Turnover (American Football)
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In American football, a turnover means losing the ball and relinquishing a team's right to attack. This is serious in American football because it is difficult to score without the right to attack. There are three types of turnover: Interception , Fumble and Turnover on Downs . This is to be distinguished from the punt , in which the previously attacking team voluntarily separates from the right to attack.
Turnover types
Interception
Here the attacking team loses the ball if it tries to pass. The ball passed is intercepted by a defender (English: to intercept) before it hits the ground. However, the attacker being played must not be hindered ( pass interference ). The former defender is now allowed to carry the ball as far as possible, but not pass forward. So-called laterals , i.e. passes in which the ball is passed to the side or back without making a forward movement, are allowed, but rarely. A lateral pass that has not been held is a free ball and can also be secured by the opposing team.
Fumble
So-called fumbles ( English: to fumble with sth. = To deal with something inept ) can also lead to ball losses. The player carrying the ball drops the ball after he has controlled it (a step or two with the ball) and before any part of his body other than his hands or feet hits the ground. This usually happens due to a hard tackle or the targeted tugging of the ball-bearing arm ( strip ball ). A fumble represents a turnover when the ball is secured by the opposing team. A fumble that is secured by the offense is not a loss of ball / turnover; the right of attack does not change.
If the ball is behind the face-up line and the player in possession has the right to throw a forward pass, the ball is only considered fumbled if the player loses it before he leads his arm forward during the throwing movement (therefore it is not sufficient to pull it back) . Otherwise the move will be counted as an incomplete pass and will end without changing the right to attack. If, on the other hand, the player interrupts the throwing movement and subsequently loses the ball, this is considered a fumble.
A fumbled ball can be picked up by any player on the field and carried towards the opposing end zone . Exceptions are fourth attempts and all plays of the last two minutes of each half (not NCAA), in which only the player who lost the ball may carry it on after he has secured it again himself. If the fumble is picked up by another member of the offense, the play ends at this point. If a ball rolls forward into touch after a fumble, the new play starts at the place of the fumble without changing the right to attack. If the ball rolls backwards into touch, the new play begins there. Here, too, the right of attack does not change.
If a ball enters the attacking team's end zone after a fumble and is secured there by the defense, this is a touchdown , if the ball is secured in the end zone by the offense or if the ball rolls over the rear or side boundary of the end zone, this is the case that a safety .
If a ball hits the defending team's end zone after a fumble from the offense and is secured there by the defense, this is a touchback ; the same applies if the ball rolls over the rear or side boundary of the end line. If the ball is secured in the end zone by the fooling player, this is a touchdown . Other offense players can also secure the ball in the end zone; however, if a fourth down has been played or the last two minutes before half-time or the end of the game, the touchdown does not count in the NFL and the ball comes back to the place where it was fumbled for the next down.
A special form of fumble is the fumblerooski , in which the ball is deliberately fumbled in order to enable the offensive lineman to pick up the ball unnoticed and start a running play. This move has now been banned.
Turnover on downs
The attacking team does not manage to get ten yards (or meters in Europe) within four attempts. The ball is passed to the other team at the point where the fourth attempt ended. If a pass is not caught, the opposing team will take possession of the ball at the face-up line . After a failed field goal attempt, regardless of the attempt, the ball is also released. In Europe at the point where the play began ( Line of Scrimmage ), in the National Football League at the point where the attempt was shot, but at least at the own 20-yard line.
particularities
The so-called muff represents a special form. If, in a punt, the team receiving the ball only touches it and does not secure it, the team that performed the punt can pick up the ball. She is not allowed to carry the ball immediately (in contrast to fumble), but remains in possession of the ball and is given a new first try. A muff is neither a fumble nor a turnover: just touching a free ball does not change possession.
See also
source
- Falken Verlag, American Football. The official rules , Niedernhausen 1996, ISBN 3-8068-1673-5 .