An amazing play by Dansby in college - Just for fun

[dolphins4life]

He did this in 2001, in the Peach Bowl.

An amazing play, even though the refs botched the call.  I think they thought, "He made such a great play, we'll bend the rules to make it stand."

Dansby was a basketball player, too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhYB8OFMaN8

[David Fulcher]

War Damn Eagle, baby...War Damn Eagle!!! 

[Spider-Dan]

An amazing play, even though the refs botched the call.  I think they thought, "He made such a great play, we'll bend the rules to make it stand."

I thought they got the call right.

If he didn't have possession, then it's a tipped ball and a straight INT.
If he did have possession, then the forward pass wouldn't make him lose possession, and the "illegal forward pass" penalty should be enforced.

Had his teammate dropped the ball, the call would have been tougher; you would then have to argue that he never came down with the ball, etc. (if anything, that makes a strong argument that it was not a pass at all, based on how they likely would have ruled if the teammate dropped the ball).  But there is no reasonable way to argue that that play should not have ended up as anything but an interception.

[TonyB0D]

Yeah that was the correct call - like Dan says, it woulda just been ruled a tipped ball for an INT inside the foul lines.

[dolphins4life]

It doesn't make sense:

He caught the ball and was heading out of bounds.

The only way he could stay inbounds was to do something illegal and throw the ball forward.

So he was rewarded for doing something illegal

[hordman]

Spider-Dan is right.  he doesn't have posession of the ball until his feet touch the ground and has control of the ball.  He jumped out of bounds and directed the ball back into the field of play while still in the air.  it's just like a tip-drill and subsequent INT.

look forward to Dansby playing on Sunday in a Phins uniform

[Spider-Dan]

It doesn't make sense:

He caught the ball and was heading out of bounds.

The only way he could stay inbounds was to do something illegal and throw the ball forward.

So he was rewarded for doing something illegal

Let me ask you this:

What should the call have been if his teammate dropped the ball?  Remember, you have to be consistent, and the teammate's actions have no impact whatsoever on Dansby's part in the play.

P.S. Players are "rewarded for doing something illegal" all the time.  When an O-Lineman gets beat and holds the defender to prevent a possible strip sack, a holding penalty is a reward (compared to potentially losing the ball).  When a DB gets beat and holds the receiver to prevent an easy touchdown, a pass interference penalty is a reward (compared to giving up 6 points).  This is no different; the illegal forward pass penalty is better than letting your opponent keep the ball.

[Dave Gray]

I think that the interception is the right call.

Dansby never had possession of the ball.  In essence, it's a tipped ball.  Had no player been there to catch it, would that have been called a fumble?  No friggin' way.

Possession varies, but nowhere is possession defined by getting two hands on the ball and then losing it (for any reason) before you hit the ground.

[dolphins4life]

So if it was tipped ball, shouldn't there be no penalty?

I guess Spider is right.  It was caught in bounds but there is a illegal forward pass. 

[Spider-Dan]

I guess I've convinced myself... I think the call is technically wrong, because of Dave's example: if there is no player there at all, there's no way in the world that that is considered a fumble or forward pass.

It comes down to this: if he had possession, the ball would have went to Auburn even had he tipped it out of bounds.  That is clearly absurd, so he couldn't have had possession; therefore, it could not have been a forward pass.

[Dolphin-UK]

Thought I'd weigh in with my view

Surely he can't have possession until he lands?

If he had landed with the ball out of bounds it would have been ruled incomplete which is why he threw it back inbounds. SO, he can't have had possession of the ball. SO, it must have been a tip (regardless of the act of tipping the ball which in this case was a two handed throw). Therefore the interception stands and there should be no penalty.

[Defense54]

  Right call. No different than tipping the ball on a special Teams kick at the 1.