What makes receiver eligible

Solder reported eligible on third down, but Fleming retains his eligibility as long as he continuously remains in the game. Players reset to their number eligible or ineligible when one of the following happens: if they sit out for a down, a timeout is called by either team, two-minute warning occurs, a replay review, or the end of the quarter.

Fleming would have been legal to line-up at the end of the line on third down, but there were not enough interior lineman on the field to do that. Fleming was required to re-report after each play. On the fly, this was accepted by referee Walt Anderson and the crew.

The eligibility prompts were not seen on TV, but the running play clock was shown being reset to 25 between downs, indicating there was some unforeseen circumstance that should not disadvantage the Patriots. The Solder touchdown play would have been a five-yard illegal formation penalty because Fleming lined up ineligible. However, by Anderson allowing the un-reporting of Fleming, and not signaling to the Colts that Fleming was technically still eligible, it would be inappropriate to flag the Patriots at the snap.

The Colts defense was matched up man-for-man, so they were not mislead. If there was a blown assignment, the Colts would have certainly called a timeout — and may have been successful in getting the timeout restored if they explained the eligibility question.

The announcement by the referee of players reporting eligible or ineligible usually happens when the television audience is listening to the color analyst dissect the previous play. The players widest to the right and left are eligible receivers; the others — typically two tackles, two guards, and a center — are not.

With seven players on the line, that leaves three remaining players in the backfield, or at least a yard off the line of scrimmage, plus the quarterback. Offensive linemen wear numbers ranging from 50 to 79, and they are not eligible except when specifically designated as such. The only way one of those players can be eligible to catch a pass — assuming he is the outermost player on one side of the line — is if the officials are specifically told that player is an eligible receiver on the play.

The player must report to the referee about his change of eligibility status. The referee then announces that to the defensive captain, TV and the stadium that a player with an ineligible number is changing status. The first two times the Patriots used the tactic, Vereen and Hoomanawanui, came off the field on the following play. The third time, a penalty allowed Vereen to stay on the field for the next play. Take this to the extreme, and an offense could trot nine skill players onto the field, make three of them ineligible, but run an option-based offense with myriad passing and lateral opportunities.

At minimum, an offense can create speed and blocking advantages with untraditional formations. The possibilities are endless, if the oft-conservative NFL got a little adventurous. Anyway, it was a brilliant tactic, and proved once again why Belichick is the greatest coach of his generation. The Ravens played mostly man coverage but also plenty of two-deep zone to keep the Patriots on their toes. And when the Ravens gave away their blitz intentions along the goal line, he flashed a quick hand signal to Rob Gronkowski and hit him on an easy slant for a 5-yard touchdown against safety Will Hill.

Too easy. Brady took two sacks in the second quarter to knock the Patriots out of field goal range, one of which was definitely on Brady to get the ball out quicker. Melvin consistently played 8 yards off the line of scrimmage to prevent from getting burned, but Brady attacked him underneath all day. The Patriots threw at Melvin 15 times, completing 12 of those passes for yards and two touchdowns.

Melvin bit badly on the Edelman-to-Amendola yard touchdown pass, and the one time Melvin played press coverage, LaFell beat him for the winning yard touchdown.

The Patriots targeted Melvin eight times in the second half, completing seven passes for yards and two touchdowns. This penalty is called 'illegal touching' and results in a five-yard loss and a loss of down for the offense. Players on defense are always eligible receivers. In the NCAA, the determining factor of whether a player is an eligible receiver is their jersey number and their position on the field when the ball is snapped.

Players on offense whose jersey number is between 50 and 79 are always ineligible. Players on the offense whose number do not fall between 50 and 79 are eligible only if they meet certain criteria: the player is at the end of the group of players on the line of scrimmage this includes wide receivers and tight ends , the player is behind the line of scrimmage by at least one yard running backs , or the player receives a snap from behind the center usually the quarterback.

There are some exceptions to the eligibility rules such as a player wearing an eligible jersey number at an ineligible position if a special teams play is occurring. Also, if a player changes positions during the game, they must also change jersey numbers to reflect that position.

This is done to help the referees in easily spotting ineligible receivers and players in the wrong position in the case of an illegal shift. Additionally, a player whose number makes him ineligible may declare his eligibility to the referee prior to the start of the play.

The referee will make an announcement of this and point to the player in question. Once a player has been declared eligible, he may catch passes and be downfield as any.