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Ricochet - Yea or Nay?


NO Dave

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This is a brilliant rule, but it is hard to consistently officiate, and will start arguments. Allow me to explain - 

Offense throws a pass with the TTQB. Ball hits the receiver first, then hits a defender on the deflection. The pass is ruled an interception. 

Basically, it's the last player struck with the pass instead of the first. This allows for better pass defenses because you never know when you might get an unexpected "gift". 

Thoughts? 

 

 

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I like this idea, but I do have three questions/possible caveats before I'd consider implementing it:

1) Is the inverse of your example true, where if it hits a Defensive Player first then hits a Receiver it counts as a catch for the Offense?

2) Does the ball count as "caught" once it hits the field/out of bounds (stuff like fg posts etc) after touching a player, or can it hit a player, bounce off the field, and then hit another player and still count as caught by the second player?

3) If it hits an eligible receiver/defensive player, then ricochets onto an ineligible Lineman, does it then become a penalty for ineligible touching, is it incomplete, or just complete/intercepted for the last eligible player to touch it?

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First of all, it's your game, do whatever you want, and if all parties playing the game agree, fine, go for it. But in my opinion... 

NO. For all the reasons stated by Paul Kian, above. The ball is always going to ricochet somewhere (except on the rare occasion when the ball might actually remain with the first player hit), either to the ground, out of bounds or another player. You are playing with inanimate objects that cannot physically "catch" a ball. Why complicate it further.

Simply stated "on a forward pass, where or whom the balls hits first, determines the outcome of the play". 

   

  

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I will add that this might be a better rule for kickoffs, especially onsides. If it hits a figure and then touches ground/out-of-bounds then it's his ball, if it touches a fig then ricochets onto another figure then it's his ball, if it hits the ground and stops then it's a free-for-all. Less exciting than an Interception of course.

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OK - the ricochet does have some limitations. 

First off, the ball cannot hit the ground. If the ball hits a receiver and then hits the ground, that's it, it's simply a catch by the receiver. 

Second, to avoid a ball striking a defender who is a considerable distance away, a defender must be within 5 yards of the receiver in order to be eligible to play on the ricochet. 

Third, to your first point, No. If the ball strikes the defender, it is an INT. You may get a kick out of this, but in previous iterations, the rule would have been a yes, but coaches were making it a point of strategy to hit a defender first and then hit their receiver. So after a season of this, it became what it is. 

Fourth, if the ball hit a receiver, then hits a lineman on the same team, it's a catch by the receiver. 

Next, if a pass strikes an engaged defender, the pass is considered incomplete. 

Doesn't this sound like a joy to officiate? These games gave me heart palpitations. 

 

 

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15 minutes ago, NO Dave said:

You may get a kick out of this, but in previous iterations, the rule would have been a yes, but coaches were making it a point of strategy to hit a defender first and then hit their receiver. So after a season of this, it became what it is. 

Man, that could almost be a game type in itself for April Fool's Day- you could call it Opposite Ball. 😆

I'm glad to see that there are some practical limitations to this though, on a bigger board with less cluttering of players I can get behind it at least on a "hmm, this could work" level. On a smaller board though, I'd probably have an infarction too. 😳

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This has given me something to think about. That's why I appreciate this forum. In my league, the pass is caught by the last player that the ball contacts BEFORE HITTING THE GROUND. However, if the last player the ball touches before hitting the ground is a receiver who was not the intended target it is incomplete. This might seem inconsistent, but the offense must declare which receiver it is targeting so that the defense can place its free safeties closest to the intended receiver if they have not already been placed in play.  I must admit that it is difficult to judge this, and one reason I will consider changing to the first player the ball hits, but still before it hits the ground. It is still fun to imagine the ball being deflected by one player and then caught by another player though. I'll have to call a meeting of my solitaire league's rules committee in the off-season to discuss this. 😁

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I'm glad to see this topic has garnered some discussion. The humble origins of this rule actually came from the fact that the pass is thrown while the board is off, so defenders cannot make a move to intercept the pass. When played properly, the ricochet rule forces defenses to play a pass honestly, so you see a lot more zone and Cover 2 in a game where ricochets count. 

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On 2/11/2022 at 11:34 AM, NO Dave said:

Doesn't this sound like a joy to officiate? These games gave me heart palpitations.

This is exactly why I stopped using the triple threat QB when I was a kid and haven't pulled back on a plastic arm since. 🤽‍♂️

On 2/11/2022 at 7:30 AM, nefgm.org said:

You are playing with inanimate objects that cannot physically "catch" a ball. Why complicate it further.

Let's attach Velcro to the receiver and fire little cotton footballs. 😜

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We look at that issue also.  What we found is pass defense is about being approximately in the area for an errand pass.  Previous gameplay procedures prevented true defensive “reaction” to what was visible to them when the play was paused (before the pass). 
 

We created “adjustments”.  
EC8B39B5-071C-42B0-96B4-089272A21948.thumb.png.943038917c62289ffdc1319ecf8baa21.png
 

820EA384-5C55-471A-B067-2E1ADA44ACC0.thumb.jpeg.ca9d4c3ce5da391779dca1fd631b1c02.jpeg

This now gives true meaning to reacting by onside unblocked defensive players every time the “offense does something”.

40D3B84F-38A4-4A78-ADF8-76FA07BC5736.thumb.png.aced0e12ad8e41717c4b6c86073cc971.png

Now not only do you get pass defense but reacting to a completion that could lead to tackle all while the board is off. 

AC2A0060-006E-40C2-A97E-2459D7C227E9.thumb.png.1d4c703ce3cc9f930e29e813796e8a2d.png

So we let it be “first contact results” but provided true defense before it. 

👍🏾

 

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