re: fumbles on 4th down.

quote:

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i mean, i think it has to be fumbled forward.. im not exactly sure..

example.. 4th down play, offense going for it.. ball is snapped over the QBs head.. is the play dead? can the QB not pick it up and try to pass or run?

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That's exactly what the rule was put in for.

I think laterals may be a special case, whether it's explicit written that way or not. It's technically a run play, and the holder is a QB on the play. I can't imagine any game EVER where a ref would blow a play dead cause the RB missed a toss on 4th down and then picked it up and ran.