Hard to say conclusively, but it wouldn’t be surprising. He could have also been intending to spike the ball instead of the slam. Either way, that was a pretty hard slam.
Basically laterals are sideways or backward passes, and forward passes are, well, forward. The actual motion doesn’t matter either.
The catch is that forward passes have to be made from behind the line of scrimmage, and the linemen can’t go downfield very far, unlike a running play. Laterals are different- the linemen can go downfield as far as they please, and the lateral can be done from anywhere.
The part that makes it interesting is that a dropped forward pass, shovel or otherwise, is incomplete. But a dropped lateral is a fumble and can be recovered by the other team. So if you watch closely, most sideways passes are actually very slightly forward for that very reason.
Shovel passes are really a sort of misdirection play- typically they either look like they’re running wide, or pulling back to pass, and then flip it forward to a running back a few yards in front of them. It has to adhere to all the pass rules, and counts as a pass statistically.
A flea flicker is when the quarterback hands off or laterals the ball and then the ball carrier tosses the ball backwards back to the quarterback who then throws it himself.
Given that all bodies were in motion erratically it was probably accidental, mostly. FWIW the Cal player (Kevin Moen) and Stanford band guy (Gary Tyrrell) are on quite friendly terms and often appear jointly at Big Game-related events. And Gary’s trombone is in the college football Hall of Fame.
And conversely, for the trick play sometimes (but erroneously) referred to as a “double pass”, where the first receiver throws the ball downfield to a streaking wide receiver, the first pass has to be slightly backwards.
It’s pedantic, but important as it comes up. A lateral doesn’t require it to go backwards, it just can’t go forward (advance the ball). The reason it typically goes backwards is that no one wants to let the refs decide if what appears to be parallel with the goal line truly was perfectly thrown, or slightly advanced.
And no discussion on this topic would be complete without reference to the Music City Miracle.
You’ll still have die-hards debating to this day whether it was a lateral or an illegal forward pass.
This actually happened yesterday during the Bears-Lions game. Khalil Mack recovered a fumble and started to run it back upfield. As he was being tackled he pitched it slightly backward to the faster Eddie Jackson, who was a shoestring tackle away from taking it the distance.
But due to Mack’s forward momentum, the pitched ball actually traveled forward before it reached Jackson, making it an illegal forward pass. The ball was spotted where Mack was tackled, minus a five-yard penalty.
Dave Wyman, former NFL linebacker and a local radio/TV sports guy in the Seattle area was playing in that game and was on the field for that play (on the losing end). He has a lot of contempt for the band at Stanford to this very day and his opinion wasn’t unique. According to him, the players got pissed at the band coming onto the field while the play was still going. So I agree with @DMC that it’s very likely.
Also, as far as the OP is concerned, I’ve frequently heard “forward lateral” over the years as a toss that’s attempted to be a lateral but goes forward and draws a penalty (due to it being an illegal forward pass under the circumstances it is made). So saying there is no such thing isn’t really accurate. It might be an oxymoron but it refers to a common phenomenon.
I once heard that, according to NFL rules, there’s really no such thing as a “lateral” – there are only forward passes and backward passes, with a parallel pass being considered forward. And, as has been pointed out, completely different rules apply to each, and neither has anything to do with the arm mechanics involved in passing the ball.
(I know “I once heard” is a lousy claim, but I’m at work and don;t have time to find an actual cite.)
I don’t think this is explicitly true. The full rule is here:
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITION
It is a foul for intentional grounding if a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion. A realistic chance of completion is defined as a pass that is thrown in the direction of and lands in the vicinity of an originally eligible offensive receiver.
Item 1. Passer or Ball Outside Tackle Position. Intentional grounding will not be called when a passer, who is outside, or has been outside, the tackle position, throws a forward pass that lands at or beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player(s) have a realistic chance to catch the ball (including when the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or endline). If the ball crosses the line of scrimmage (extended) beyond the sideline, there is no intentional grounding. If a loose ball leaves the area bordered by the tackles, this area no longer exists; if the ball is recovered, all intentional grounding rules apply as if the passer is outside this area.
