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Officials sort out possession after a fumble at the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl between Georgia and Virginia Tech.
Officials sort out possession after a fumble at the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl between Georgia and Virginia Tech. The 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a postseason College football match between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Virginia Tech Hokies at The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Virginia Tech Hokies football team is a College football program that competes in NCAA Division I-FBS, specifically in the Coastal

A fumble in American and Canadian football is any act other than passing, kicking or successful handing that results in loss of player possession. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with In accordance with the Manual of Style (see) Canadian English is used throughout this article (see Canadian_English#Spelling) A fumble may be forced by a defensive player who either grabs or punches the ball or butts the ball with his helmet (a move called "tackling the ball"). A fumbled ball may be recovered and advanced by either team (except, in American football, after the two-minute warning in either half or 4th down, when the fumbling player is the only offensive player allowed to advance the ball, otherwise the ball is ruled dead at the spot of recovery if the ball bounces backwards or spotted at the point of the fumble if the ball travels forward). It is one of two events considered to be turnovers, where possession of the ball can change during play.

Technically, under American rules if a player drops the ball while attempting to catch a lateral pass it is a muff (you can't "fumble" a loose ball). In American football a lateral pass or lateral, officially referred to as a backward pass, and an "onside pass" in Canadian football The following terms are used in American football and Canadian football, but see also the Glossary of Canadian football. The following terms are used in American football and Canadian football, but see also the Glossary of Canadian football. The result is the same and most announcers will still call it a fumble. Muffs also result when the ball is improperly fielded on kicking plays such as punts. A punt in some codes of football especially American football and Rugby football, is performed when the ball is Ball security is a term used to describe the ability of a player to maintain control over the football during play and thus avoid a fumble.

Contents

Rules

If the ball is fumbled the defensive team may recover the ball and even advance it to their opponents' goal. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time The same is true for the offense, but usually when the offense recovers the ball it simply tries to down it. First Down redirects here For the Prison Break episode see First Down (Prison Break episode. In American football the offense cannot advance the ball if it recovers its own fumble on fourth down, or in the last two minutes of the game, unless the ball is recovered by the fumbler (there are no such restrictions in Canadian football). However, if the offense fumbles the ball, the defense recovers and then fumbles back to the offense, they would get a first down since possession had formally changed over the course of the play even though the ball had never been blown dead.

This is not the same thing as when a forward pass is attempted and the intended receiver does not catch it. In several forms of Football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction of the opponent's end line In this latter case, it is simply an incomplete pass. An incomplete pass is a term in American football which means that a legal Forward pass hits the ground before a player on either team gains possession However, if the receiver catches the ball, but then drops it after gaining control of the ball, that is considered a fumble.

Any number of fumbles can be committed during a play, including fumbles by the team originally on defense. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time Most famously, Dallas Cowboys defender Leon Lett fumbled during Super Bowl XXVII while celebrating during his own fumble return. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC in the National Leon Lett Jr (born October 12, 1968 in Mobile Alabama) nicknamed The Big Cat, is a former star American football Defensive Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game played on January 31 1993 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California to decide the National Football

A sometimes controversial rule is usually referred to as "the ground cannot cause a fumble". If a player is tackled and loses control of the ball at or after the time he makes contact with the ground, the player is treated as down and the ball is not in play. However, if a ball carrier falls without an opponent contacting him, the ground can indeed cause a fumble.

The effects of fumbles vary when the ball goes out of bounds without being recovered:

In all cases, a fumble recovered by an out-of-bounds player is considered an out-of-bounds fumble even if the ball never leaves the field of play.

A punted or place-kicked ball that touches any part of a player on the receiving team, whether or not the player ever gains control, is also considered to be live and is treated like a fumble. A punt in some codes of football especially American football and Rugby football, is performed when the ball is

In statistics

Game box scores commonly record how many fumbles a team made and how many it recovered. In competitive Sports, games or matches are often summarized in a box score A fumble is credited to the last player who handled it from the possessing team, regardless of whether it may have been his fault or not.

Play during fumbles

Since footballs tend to bounce in unpredictable ways, particularly on artificial turf, attempting to recover and advance a fumbled ball is risky even for those with good manual coordination. Artificial turf, or synthetic turf, is a man-made surface manufactured from synthetic materials made to look like natural Grass. Gross motor coordination addresses the Gross motor skills walking running climbing jumping crawling lifting one's head sitting up etc Coaches at lower levels of the game usually therefore prefer that players, particularly those such as interior linemen who do not normally handle the ball in the course of play, simply fall on the ball. Lineman in American football. (See also American and Canadian football position names. Gaining or retaining possession is more important in most situations than attempting to advance the ball and possibly score, and there have been many instances where those attempting to do so have wound up fumbling the ball back to the other team.

Recovering and advancing a fumble is also made difficult, and potentially injurious, by the effect on play. Since neither team is on offense or defense while the ball remains loose, there are no restrictions on the type of contact allowed as long as all players are making legitimate efforts to recover it. A loose ball has been described as the only situation in football where the rules are suspended.

