I have to question the 12 men on the field penalty in SB XLII. There
is a discussion going in the Pats NG about it, and one of the posters
was kind enough to post a link to rules to defend Belichick (even
though they are 2006 rules). Of course, all of the Pats fans are
saying Belichick did the right thing, but I say that he
misinterpretted the rules AGAIN, and got away with it AGAIN.
If you look at the bottom, under Non-Reviewable Plays, you will see
the "Penalty Administration" is there. That means that you cannot
administer a penalty on something that you see in the replay. The only
thing reviewable about the 12 men rule is to challenge IF you are
charged with the penalty incorrectly, the refs can go back to tape and
see whether or not 12 men were indeed on the field. But NEVER have you
been allowed to go back...watch a replay...and THEN access a penalty
for something that was missed realtime. That is simply not allowed,
and an abuse of replay.
And the Patriots got the benefit of it...what are the odds?
My question is...has the NFL addressed this call on the "Mike Pierra"
spot?
Newsgroups: alt.sports.football.pro.ne-patriots
From: Polarhound
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:06:38 -0500
Local: Mon, Feb 4 2008 7:06 pm
Subject: Re: 12 men on the field

sgjrfrtn wrote:
> If a rule is in the books, any coach owes it to his team to challenge
> it. He made the right call.


For reference purposes:

http://blogmedia.thenewstribune.com/media/2006%20NFL%20RULEBOOK.pdf


NFL Rule 15, Section 9. Pay particular attention to section (c),
number 5:


Reviews by Referee. All Replay Reviews will be conducted by the
Referee
on a field-level monitor after consultation with the other covering
official(s), prior to review. A decision will be reversed only when
the
Referee has indisputable visual evidence available to him that
warrants
the change.


Reviewable Plays. The Replay System will cover the following play
situations only:


(a) Plays governed by Sideline, Goal Line, End Zone, and End Line:
1. Scoring Plays, including a runner breaking the plane of the goal
line.
2. Pass complete/incomplete/intercepted at sideline, goal line, end
zone, and end line.
3. Runner/receiver in or out of bounds.
4. Recovery of loose ball in or out of bounds.


(b) Passing Plays:
1. Pass ruled complete/incomplete/intercepted in the field of play.
2. Touching of a forward pass by an ineligible receiver.
3. Touching of a forward pass by a defensive player.
4. Quarterback (Passer) forward pass or fumble.
5. Illegal forward pass beyond line of scrimmage.
6. Illegal forward pass after change of possession.
7. Forward or backward pass thrown from behind line of scrimmage.


(c) Other Detectable Infractions:
1. Runner ruled not down by defensive contact.
2. Runner ruled down by defensive contact when the recovery of a
fumble
by an opponent or a teammate occurs during the continuing action of
the
play.
Note 1: If the ruling of down by contact is changed, the ball belongs
to
the recovering player at the spot of the recovery of the fumble, and
any
advance is nullified.
Note 2: Continuing action is any action that occurs through the
recovery
of the fumble.
Note 3: If the Referee does not have indisputable visual evidence as
to
which player recovered the fumble, the ruling of down by contact will
stand.
Note 4: This does not apply to quarterback pass/fumbles,
complete/incomplete passes, or the ruling of forward progress.
3. Forward progress with respect to a first down.
4. Touching of a kick.
5. Number of players on the field.


Note: Non-reviewable plays include but are not limited to:
1. Status of the clock
2. Proper down
3. Penalty administration
4. Runner ruled down by defensive contact (not involving fumbles)
5. Forward progress not relating to first down or goal line
6. Forceouts
7. Recovery of loose ball in the field of play
8. Field goals
9. Inadvertent Whistle

Archived from group: alt>sports>football>pro>pitt-steelers