Fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed, scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful handing that results in loss of ball possession by a player. Unlike other events which cause the ball to become loose, such as an incomplete pass, a fumbled ball is considered a live ball, and may be recovered and advanced by any member of either team.
A fumble may be forced by a defensive player who either grabs or punches the ball or butts the ball with their helmet. A fumbled ball may be recovered and advanced by either team.
A fumble is one of three events that can cause a turnover.
Under American rules a fumble may be confused with a muff. A muff occurs where a player drops a ball that he does not have clear possession of, such as while attempting to catch a lateral pass or improperly fielding a kicking play such as a punt. Ball security is the ability of a player to maintain control over the football during play and thus avoid a fumble. Thus, losing possession of the ball via a fumble includes not only dropping the ball before being downed; but, also having a ball taken away, or "stripped" from the runner's possession before being downed.
Rules
If the ball is fumbled the defensive team may recover the ball and even advance it to their opponents' goal. The same is true for the offense, but usually, when the offense recovers the ball they simply try to down it. In American football, the offense cannot advance the ball if it recovers its own fumble on fourth down, or in the last two minutes of a half/overtime unless the fumbler recovers the ball. However, the defense cannot advance the ball either if they fumble the ball back to the offense. However, if the offense fumbles the ball, the defense recovers, and then fumbles back to the offense, they would get a new first down since possession had formally changed over the course of the play even though the ball had never been blown dead. In American football, there is no separate signal to indicate a fumble recovery. If the offense recovers its own fumble and down it, the official will indicate the recovery by a hand signal showing the next down. If the defense recovers the fumble, the official will indicate with a "first down" signal in the direction the recovering team is driving the ball. Some officials have erroneously used a "first down" signal when the offense recovers its own fumble and the recovery did not result in a first down.It is not a fumble when a forward pass is attempted and is not caught. In this latter case, it is simply an incomplete pass. However, if the receiver catches the ball, but then drops it after gaining control of the ball, that is a fumble.
Any number of fumbles can be committed during a play, including fumbles by the team originally on defense. Most famously, Dallas Cowboys defender Leon Lett fumbled during Super Bowl XXVII while celebrating during his own fumble return.
A sometimes controversial maxim is "the ground cannot cause a fumble". If a player is tackled and loses control of the ball at or after the time he makes contact with the ground, the player is treated as down and the ball is not in play. However, in the NFL and CFL, if a ball carrier falls without an opponent contacting him, the ground can indeed cause a fumble. This is because in those leagues the ball carrier is not "down" unless an opponent first makes contact, or the runner is out of bounds. In most other leagues, as soon as the knee or elbow touches the ground, the ball carrier is considered down. It is also possible for the ground to cause a fumble in college football if the ball hits the ground before any part of the ball carrier's body touches the ground. An example was the fumble by Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner vs. Tennessee in 1998.
When a fumbled ball goes out of bounds before being recovered, the result varies:
- A fumble going out of bounds between the end zones is retained by the last team with possession. If the ball was moving backwards with regard to the recovering team, it is spotted where it went out of bounds. If the ball was moving forwards, it is spotted where the fumble occurred.
- If a ball is fumbled in the field of play, goes forward into the opponent's end zone, and then goes over the end line or sideline, a touchback is awarded to the defensive team.
- If a team fumbles the ball out of bounds in its own end zone, or fumbles in the field of play and the ball then goes into that team's end zone and out of bounds, the result depends on which team caused the ball to enter the end zone. If the possessing team possessed or forced the ball into the end zone, it is a safety, subject to the momentum rules that apply to safeties. If the opponent forced the ball into the end zone, it is a touchback.
- * However, in the USFL and XFL, a ball fumbled by the offense within the field of play that goes out of bounds in the defensive team's end zone is not a touchback. Instead, the ball is spotted at the spot of the fumble, with the offense retaining possession unless the fumble occurred on fourth down before the offense reached the line to gain, in which case the defense receives possession.
