The center is going at the QB’s direction; either waiting for a specific cue from the QB, or at a particular count that is started by the QB. But it’s the QB that is managing the timing. So it makes sense to blame the QB or whoever is receiving the snap (sometimes the ball is being snapped directly to a RB for example).
I mean, you can argue that it’s the fault of the coaching staff for not preparing their offense properly or not calling a time out. You can even argue that when a QB commits intentional grounding, it should be blamed on every eligible receiver for not being in the area where the ball is thrown.
But my point is that no matter what the QB does or doesn’t do, it’s the center who didn’t actually snap the ball before the clock expired. Sometimes you’ll see the QB frantically clapping his hands and yelling whatever the “Forget the cadence, snap the ball right now!” signal is, but the center still doesn’t snap it. If that’s a penalty on the QB, then holding calls on the offense when the quarterback takes too long in the pocket should also be on the QB because he didn’t throw the ball in a timely fashion.
If the QB pointed at a defender and said, “Hold that guy,” then I’d agree with you. But a hold isn’t forced on a lineman, sometimes whether or not a guy is held depends on the technique when you are blocking them.
The QB is literally deciding when to snap the ball, so is the only person responsible for the penalty.
That being said, there is one argument you can make… If you have a situation where it is so loud that the center can’t hear the QB, and the QB is yelling for the center to hike the ball, and the center can’t hear the QB, that can lead to a delay of game penalty. I have seen it happen more than once. Though even then it’s not really the center’s fault, unless maybe they have bad hearing or aren’t paying attention, or get confused when the QB taps them on the back or whatever. That’s such an edge case though. And you could even argue that it’s still on the QB to realize the problem and effectively communicate to the center, if nonverbally.
Delay of game is always the quarterback’s fault. He has to signal to the center or establish the timing when that isn’t possible. It’s the quarterback’s job to watch the clock, not the center’s. The center can’t snap the ball before the time or signal provided by the quarterback because that could result in a worse penalty than the 5 yards for delay of game, or even lead to a blown play that results in a turnover.
Good point, the center can’t even see the clock once hunched down (especially when looking back at the QB). Are you going to penalize a guy for violating a clock he can’t see?
I guess my point is two-fold - first, in the grand scheme of things, with the exception of an Unsportsmanlike Conduct or Unnecessary Roughness resulting in a DQ, it doesn’t matter to the game who the penalty is on. Coaches may care so they can coach/discipline a player who keeps committing a penalty, but the game itself is unaffected. Heck, once or twice a season I see a game where they call a penalty on a player who wasn’t even on the field at the time, and it’s not like they stop the game to figure out who was really guilty of holding.
And second, the center is the triggerman. He has to physically start the play. Sure, the QB is the capo who orders the start, but it all comes down to the center snapping the ball to initiate the play. So if you have to call the penalty on a player, why not make it the one who physically starts the play?
Because he hikes the ball according to the quarterback’s instructions. As I pointed out, he can’t hike the ball until then because he doesn’t know all the conditions on the field and he may create a worse outcome for his team than a delay of game.
I mean, I understand all that. But the center’s inaction is the proximate cause of the penalty- he’s allowed by NFL rules to snap the ball whenever he wants, there’s no requirement for him to wait until the QB tells him to - that’s just due to the realities of the game. If everyone is set, there’s no penalty for snapping early - it happens all the time that the QB isn’t ready for the snap because there was a miscommunication on the snap count, and that’s not a penalty, the play runs normally.
So my point is:
The penalty, according to Section 4 Rule 6 Article 1 of the NFL rulebook is:
"It is a delay of the game if the ball is not put in play by a snap within 40 seconds after the start of the play clock. "
The center is the player who physically puts the ball into play.
There is no requirement in the NFL rulebook for any other player to signal the center to do so.
Centers sometimes legally put the ball into play before they’ve been signalled to do so, as evidenced by QBs not realizing the ball has been snapped.
Centers sometimes do not put the ball into play even though they’ve been signalled to do so, as evidenced by QBs frantically signalling but a delay occurring anyway, or the ever amusing every single player commits a false start because the Center didn’t snap it on the correct snap count.
True, but, outside of the relatively rare corner cases of trick plays, silent counts, and brain-farts on the part of the center, it’s up to the quarterback to initiate the play by saying the cadence word which tells the center to snap the ball.
ISTM, from watching way too many football games over the years, that nearly all delay-of-game penalties fall into one of three camps:
The offense gets set at the line of scrimmage in plenty of time, but the quarterback is trying to change plays, or trying to figure out what the defense is going to do, and takes too long to actually make the call to snap the ball
The play comes in late from the bench, and/or substitutions are made late
The offense intentionally takes a delay of game, usually to back up a bit for a punt
In none of those cases is it the center’s “fault;” in only one of them is it really the QB’s fault. Maybe the penalty should just be assessed against the offense as a whole.
I don’t think it really matters who ‘officially’ gets assessed. Pick whoever you want or assess it on the team.
The teams themselves will know who screwed up, if anybody, and they will also know who does so on a regular basis and what needs to be done, if anything. It’s not like they’re going to override their own eyes based on the zebras.
And there aren’t any fines involved and nobody is getting injured by it, so who cares? Just pick somebody or the whole team and just be consistent about it.
It doesn’t. I see officials say the wrong number all of the time on the field and nobody really seems to care. If they claim that #26 committed holding but it was actually #24, it’s not a big deal.
Only for serious penalties, where an ejection is possible or the league may fine a person afterward, that is where it matters, but that of course isn’t going to happen with a delay of game. Unless you delay the game by punching someone in the face I guess.
Exactly. Intent doors not matter. Someone screwed up and that’s for the coaches and players to dissect and analyze and correct later.
Think of FGs and PATs. I’ve observed that it’s the holder that’s responsible for the timing of everything, and it’s all done visually not verbally. What I’ve observed for a long time now, and perhaps every team does it this way, is this sequence performed by visual checks and without any verbal signals:
• The center first looks at the holder to orient and align himself; and I believe that it’s the center’s responsibility to ensure the rest of the O line is ready
• The holder first looks at the center to determine that he is aligned and ready; there may be a sign the center gives to the holder that he is ready but if there is, I haven’t been able to spot that
• Next, the holder turns his head to look at the kicker to determine that he is aligned and ready; this is determined by visual clues, not verbal; maybe the kicker gives the holder a slight nod that he is ready but if that’s done I haven’t been able to spot that
• When the holder has determined that the kicker is ready, the holder then looks back at the center
• This is the signal that the center has been waiting for; once the holder looks back to the center, the center can then snap the ball, which he usually does promptly, typically within one second; there generally are no verbal commands, it’s all done visually
• The kicker starts his approach to the ball visually, not verbally, as soon as the ball is snapped
Do we have any former (or current!) NFL kickers or holders or long snappers here? Or what about college players who ever held any of these positions for a game?
I believe the officials can and do still occasionally call Delay of Game on the offense if and when the officials don’t know who was the responsible offender, although that happens much less frequently lately.