Item 2. Physical Contact. Intentional grounding should not be called if:
- the passer initiates his passing motion toward an eligible receiver and then is significantly affected by physical contact from a defensive player that causes the pass to land in an area that is not in the direction and vicinity of an eligible receiver; or
- the passer is out of the pocket, and his passing motion is significantly affected by physical contact from a defensive player that causes the ball to land short of the line of scrimmage.
Item 3. Stopping Clock. A player under center is permitted to stop the game clock legally to save time if, immediately upon receiving the snap, he begins a continuous throwing motion and throws the ball directly into the ground.
Item 4. Delayed Spike. A passer, after delaying his passing action for strategic purposes, is prohibited from throwing the ball to the ground in front of him, even though he is under no pressure from defensive rusher(s).
While in practice any intentional spike is not scrutinized, the letter of the rule isn’t explicit that a non-forward spike is considered a throw and not a fumble. Item 3 above, when taken in the context with the my highlighted phrases there’s an implication that all grounding must in fact be thrown forward even it it’s an intentional spike. A intentional spike that lands behind the thrower probably should be considered a backwards pass and a fumble. Similarly no intentional grounding can be called if a QB throws a ball backwards to avoid a sack.
While I agree completely about tossing a ball backwards to avoid a sack, as that’s simply a fumble, I’m trying to imagine what a ref would actually do in an obvious stop the clock spiking situation. If the QBs throwing motion was such that their arm movement signified a forward pass, but a late release of the ball resulted in the ball hitting the ground at their toes (or even heels), which is technically backwards, I’d need some convincing to believe that they’d call that a fumble.
Correct:
ARTICLE 4. FORWARD PASS
It is a forward pass if:
- the ball initially moves forward (to a point nearer the opponent’s goal line) after leaving the passer’s hand(s); or
- the ball first touches the ground, a player, an official, or anything else at a point that is nearer the opponent’s goal line than the point at which the ball leaves the passer’s hand(s).
- When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional movement forward of his hand starts a forward pass.
~~ARTICLE 5. BACKWARD PASS
It is a Backward Pass if the yard line at which the ball is first touched by a player or the ground is parallel to or behind the yard line at which the ball leaves the passer’s hand. A snap becomes a backward pass when the snapper releases the ball.
Note: If a pass is batted, muffed, punched, or kicked in any direction, its original designation as a Forward Pass or a Backward Pass does not change.
Nope, I goofed. Parallel is backward.
I agree that it would be kind of shocking to see it called, but based on the rule it seems fairly clear that it SHOULD be called a fumble. It would probably take a QB throwing the pass behind his feet, a defender shooting a gap and immediately falling on the ball and then a coaches challenge to contest the ruling of a intentional spike.
Also, I would bet that a QB who’s being pulled down by a defender and slings the ball backwards out of bounds before the whistle would get flagged for grounding. A coach could challenge that too.
I don’t see how. The backwards pass is not a pass, it’s a lateral, and as such I would be surprised if it were subject to intentional grounding rules which are specifically about forward passes.
Also, in your hypothetical, that would be a fumble out of bounds, ball spotted at the point it went out of bounds.
Agreed on the correct ruling, but I suspect that Refs would get it wrong initially out of pure reflex.
That may have been true ten years ago, but I would argue that their reflex these days is to let the play continue and let replay decide the correct ruling.
The refs are very hesitant to call a play dead if there’s any doubt about it. Replay can always correct a non-whistle, but it cannot correct a whistle that stops play.
Oh gotcha. I didn’t properly read what you were saying.
Not really applicable here. In my hypothetical, if the QB is throwing the ball out of bounds play stops regardless. The only question is if the ref a) incorrectly throws the flag, b) lets the penalty stand after discussion and c) does the coach bother to throw the challenge flag to save the yardage.
(Bolding mine) OK, I missed that as well. But in your hypothetical, the refs almost always gather after the play to discuss if it’s grounding or not. I’m guessing that at that point, they would also determine if it was a forward or backward pass. If it’s a forward pass, the grounding penalty, including loss of down, would apply. But if it’s a backward pass, the additional loss of yardage would benefit the defense more than the grounding call, and they would decline the penalty.
Interesting point, however. I don’t recall ever seeing that happen.