducted; therefore, in official games, the head coach is often unable to make rational judgments and can only believe own intuition.
Sometimes, they will ruin the game because of a red flag challenge; sometimes, they will miss a penalty that is favorable to them because of a hesitation, and regret it after the game is over.
In other words, if Lu Ke had kicked off immediately and announced the start of the game again, then Coughlin would not be able to challenge the referee's decision, and the game could only continue. This is why Hubble kept signaling; however, Lu Ke failed to Understanding the mystery and missing the kick-off opportunity, Coughlin decided to challenge the penalty after a short period of thinking.
At this moment, Lu Ke's biggest shortcoming was exposed: no competition experience.
This was the first time Lu Ke encountered a red flag challenge in his career. He was not aware of the controversy over the penalty or the reason for the dispute between Coughlin and the referee, so he missed it.
During the game, Lu Ke, who seemed to be resourceful and strategizing, finally revealed his true form. He is a complete rookie. If it is a veteran quarterback, even if they miss the opportunity themselves, they will kick off immediately after seeing the head coach's hint. However, there is no if.
After reacting, Lu Ke himself burst into laughter, feeling a sense of absurdity coming over him.
…
"Red flag challenge, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin raised the challenge. Obviously, Lu Ke missed the opportunity to kick off quickly and gave his opponent a chance to challenge. Hubble stood on the sidelines holding his head in frustration. Now, We finally know for sure that this is indeed a rookie quarterback."
Although a red flag challenge was raised on the court, Teddy's tone was very relaxed and he teased Lu Ke a little. The regular season has gone on for ten weeks, and there are not many moments like this.
"Today's game was really exciting. It was less than four minutes into the game. First, we experienced a strong play on fourth gear and three yards, and now we are facing a red flag challenge. It has been ups and downs since the beginning, and there are constant surprises." After the joke, Teddy returned to the game, "Kirk, what do you think of Coughlin's red flag challenge?"
“What is controversial now is that after Vernon Davis completed the ball, in the short period of time from when his knees touched the ground to when he stood up again, whether Prince Amukamara touched him or not. It’s Davis. The referee’s previous decision was that there was no contact, so Davis’ advance was legal.”
Kirk briefly explained to the audience which penalty Coughlin challenged the referee, and then began to play slow motion, using a yellow pen to circle the key areas of focus on the screen, "This... is really a bit ambiguous. From this angle, it feels like there is no contact, but it may also be due to the camera angle. We need to call up the video from another angle and watch it again."
However, there seemed to be a problem with the on-site director's video scheduling. The same video clip was played repeatedly. Kirk and Teddy watched it carefully two or three times, but still couldn't figure out the reason.
Teddy was more experienced and simply skipped the video and asked directly, "Kirk, personally, do you think Coughlin's red flag challenge was impulsive? Or was he confident?"
"I think this is an interesting entry point." Kirk nodded in agreement. "The offense just happened on the right side, right under the eyes of the New York Giants players and coaches. Maybe, they can see it from their perspective. It became clearer that after a brief dispute, Coughlin chose to challenge."
"Of course, even if it fails, the Giants lose a timeout opportunity, but this is only the first half, so the risk is not that big. Therefore, Coughlin should be bolder." After Kirk finished his analysis, he still refused Giving a conclusion, "Well, this is a question of probability, let's leave it to the referee to decide."
…
In NFL games, there are many times when you need to watch video replays.
In addition to the red flag challenge, when referees make certain penalties, they also need multiple referees to gather together to collectively watch video replays and make accurate penalties. Later, in order to avoid misjudgments, the league also introduced new rules. In the last two minutes of the game and the second half, all touchdowns must be watched on video replay to ensure that the touchdown is legal.
To this end, a small black tent will be set up on the sidelines of every game, nicknamed the "little dark room". The referees will collectively enter the small dark room to watch video replays and communicate with the broadcast from NFL headquarters. Contact all parties to comprehensively review the penalty from multiple perspectives and aspects to ensure that the final judgment is as fair as possible.
By the way, in 2017, the league changed the rules and they hope that the video review process will be more transparent. So the dark room was abolished, and instead, a staff member stood at the scene holding a tablet computer, while the referees gathered together to watch the game video.
It's transparent, but it doesn't have the slightest dignity or dignity. It reveals a sense of joy and pettyness, and has been complained by countless commentators.
At this time, all the referees gathered in the small dark room on the sidelines and watched the game video over and over again.
The time was a little long. Lu Ke and the offensive team members stood on the side of the court, drinking water and resting. At the same time, Lu Ke discussed tactics with the offensive team coaches.
When he just came off the field, Lu Ke became the target of everyone's complaints. He missed the kick-off opportunity, which led to the opponent's successful red flag challenge.
Vernon was the first to rush over, pretending to be fierce, and said, "If this attack is blown, it's all because of you." However, the smile in his eyes still revealed his true emotions.
Lu Ke looked stunned, "Are you sure it's not because of you? Didn't you just fail to catch the ball when you were pushing forward?" But this time, all the other players said in unison, "No, it's you. "
Not only the players, but also the coaching staff burst into laughter.
Originally, a red flag challenge might have greatly compromised Vernon's brilliant push, and might have also interrupted the San Francisco 49ers' newly revived offensive touch. This was obviously not a good thing; but now, amidst laughter, the team instead He relaxed and didn't seem to be affected too much.
But, pitiful Lu Ke, this incident will probably become his label for a long time to come.
"Red flag boy." Marcus complained.