In addition, a punted or place-kicked ball that touches any part of a player on the receiving team, whether or not the player ever gains control, is considered to be live and is treated like a fumble. Also, lateral passes that are caught by a member of the opposing team are recorded as fumbles as opposed to interceptions.
Play during fumbles
Since footballs tend to bounce in unpredictable ways, particularly on artificial turf, attempting to recover and advance a fumbled ball is risky even for those with good manual coordination. Coaches at lower levels of the game usually therefore prefer that players, particularly those such as interior linemen who do not normally handle the ball in the course of play, simply fall on the ball. Gaining or retaining possession is more important in most situations than attempting to advance the ball and possibly score, and there have been many instances where those attempting to do so have wound up fumbling the ball back to the other team.Recovering and advancing a fumble is also made difficult, and potentially injurious, by the effect on play. Since neither team is on offense or defense while the ball remains loose, there are no restrictions on the type of contact allowed as long as all players are making legitimate efforts to recover it. A loose ball has been described as the only situation in football where the rules are suspended.
If the ball remains loose, every player on the field will eventually gravitate towards it, increasing the chaos around it. Spectators relish the suspense. Some players, particularly offensive linemen, have a reputation for taking advantage of the situation to do things to opponents that would otherwise draw penalties, since the officials' attention is necessarily focused on the ball and away from the players trying to get to it. Most commonly, players will "pile on" opponents already down trying to recover the ball. Some NFL players also report that pokes in the eyes, pinches or other abuse is common in post-fumble pileups, conduct which has sometimes led to confrontations, fights or even brawls.
The usual aftermath of a fumble, at every level of play, is a pile of players, many still squirming diligently despite the whistle, surrounded by teammates pointing upfield while the officials slowly extricate them in an effort to determine who has won possession. If two different players have hands on the ball, it is often a judgement call on the officials' part as to which team gets it. In the NFL and CFL this has often been the occasion for coaches to call for a review of the instant replay.
Fumbles recovered for touchdowns in the end zone are often the only way offensive linemen score points.
Proper fumble recovery
The most obvious way to recover a loose football would be to fall prone atop it and cradle it between both arms against the abdomen. Amateur players are seen doing this all the time, particularly when playing touch football, and it can even be seen in professional contests.However, coaches tell players not to do this in game situations if at all possible, since not only is the ball likely to squirt loose again once other players pile on, there is also a possibility of injury, such as a ruptured spleen, from the ball being driven into the soft organs with great force.
Instead, players are taught to fall on their sides and augment their cradling with a thigh and upper body, if possible. This greatly reduces both the chance of losing the ball and the potential for injury.
Fumbles cannot be recovered with any body part that does not also involve at least one of the recovering player's arms.
Coaches are also increasingly encouraging their players to use the "scoop and score" method of picking it up and attempting to return it for a touchdown.
Intentional fumbling
A very rarely used trick play known as the "fake fumble" calls for the quarterback to lay the ball on the ground as he backs up after receiving the snap, so that a pulling guard can pick it up and run the ball around the end. Coaches are very leery of calling this, however, as a team must be able to execute it flawlessly in order for it to have a chance of working in a game situation. The guard must also be able to run the ball competently and protect it when being tackled, both not usually part of the skill set for the position.The "fake fumble" is in fact a real one as far as the rules are concerned, and if the defense manages to get the ball, the coach's judgement is likely to be questioned by fans and media alike. While it is a crowd pleaser when done properly, the risk far outweighs the likely reward. For this reason it is most likely to be used in informal touch football games. It was sometimes used in the college game before the NCAA banned it in 1992. It has almost never been used in the NFL or any other professional league.
The best-known fake fumble is probably the Fumblerooski play in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
Fumbling forward, as the Holy Roller play demonstrated, once was a viable offensive tactic in desperate situations, but the rules have been changed to discourage that.