Some football stat/rules questions that none of my friends know.....

[Sooga]

Ok, so let me preface this question by saying I know 2 things about football: jack, and sh*t. I was watching sportscenter today and saw a missed lateral pass, and that brought up a buncha questions:

1) Is a missed lateral pass considered a fumble? If so, who gets penalized for the fumble?
2) Is a lateral pass considered a 'pass'? i.e. if a QB misses one, does he get a 0/1 in his completions/attempts and a 1/1 if he makes one?
3) Say a QB laterals to a WR who scampers for a TD. Is this considered a rushing TD or a passing TD?
4) Say a QB laterals to a RB who runs for 20 yards, then laterals to a WR who runs for 30 yards and a TD. What are the stats gonna look like for that? a 20 yard rush for the RB and and a 30 yard rush TD for the WR?

That's all for now. If anyone really knows their stuff, I'd appreciate any insights.

[adios]

NFL Rules (http://www.marasoft.com/hh16.htm)

Of course these are NFL rules not necessarily the same as college football rules or CFL rules. Anyway you're using the term "lateral" loosely. It's easier to think of it as either a forward pass or backward pass. From the rules on a "backward pass"

Backward Pass

1. Any pass not forward is regarded as a backward pass or lateral. A pass parallel to the line is a backward pass. A runner may pass backward at any time. Any player on either team may catch the pass or recover the ball after it touches the ground.


So I'll just say a "lateral" and "backward pass" are the same thing.

So to answer your questions:

"1.1) Is a missed lateral pass considered a fumble? If so, who gets penalized for the fumble?"

Yes, It's a judgement call I believe.

"2) Is a lateral pass considered a 'pass'? i.e. if a QB misses one, does he get a 0/1 in his completions/attempts and a 1/1 if he makes one?"

No it's not considered a pass.

"3) Say a QB laterals to a WR who scampers for a TD. Is this considered a rushing TD or a passing TD?"

Rushing TD

"4) Say a QB laterals to a RB who runs for 20 yards, then laterals to a WR who runs for 30 yards and a TD. What are the stats gonna look like for that? a 20 yard rush for the RB and and a 30 yard rush TD for the WR?"

I believe the answer is yes.

[Josh W]

The only thing I can comment on is...

>>4) Say a QB laterals to a RB who runs for 20 yards, then laterals to a WR who runs for 30 yards and a TD. What are the stats gonna look like for that? a 20 yard rush for the RB and and a 30 yard rush TD for the WR?

I believe that it's a 20 yd rush for the RB, and 30 additional rushing yards for the WR, as well as a TD for the WR, but the WR does not have a rushing attempt in this scenario. That is, in the case of a downfield lateral, the rushing yards get counted, but the rushing attempt itself does not count as an attempt.

I think.

Josh