Penalty Enforcement (Previous Spot)

Four 2023 “previous spot” penalty enforcement modifications were among the most significant Rule 10-4 changes.

Before 2023, if a Team A player was flagged for holding behind the line of scrimmage, the foul was enforced from the spot of the foul (unless the related run ended behind the spot of the foul). If a Team B player was guilty of tackling the quarterback by the facemask 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, the penalty was enforced from the end of the run (by the way, the offended team’s head coach was never happy with that enforcement).

We referred to this as the “All but One” (ABO) principle. The ABO principle no longer exists.

Before we examine the Rule 10-4-2 articles, let’s look at Rule 8-5-2c. “It is a safety when a player on offense commits any foul for which the penalty is accepted an enforcement is from a spot in his end zone…” 100% of the time, if a Team A player fouls in his end zone (i.e., holding, block below the waist, illegal blindside block, etc), the result of the play is a safety. 10-4-2b will not apply when a Team A player fouls in his end zone.

Now, let’s break down the 10-4-2 articles. The basic spot is the previous spot unless 8-5-2c applies for:

A foul which occurs simultaneously with the snap. (No change from previous years.)
A foul which occurs ~~behind the line of scrimmage~~ during a loose ball play. (My strikethrough. “Behind the line of scrimmage” should not be in this rule.)

If a foul occurs anywhere on the field during a loose ball play (scrimmage kick, free kick, and legal forward pass), the basic spot is the previous spot. (No change from previous years.)

Also, note the special enforcement caveats. We’ll address special enforcement in an upcoming RFP article.

There is an important EXCEPTION to Rule 10-4-2b: If Team K fouls during a legal scrimmage or free kick down (other than kick catch interference) prior to the end of the kick and Team K will not be next to put the ball in play, Team R can elect to 1) enforce the foul from the previous spot and replay the down, or 2) enforce the foul from the succeeding spot (the most likely option).

A foul occurs during a legal kick and an inadvertent whistle ends the down. (No change from previous years.)
A foul by Team A or Team B when the run or related run ends behind the LOS where there is no change of possession. (This is a change from previous years.) The foul can be beyond or behind the LOS.
A foul by Team A that occurs behind the LOS when the run or related run ends beyond the LOS. (This is a change from previous years.)
A foul by Team A that occurs beyond the LOS when the run or related run ends behind the LOS. (This is a change from previous years.)
A foul by Team A or Team B when the run or related run ends behind the LOS before a change of possession. (This is a change from previous years.)

Here is a way to compartmentalize 10-4-2d through g: If the foul or the run/related run ends behind (the common word in each sub-article) the LOS, enforce the foul from the previous spot. It’s that simple, except…

There are some exceptions to 10-4-2d through g (described in Rule 10-4-4). We’ll cover those in the next RFP article.