Some Rules Defined

SUMMARY OF PENALTIES Automatic First Down 1. Awarded to offensive team on all defensive fouls with these exceptions: (a) Offside. (b) Encroachment. (c) Delay of game. (d) Illegal substitution. (e) Excessive time out(s). (f) Incidental grasp of facemask. (g) Neutral zone infraction. (h) Running into the kicker. (i) More than 11 players on the field at the snap. Five yards 1. Defensive holding or illegal use of hands (automatic first down). 2. Delay of game on offense or defense. 3. Delay of kickoff. 4. Encroachment. 5. Excessive time out(s). 6. False start. 7. Illegal formation. 8. Illegal shift. 9. Illegal motion. 10. Illegal substitution. 11. First onside kickoff out of bounds between goal lines and not touched. 12. Invalid fair catch signal. 13. More than 11 players on the field at snap for either team. 14. Less than seven men on offensive line at snap. 15. Offside. 16. Failure to pause one second after shift or huddle. 17. Running into kicker. 18. More than one man in motion at snap. 19. Grasping facemask of the ball carrier or quarterback. 20. Player out of bounds at snap. 21. Ineligible member(s) of kicking team going beyond line of scrimmage before ball is kicked. 22. Illegal return. 23. Failure to report change of eligibility. 24. Neutral zone infraction. 25. Loss of team time out(s) or five-yard penalty on the defense for excessive crowd noise. 26. Ineligible player downfield during passing down. 27. Second forward pass behind the line. 28. Forward pass is first touched by eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds and returned. 29. Forward pass touches or is caught by an ineligible receiver on or behind line. 30. Forward pass thrown from behind line of scrimmage after ball once crossed the line. 10 Yards 1. Offensive pass interference. 2. Holding, illegal use of hands, arms, or body by offense. 3. Tripping by a member of either team. 4. Helping the runner. 5. Deliberately batting or punching a loose ball. 6. Deliberately kicking a loose ball. 7. Illegal block above the waist. 15 Yards 1. Chop block. 2. Clipping below the waist. 3. Fair catch interference. 4. Illegal crackback block by offense. 5. Piling on (automatic first down). 6. Roughing the kicker (automatic first down). 7. Roughing the passer (automatic first down). 8. Twisting, turning, or pulling an opponent by the facemask. 9. Unnecessary roughness. 10. Unsportsmanlike conduct. 11. Delay of game at start of either half. 12. Illegal low block. 13. A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent. 14. Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily. 15. A punter, placekicker, or holder who simulates being roughed by a defensive player. 16. A defender who takes a running start from beyond the line of scrimmage in an attempt to block a field goal or point after touchdown and lands on players at the line of scrimmage. Five yards and loss of down (Combination Penalty) 1. Forward pass thrown from beyond line of scrimmage. 10 Yards and loss of down (Combination Penalty) 1. Intentional grounding of forward pass (safety if passer is in own end zone). If foul occurs more than 10 yards behind line, play results in loss of down at spot of foul. 15 Yards and loss of coin toss option 1. Team's late arrival on the field prior to scheduled kickoff. 2. Captains not appearing for coin toss. 15 Yards (and disqualification if flagrant) 1. Striking opponent with fist. 2. Kicking or kneeing opponent. 3. Striking opponent on head or neck with forearm, elbow, or hands whether or not the initial contact is made below the neck area. 4. Roughing kicker. 5. Roughing passer. 6. Malicious unnecessary roughness. 7. Unsportsmanlike conduct. 8. Palpably unfair act. (Distance penalty determined by the Referee after consultation with other officials.) 15 Yards and automatic disqualification 1. Using a helmet (not worn) as a weapon. 2. Striking or purposely shoving a game official. Suspension from game for one down 1. Illegal equipment. (Player may return after one down when legally equipped.) Touchdown awarded (palpably unfair act) 1. When Referee determines a palpably unfair act deprived a team of a touchdown. (Example: Player comes off bench and tackles runner apparently en route to touchdown.) Back to Top Field 1. Sidelines and end lines are out of bounds. The goal line is actually in the end zone. A player with the ball in his possession scores when the ball is on, above, or over the goal line. 2. The field is rimmed by a white border, six feet wide, along the sidelines. All of this is out of bounds. 3. The hashmarks (inbound lines) are 70 feet, 9 inches from each sideline. 4. Goal posts must be single-standard type, offset from the end line and painted bright gold. The goal posts must be 18 feet, 6 inches wide and the top face of the crossbar must be 10 feet above the ground. Vertical posts extend at least 30 feet above the crossbar. A ribbon 4 inches by 42 inches long is to be attached to the top of each post. The actual goal is the plane extending indefinitely above the crossbar and between the outer edges of the posts. 5. The field is 360 feet long and 160 feet wide. The end zones are 30 feet deep. The line used in try-for-point plays is two yards out from the goal line. 6. Chain crew members and ball boys must be uniformly identifiable. 7. All clubs must use standardized sideline markers. Pylons must be used for goal line and end line markings. 8. End zone markings and club identification at 50 yard line must be approved by the Commissioner to avoid any confusion as to delineation of goal lines, sidelines, and end lines. Back to Top Ball 1. Thirty-six approved footballs will be used in games played outdoors (24 indoors). Coin toss 1. The toss of coin will take place within three minutes of kickoff in center of field. The toss will be called by the visiting captain. The winner may choose one of two privileges and the loser gets the other: (a) Receive or kick (b) Goal his team will defend 2. Immediately prior to the start of the second half, the captains of both teams must inform the officials of their respective choices. The loser of the original coin toss gets first choice. Back to Top Timing 1. The stadium game clock is official. In case it stops or is operating incorrectly, the Line Judge takes over the official timing on the field. 2. Each period is 15 minutes. The intermission between the periods is two minutes. Halftime is 12 minutes, unless otherwise specified. 3. On charged team time outs, the Field Judge starts watch and blows whistle after 1 minute 50 seconds, unless television does not utilize the time for commercial. In this case the length of the time out is reduced to 40 seconds. 4. The Referee will allow necessary time to attend to an injured player, or repair a legal player's equipment. 5. Each team is allowed three time outs each half. 6. Time between plays will be 40 seconds from the end of a given play until the snap of the ball for the next play, or a 25-second interval after certain administrative stoppages and game delays. 7. Clock will start running when ball is snapped following all changes of team possession. 8. With the exception of the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half, the game clock will be restarted following a kickoff return, a player going out of bounds on a play from scrimmage, or after declined penalties when appropriate on the referee's signal. 9. Consecutive team time outs can be taken by opposing teams but the length of the second time out will be reduced to 40 seconds. 10. When, in the judgment of the Referee, the level of crowd noise prevents the offense from hearing its signals, he can institute a series of procedures which can result in a loss of team time outs or a five-yard penalty against the defensive team.