[simple simon]

during Sunday's game with the Jets, the Patriots downed a punt inside the 5 yard line ....... the result of the penalty was an automatic touch-back .... i was stunned having never heard such a thing before ... the announcers i was listening to on the radio had never heard of it before either

can someone explain just what the heck is going on here .... youre not allowed to down a punt inside the 5 anymore ?

[Lefty Noob]

Never heard that. The rule is (or at least, was) that it's receiver's ball at the spot of the illegal touch. Having not seen the play, I don't know what other factors might be involved. Did the guy step into the endzone and then come out to down the ball? Did he have a foot on the goal line or something?

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Did the guy step into the endzone and then come out to down the ball? Did he have a foot on the goal line or something?

not to my knowledge .... they were Patriots announcers i was listening too so i guess they may have been biased, but they were also trying to get a better explanation

[ThePundit]

I was listening on the Jets radio and they explained it.

The guy who touched the ball ran out of bounds so he couldn't be the first one to touch the ball.

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

I was listening on the Jets radio and they explained it.

The guy who touched the ball ran out of bounds so he couldn't be the first one to touch the ball.

well thanks, i dont see why the Pats announcers wouldnt have learned that and let us know

i imagine the broadcast you heard was a bit more somber then the one i heard

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

The guy who touched the ball ran out of bounds so he couldn't be the first one to touch the ball.

Yeah, I knew there had to be some detail missing from the discussion. Thanks Pundit!

[legend]

If you were listening to the same broadcast that I tuned into, I could understand how those two announcers could be confused. Gino Cappelletti had to have every play explained to him, and he's the color man.

[ThePundit]

It was the play-by-play guy - Bob Wecheusen who explained it ---Marty Lyons, the Jets color guy didn't have a clue.

[simple simon]

yesterday at work i talked to a guy that watched it on tv .... and the Pats TV announcers knew exactly what happened .... seems they could have clued in the radio guys