Touchbacks

[dhanson]

the punt near the end of the Saints-Packers game just made me think of this...again.

a player touches a ball near the goal line without crossing the goal line, but somehow the ball gets kicked into the endzone without someone possessing it, and it's a touchback.

on the other hand, a punt hits someone in the helmet incidentally at the 50, and it's down at the 50, instead of wherever the ball ends up and someone finally possesses it.

when did it become the case that, at a certain point on the field, merely touching the ball by a member of the punting team not constitute a downed ball?

edit:

here's the nfl rule :

Quote:

If a member of the kicking team attempting to down the ball on or inside opponent’s 5-yard line carries the ball into the end zone, it is a touchback.

i still can't find anything saying "possessing" the ball is a necessary requirement for downing the ball.

[GaijinGolfer]

The difference is in the 1st instance it requires control of the ball and in the other once a player from the kicking team merely touches the ball, the play is dead.

[camper6]

Good answer.  Control of the ball means possession doesn't it?

[DoGolf Jonathan]

Yeah, I believe so.  THat is why you can just take a ball past the pylon if you are running it in and the rest of your body can be pushed out of bounds, versus if you catch it in the endzone, both feet need to be inbounds touching the ground.