Runner Down or Fumble?

[falcettik]

Ball Carrier A is hit by two tacklers, B1 and B2, at almost the same time. Ball Carrier A stays upright but is lifted off the ground by Tackler B1 and, while falling sideways, is stripped of the ball by Tackler B2 before he hits the ground (Team B recovers the fumble). Is the runner down by stopped forward progress or is this a fumble and recovery by Team B?

 

[VAOfficial]

It's a judgment call by the wing official who's area it is in. Directly sideways can be interpreted as halted forward progress, but much more goes into that call. Was it directly sideways or were they moving in a slightly forward direction? Was the time of the fumble near enough to the time the runner was stopped? It's a tough call that has a lot of factors in play. Remember the wing official on the sideline has the best angle in the house on forward progress.

 

[falcettik]

It's a judgment call by the wing official who's area it is in. Directly sideways can be interpreted as halted forward progress, but much more goes into that call. Was it directly sideways or were they moving in a slightly forward direction? Was the time of the fumble near enough to the time the runner was stopped? It's a tough call that has a lot of factors in play. Remember the wing official on the sideline has the best angle in the house on forward progress.

The wing official was reaching for his bean bag when the umpire ran in whistling and emphatically pointing the runner down. The tackled runner was, IMO, being lifted sideways (I am on the chain crew so I had a line of sight right down the LOS where the ball carrier was tackled, and the play occurred along the visitor's sideline). The ball was stripped out when the runner was about halfway to the ground, I would say no more than 1-1.5 seconds after the initial contact.

 

[VAOfficial]

The wing official was reaching for his bean bag when the umpire ran in whistling and emphatically pointing the runner down. The tackled runner was, IMO, being lifted sideways (I am on the chain crew so I had a line of sight right down the LOS where the ball carrier was tackled, and the play occurred along the visitor's sideline). The ball was stripped out when the runner was about halfway to the ground, I would say no more than 1-1.5 seconds after the initial contact.

The umpire probably had a good angle on the play. Usually that call is left to the wing but the umpire may have seen something definitive in his mind. I'd have to see it to be sure, but it sounds like it could have gone either way. If the runner's forward progress is stopped for more than a second and has no way of advancing or breaking out of the tackle (which with the runner wrapped up in the air I would probably say is true 99% of the time), I would kill it and award forward progress as the umpire did here. If the strip fumble was immediately after the progress stopped, I would let that play out. Forward progress is a judgment, which means each official may call it or see it differently.

 

[White hat]

Without seeing it, there's no way to give a real pronouncement as to whether the call was something I'd agree with or not. Even then, what's to say I'm the one that's right? It's a judgment call.

That said, I'm inclinded to think that if the runner was lifted off the ground and had no way to control his own progress in any direction, then I'd consider the play over and would not allow a turnover.

The old adage is "No cheap turnovers. No cheap scores."