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Why is spiking the ball not considered intentional grounding?

Best Answers

The relevant rule is "Intentional grounding will be called when a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage due to pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion". The rule is phrased this way specifically to allow for spiking the ball. read more

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). Thus waiting to do so is considered intentional grounding. read more

To properly spike a ball under NFL and CFL rules the ball has to hve crossed the line of scrimmage and if does not it is considered a fumble. Intentional grounding is when you throw the ball to avoid a sack to an area of the field where an eligble reciever had absolutely no reasonable chance of catching the ball. read more

The penalty for intentional grounding is a loss of down and the ball placed at the spot of the foul. A spike at the LOS has exactly the same effect. read more

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