Mack Herron
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
- Messages
- 15,110
- Reaction score
- 21,141
http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/safety2
Digest of Rules Main
Safety
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.
It sure looked like the Colts provided the impetus by kicking the ball into the end zone after the impetus of the kick had been stopped on the field by the receiving team.