Forward pass

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This article is about a type of football play. For Thoroughbred racehorse, see Forward Pass (horse).

In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown from one player to another on the same team, ending closer to the opponent's goal line.

1 American and Canadian Football
- 1.1 History
2 Rugby league and union
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] American and Canadian Football

In American and Canadian football, a forward pass — usually called simply a pass — is a throwing of the football from a member of the team in possession of the ball to another member of the same team who is closer to the opponent's goal line. This is permitted only once during an offensive play and only from behind the line of scrimmage. An illegal forward pass incurs a 5 yard penalty and the loss of a down.

If an eligible receiver on the passing team legally catches the ball it is a complete pass and the receiver may attempt to advance the ball. If an opposing player legally catches the ball (all defensive players are eligible receivers) it is an interception. That player's team immediately gains possession of the ball and he may attempt to advance the ball toward his opponent's goal. If no player is able to legally catch the ball it is an incomplete pass and the ball becomes dead the moment it touches the ground. It will then be returned to the original line of scrimmage for the next down. If any player interferes with an eligible receiver's ability to catch the ball it is pass interference and will incur a penalty.

The person passing the ball must be a member of the offensive team, and the recipient of the forward pass must be an eligible receiver and must touch the passed ball before any ineligible player.

The moment that a forward pass begins is important to the game. The pass begins the moment the passer's arm begins to move forward. If the passer drops the ball before this moment it is a fumble and therefore a loose ball. In this case anybody can gain possession of the ball before or after it touches the ground. In Canadian football, if the passer drops the ball while his arm is moving forward it is an incomplete pass (unless someone catches the ball before it hits the ground in which case it is a completed pass or an interception). Under American football's tuck rule, if the quarterback is attempting to bring the ball back to his body after starting a passing motion, a lost ball may be considered an incomplete pass even if the quarterback's arm is moving backward at the time.

If a forward pass is caught at the sideline it is only complete (or intercepted) if the receiver catches the ball in bounds. In the NFL the receiver must touch the ground with both feet within bounds after catching the ball to be in bounds. In the NCAA the receiver only needs to touch the ground with one foot within bounds after catching the ball. The CFL rule is similar to the NCAA's - the pass will be ruled complete if caught by a receiver in mid-air, as long as he touches the ground in bounds with his first step.

What is common to all gridiron codes is the receiver must have possession of the ball while he is still in bounds as defined by his code. If the receiver catches the ball but the official determines that he was still "bobbling" it as he stepped into touch, the pass will be ruled incomplete.

[edit] History

According to NFL history (see external link below) the forward pass was legalized from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage February 25, 1933. Before that rule change a forward pass had to be made from 5 or more yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Eddie Cochem, the Saint Louis University coach, was the first to use the forward pass in 1906. However, the play was not used widely until Knute Rockne and Gus Dorais refined it while lifeguarding on a Lake Erie beach at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio during the summer of 1913. That year, Jesse Harper, Notre Dame head coach, showed how the pass could be used by a smaller team to beat a bigger one. Once it was used against a major school on a national stage in this game, the forward pass rapidly gained popularity.

Forward passes were not permitted in Canadian football until 1929[1], but the tactic remained a minor part of the game for several years. Jack Jacobs of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers is recognized, not for inventing the forward pass, but for popularizing it in the Western Interprovincial Football Union, thus changing the Canadian game from a more run-dominated game to the passing game as seen today.

[edit] Rugby league and union

In the two codes of rugby: union and league a forward pass is against the rules. If the referee deems it accidental (as it nearly always is), this results in a scrum to the opposing team, however deliberate forward passes result in the award of a penalty.

The team in possession must get behind the ball carrier or be offside. Offside players will not be penalised as long as they remain inactive but if the ball is thrown to them then they become active and thus a scrum or penalty is awarded. To minimise the chances of this happening and to support the ball carrier, team-mates try to stay behind the player with the ball.

However, a forward pass is defined in terms of whether the ball leaves the hand of the thrower in a forwards direction or not. Players may not even drop the ball forwards which would also result in a scrum.