Safety
1. The important factor in a safety is impetus. Two
points are scored for the opposing team when the ball is
dead on or behind a team’s own goal line if the impetus
came from a player on that team.
Examples of Safety:
(a) Blocked punt goes out of kicking team’s end zone.
Impetus was provided by punting team. The block only
changes direction of ball, not impetus.
(b) Ball carrier retreats from field of play into his
own end zone and is downed. Ball carrier provides
impetus.
(c) Offensive team commits a foul and spot of
enforcement is behind its own goal line.
(d) Player on receiving team muffs punt and, trying to
get ball, forces or illegally kicks (creating new
impetus) it into end zone where it goes out of the end
zone or is recovered by a member of the receiving team
in the end zone.
Examples of Non-Safety:
(a) Player intercepts a pass with both feet inbounds in
the field of play and his momentum carries him into his
own end zone. Ball is put in play at spot of
interception.
(b) Player intercepts a pass in his own end zone and is
downed in the end zone, even after recovering in the end
zone. Impetus came from passing team, not from defense.
(Touchback)
(c) Player passes from behind his own goal line.
Opponent bats down ball in end zone. (Incomplete pass)
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