re: On the Illegal forward pass play that was called....

The way the rule is written, Kelly was legal but there's no glossing the linemen being downfield.


That part of the rule needs to be visited and tweaked.

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I love how some are so concerned about an OL down the field. I have yet to see anyone talk about the fact that they had a WR wide open behind our D with no one paying attention to him.

Kelly could have crossed the line 2 yards and they could have had 3 OL downfield illegally but if one of our DBs was covering their WR, even if the pass was completed, at best they get a first down not a TD.

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It has to do with the read that you are supposed to make as a DB. If linemen are blocking downfield, then you read that as a run and you come up for run support.

The thing about that play that OM ran is that there is no right thing for the DB to do. That is why it's illegal. Humphrey stays with his man, and Kelly could run for additional yards.

Perhaps we need to teach our DBS to only read run when the QB passes the line of scrimmage. It sucks though because that gives the offense an extra couple of seconds to set up their blocks.

While it didn't ultimately cost us the game, there is no doubt in my mind that it was a huge momentum shift. Before then we scored, and it started to look like we were back in it.

The rule needs to be enforced with replay. That is the only way to keep offenses from cheating.