If the ball remains loose, every player on the field will eventually gravitate towards it, increasing the chaos around it. Spectators relish the suspense. Some players, particularly offensive linemen, have a reputation for taking advantage of the situation to do things to opponents that would otherwise draw penalties, since the officials' attention is necessarily focused on the ball and away from the players trying to get to it. In American football, each team has 11 players on the field at one time An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it in an Organisation or Most commonly, players will "pile on" opponents already down trying to recover the ball. Some NFL players also report that pokes in the eyes, pinches or other abuse is common in post-fumble pileups, conduct which has sometimes led to confrontations, fights or even brawls.

The usual aftermath of a fumble, at every level of play, is a pile of players, many still squirming diligently despite the whistle, surrounded by teammates pointing upfield (the hand signal for a first down) while the officials slowly extricate them in an effort to determine who has won possession. A simple whistle is a Woodwind instrument which produces Sound from a stream of forced air First Down redirects here For the Prison Break episode see First Down (Prison Break episode. If two different players have hands on the ball, it is often a judgement call on the officials' part as to which team gets it. In the NFL and CFL this has often been the occasion for coaches to call for a review of the instant replay. For other uses of the term "Instant replay" see Instant replay (disambiguation.

Fumbles recovered for touchdowns in the end zone are often the only way offensive linemen score points.

Proper fumble recovery

The most obvious way to recover a loose football would be to fall prone atop it and cradle it between both arms against the abdomen. Word history The word prone meaning "naturally inclined to something apt liable" is recorded in English since 1382 the meaning "lying face-down" is first In Vertebrates such as Mammals the abdomen (belly constitutes the part of the body between the Thorax (chest and Pelvis. Amateur players are seen doing this all the time, particular when playing touch football, and it can even be seen in professional contests. Touch football is a version of American football originally developed by the U

However, coaches tell players not to do this in game situations if at all possible, since not only is the ball likely to squirt loose again once other players pile on, there is also a possibility of injury from the ball being driven into the soft organs with great force.

Instead, players are taught to fall on their sides and augment their cradling with a thigh and upper body, if possible. In humans the thigh is the area between the Pelvis and the Knee. This greatly reduces both the chance of losing the ball and the potential for injury (at least from the ball).

Coaches are also increasingly encouraging their players to use the "scoop and score" method of picking it up and attempting to return it. [1]

Intentional fumbling

A very rarely-used trick play known as the "fake fumble" calls for the quarterback to lay the ball on the ground as he backs up after receiving the snap, so that a pulling guard can pick it up and run the ball around the end. A trick play, also known as a gadget play or gimmick play, is a play in American football that uses deception and unorthodox strategies to fool Quarterback ( QB) is a position in American and Canadian football. In American and Canadian football, a guard ( G) is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line Coaches are very leery of calling this, however, as a team must be able to execute it flawlessly in order for it to have a chance of working in a game situation. The guard must also be able to run the ball competently and protect it when being tackled, both not usually part of the skill set for the position.

The "fake fumble" is in fact a real one as far as the rules are concerned, and if the defense manages to get the ball, the coach's judgement is likely to be questioned by fans and media alike. While it is a crowd pleaser when done properly, the risk far outweighs the likely reward. For this reason it is most likely to be used in informal touch football games. It was sometimes used in the college game before the NCAA banned it in 1992. College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations It has almost never been used in the NFL or any other professional league.

The best-known fake fumble is probably the Fumblerooski play in the 1984 Orange Bowl (see below). In American football, the fumblerooski is a Trick play, most famously used by the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers against the University

Fumbling forward, as the Holy Roller play (see below) demonstrated, once was a viable offensive tactic in desperate situations, but the rules have been changed to discourage that. In American football, the Holy Roller was an infamous controversial game-winning play executed by the Oakland Raiders against the San Diego Chargers on

Use in place of opening coin toss

The XFL, a competing pro league which played its sole season in 2001, used a fumble recovery instead of a coin toss to decide which team would get to choose whether to kick off or receive at the opening of the game and before overtime. The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001 Coin flipping or coin tossing is the practice of throwing a Coin in the air to resolve a Dispute between two parties or otherwise choose between two alternatives Overtime is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a Sport in order to bring the game to a decision and avoid declaring the contest a tie or draw A player from each team would sprint, alongside the other, toward a loose ball at the middle of the field, and whoever was able to gain possession won the right for their team to decide.

The idea was that such a key element of the game would be decided by a test of playing skill, not chance. While it intrigued some fans and commentators, it is unlikely to be adopted by the NFL, NCAA, or any other governing body.

Famous fumbles

Fumbles have sometimes played a role in deciding games. Some of these have been so unique as to not only earn their own distinctive sobriquets, but to change the way the game has been played afterwards.

College football

NFL

CFL

Records

NFL

Teams

Players

Games

References

  1. ^ Easterbrook, Gregg, October 11, 2005, Tuesday Morning Quarterback, NFL. Gregg Edmund Easterbrook (born March 3, 1953) is an American writer lecturer and a senior editor of The New Republic. com

Dictionary

fumble

-verb

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To idly touch or nervously handle
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To grope awkwardly in trying to find something
  3. (intransitive) To blunder uncertainly
  4. (transitive, intransitive, sports) To drop a ball or a baton etc

-noun

  1. (sports) A ball etc. that has been dropped
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