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baudkarma asked in SportsFootball (American) · 3 years ago

Side Judges hat?

This is video from LAC-NE week 8, where the Chargers Travis Benjamin fields a punt and then retreats into his own end zone, where he's tackled for a safety.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn7RnDdh-kk

A boneheaded play, but that's not what I'm curious about. It appears that the Side Judge has tossed his hat down on the field between the 8 and 9 yard line. Presumably he's marking something, but what? It appears that he tossed his hat down while the ball was still in the air.

3 Answers

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  • 3 years ago

    That may have been where a player stepped out of bounds. On a punt coverage play, with no penalty, that move marks where the player was out of bounds and has to come back into play at first opportunity (without touching the ball) or there is a penalty.

  • James
    Lv 6
    3 years ago

    In this case, the thrown hat indicates that a member of the kicking team ran out of bounds during the kick. You will note in the clip that NE 18 was out of bounds on the near side around midfield. This in and of itself is not illegal. However if this player were to the first to touch the ball downfield, the kicking team would be penalized 5yds for illegal touching.

  • 3 years ago

    Because his flag had already been thrown on another penalty.

    Or maybe he was just throwing a tantrum.

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