If the kicker kicks it out of bounds does the time stops when it hits the ground? Cause on the Djax return, had the punter kicked the ball out of bounds, wouldn't the eagles had time enough for a pass with a run out of bounds followed by a FG attempt? The success, while still low, of that scenario would statisically be better(happens a handful of times a year) than a punt return to end the game(never happened in the history of NFL).

I thought the time starts at the snap of the ball, just like any other play from the line of scrimmage


Edit....and actually, the clock may be running before the snap if the last play was a running play that failed to make a "first down", didn't go out of bounds and neither team called time out......

I agree with Cal_Fan2. I don't think it would make sense to do anything other than start the clock at the snap of the ball.

For example, if the rule is that the clock starts when the ball hits the ground, then what happens if it's a fake punt?

The chance of that (pass and FG) would be very low because of the yardage required. Assuming a reasonable punt out of bounds for say 35 yards, the Eagles would have needed around a 35 yard pass play in order to attempt an approximately 45 yard FG. Very low porbability since you'd have maybe 6 seconds on the clock after the punt. And while one might argue that such a scenario is still more probable than a punt return TD, that would be assuming an average punt returner. Once you inject a punt returner who is noticably faster than anyone on the coverage team, the odds change.

Honestly, how much football do you guys watch? Of course it starts on the snap! Oh btw, that's why the coach came on the field- to yell at the punter for not kicking it out of bounds. There would only have been time for one play.

calbb;444202 said:

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Honestly, how much football do you guys watch? Of course it starts on the snap! Oh btw, that's why the coach came on the field- to yell at the punter for not kicking it out of bounds. There would only have been time for one play.

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Not the way he was kicking -- the ball touches down at like 9.5 seconds. If the same kick had gone out of bounds, that could have been enough time for two plays.

The clock starts on kickoffs when the ball is put into play (in this case, when it is kicked).

Likewise, the clock starts on punts when the ball is put into play (in this case, when it is snapped).

GldnBear71 - Good to see you around here. On kickoffs the clock doesn't start until a player on the receiving team touches the ball in the field of play. If the kick returner catches the ball in the endzone and doesn't come out of the endzone with the ball, no time goes off the clock. On punts, the clock always starts when the ball is snapped. The clock stops when the ball goes out-of-bounds, is fair caught, the ball is downed by the kicking team, the receiver is tackled, scores, or goes out-of-bounds, etc.

This is all assuming the clock was stopped due to an incomplete pass or being run out of bounds. Isn't a punt just a normal 4th down play? If the ball carrier was down in bounds on the 3rd down play, the clock would continue to run, barring a time out call. Otherwise, just as on any other play, if the clock was stopped the clock would start at the snap.

my recollection is that, on the third-down play, Manning was sacked by the Eagles with about 50 seconds to go. The clock was momentarily stopped, then it ran down to 14 seconds, when the Giants called timeout. I remember the announcers saying that it had actually hurt the Eagles to have sacked Manning rather than for him to throw an incomplete pass. The clock then started at the snap; what the OP is asking about, I think, is the point at which the out-of-bounds kick stops the clock. Is it when an official sees it cross the sideline, or does the thing have to come down? Or does the clock continue to run until the official marks the yard line at which it went out of bounds?

Thanks for the clarification, 65.

That would explain why a kickoff out of bounds doesn't start the clock.

gardenstatebear;444236 said:

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my recollection is that, on the third-down play, Manning was sacked by the Eagles with about 50 seconds to go. The clock was momentarily stopped, then it ran down to 14 seconds, when the Giants called timeout. I remember the announcers saying that it had actually hurt the Eagles to have sacked Manning rather than for him to throw an incomplete pass. The clock then started at the snap; what the OP is asking about, I think, is the point at which the out-of-bounds kick stops the clock. Is it when an official sees it cross the sideline, or does the thing have to come down? Or does the clock continue to run until the official marks the yard line at which it went out of bounds?

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I believe a ball isn't out of bounds until it touches an out-of-bounds object (like a person or the ground). So a punt should be out of bounds when it hits some guy's beer in the stands, at which time the clock would stop and the officials would mark the ball where they saw it cross the sideline. (I never understand how they accurately determine that; can they coordinate well enough to triangulate among the members of the crew?)

The official in the offensive backfield goes to the spot where the punter made contact with the ball and identifies the spot out-of-bounds where the punt hit. The sideline official on the side where the ball went out-of-bounds walks down the sideline, watching the aforementioned official. When the aforementioned official has the sideline official and the spot where the punt went out-of-bounds in line, he signals the sideline official of same and that's where the ball is marked as going out-of-bounds.

It must take excellent depth perception for the backfield official to tell where exactly the ball was when it crossed the side line. I wouldn't want to have to do that!

BearyWhite;444224 said:

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Not the way he was kicking -- the ball touches down at like 9.5 seconds. If the same kick had gone out of bounds, that could have been enough time for two plays.

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The ball came down at about 9-9.5 seconds at their own 35. I agree they would have had two plays. I would also say they delayed the start of that clock as reviewed by youtube.

Cal84;444139 said:

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The chance of that (pass and FG) would be very low because of the yardage required. Assuming a reasonable punt out of bounds for say 35 yards, the Eagles would have needed around a 35 yard pass play in order to attempt an approximately 45 yard FG. Very low porbability since you'd have maybe 6 seconds on the clock after the punt. And while one might argue that such a scenario is still more probable than a punt return TD, that would be assuming an average punt returner. Once you inject a punt returner who is noticably faster than anyone on the coverage team, the odds change.

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The same guy who's noticeably faster than anyone else will play on the offense if the punt was out of bound. And DeSean Jackson is not like Desmond Howard who could not run a route.
It was a freakish play. DeSean badly muffed the punt, had to ran back to get it, but still took it all the way.

BearyWhite;444272 said:

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I believe a ball isn't out of bounds until it touches an out-of-bounds object (like a person or the ground). So a punt should be out of bounds when it hits some guy's beer in the stands, at which time the clock would stop and the officials would mark the ball where they saw it cross the sideline. (I never understand how they accurately determine that; can they coordinate well enough to triangulate among the members of the crew?)

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it's not out until it hits an object out of bounds. Just imagine this extreme scenario: our punter punts the ball from his own goal line, he shanks it so bad it heads for tightwad hill, before it touches anything on tightwad hill, a freakishly strong wind blows the ball back onto the field and it lands in bounds and hits an opposing player and falls to the ground in bounds, that's a live ball recoverable by either team!

Your statistical analysis is incorrect. I don't know what is more likely between the two scenarios, but you are assuming the number of punt returns on the last play of the game equals the number of pass attempts to get in field goal range. Its not close. Its a lot more common for a team to be taking a shot at a pass to get in field goal range than it is for a punt to end the game, and if there is a punt to end the game, the punter is rarely going to give the returner a chance to return it. What you said is like saying that it would be easier for me to win the lottery than fill my kitchen sink with peanut butter because people win the lotto all the time, but how often do people fill their sink with peanut butter