The rules of the game in the NFL, perhaps the most complex sport in the world, if not one, are at least one of them. Sometimes, even the league's official referees need to look through the rulebook at the game to confirm it before they can make an accurate decision.

There are a number of special circumstances in relation to the successful receipt of the ball and the advancement of the ball after the catch.

One of the rules states that if the ball carrier touches the ground with both knees and the opposing player does not touch the player, then the rugby ball is still a live ball, and the game can still continue if there is no dead ball.

To give a simple example, now Lu Ke is in his pocket, ready to pass, but the pocket is torn, and the opponent tries to tackle the quarterback. Lu Ke did not surrender easily, he still relied on his feet to dodge the grappling, and when he dodged, he accidentally fell to the ground, but the opposing player did not touch Lu Ke, so Lu Ke could stand up again and continue to complete the pass.

It's an effective pass.

In the same way, the same is true of Vernon just now.

At the moment of receiving the ball, the opposing defender did not touch Vernon, which did not result in a dead ball, so Vernon stood up again and continued to complete the push.

Next, Vernon loses his center of gravity and falls off the sideline, creating a dead ball that ends with the push – or if an opposing defender can complete a tackle that forces Vernon's knees to the ground, it can also form a dead ball and stop the push.

However, the frequency of this rule on the field is very low, after all, the situation is so special that some players don't even know, or in the tense atmosphere of the game, they don't remember for a while, and after their knees touch the ground, they give up pushing.

Occasionally, you can see a player in the middle of a game who catches the ball and falls down, and the opposing defender doesn't need to grapple or rush, but still runs over and gently slaps the player.

This action is not to comfort the other person, or to pay tribute to the other person, but to determine the formation of a dead ball.

……

Lu Ke stood in his pocket, straightened his waist, and quickly looked left and right, a little unsure of the situation on the field for a while, and then Hubble's voice came from his ears, "Kick off!" Bambi, tee off! ”

The voice was extremely hurried, even a little anxious, Lu Ke didn't know why, he faced Hubble on the left side of the court, pointed in the direction of the referee, no need to speak, the meaning couldn't be more obvious: Didn't the referee terminate the game?

Hubble didn't have time to explain, and kept shouting, "Kick off!" At the same time, along the sideline of the courtside, he rushed forward exaggeratedly, constantly raising his arms to draw circles, signaling advancement and continuous advancement.

Such a scene fell in Lu Ke's eyes, not only confused, but also quite happy, but Lu Ke did not continue to ask, turned around, and signaled to his offensive group partners, ready to kick off, but it was too late.

"The game is suspended." First the whistle, then the announcement, the referee officially announced the suspension of the game, "The New York Giants have challenged, and now there is an official replay." ”

At this time, Lu Ke realized what was going on.

Turning his head, he looked to the right, and then saw the head coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin, throw a red flag and officially challenge the referee's decision.

In rugby, there are two types of penalties, the yellow flag indicates a foul and the number of yards is lost; The red flag indicates a challenge, and the head coach challenges the referee to make a penalty.

However, the use of red flags is time-limited. It's not that the manager can challenge any decision of the game at any time; The challenge can only be completed in this short interval after the penalty is over and before the game restarts.

It is precisely because the thinking time is too short and the risk is too great - if you fail, you have to deduct a timeout in this half; Therefore, in official matches, the head coach is often unable to make rational judgments, and can only trust his instincts.

Sometimes, they bury a game because of a red flag challenge; Sometimes, they hesitate and miss a penalty in their favour, and at the end of the game, regret it.

In other words, if Lu Ke kicked off immediately just now and announced the start of the game again, then Kauflin would not be able to challenge the referee's decision, and the game could only continue, which is also the reason why Hubble kept signaling; However, Lu Ke failed to comprehend the subtlety and missed the kick-off opportunity, so after a short period of thought, Kauflin decided to challenge the penalty.

At this moment, Lu Ke's biggest shortcoming was exposed: he had no competition experience.

This was the first time Lu Ke encountered a red flag challenge in his career, and he was not aware of the controversy of the penalty at all, nor did he realize the reason for the dispute between Kauflin and the referee, so he missed it.

In the game, Lu Ke, who seems to be resourceful and strategic, has finally revealed his prototype, and he is a complete rookie. If it's a veteran quarterback, even if they miss the moment themselves, they'll kick off as soon as they see the manager's hint. However, there is no if.

After reacting, Lu Ke himself was dumbfounded, and a sense of absurdity invaded.

……

"Red flag challenge, New York Giants veteran Tom Coughlin challenged. Obviously, Lu Ke missed the opportunity to kick off quickly and gave the opponent a chance to challenge, and Hubble stood on the sidelines holding his head in chagrin. Now, we can finally be sure that this is indeed a rookie quarterback. ”

Although the red flag challenge was mentioned on the field, Teddy's tone was very relaxed, and he teased Lu Ke a little. Ten weeks into the regular season, there are not many moments like that.

"Today's game was really exciting, with less than four minutes to go, first after four three-yard hits, and now facing the red flag challenge. An opening is already full of ups and downs, and accidents are continuous. After the joke, Teddy got back on top of the game, "Kirk, what do you think of Kauflin's red flag challenge?" ”

"The debatable part now is whether or not Prince Amkamara touched Davis in the short time between when he touched the ground and when he got back on his feet after Vernon Davis received the ball. The referee's previous verdict was that there was no touch, so Davis' advance was legal. ”

Kirk briefly explained to the audience which of the referee's decisions Kauflin challenged, and then began to play in slow motion, using a yellow pen to circle areas of focus on the frame, "This ...... It's a bit ambiguous, from this point of view, it feels like it's not touched, but it may also be the camera angle, and we need to bring up another angle of the video and watch it again. ”

However, there seems to be a bit of a problem with the on-site director's video scheduling, playing the same footage over and over again, and Kirk and Teddy watched it carefully two or three times, but still couldn't see a single reason.

Teddy was more experienced, so he simply skipped the video and asked directly, "Kirk, personally, do you think Kauflin's red flag challenge was impulsive?" Or are you sure? ”

"I think that's an interesting entry point." Kirk nodded in agreement, "This attack just now happened on the right side, right under the noses of the New York Giants players and coaches, perhaps, their perspective is clearer, and after a brief argument, Kauflin chose to challenge. ”

"Of course, even if it fails, the Giants lose a timeout, but it's only the first half, so it's not that risky. So, Kauflin was a little bolder. After Kirk finished the analysis, he still refused to give a conclusion, "Then, this is a matter of probability, let's leave it to the referee for decision." ”

……

In NFL games, there are a lot of moments when you need to watch a video replay.

In addition to the red flag challenge, referees also need multiple referees to gather together to collectively watch the video replay and make accurate judgments when making certain decisions; Later, in order to avoid miscalculations, the league also introduced a new rule, in the first half and the last two minutes of the second half, all touchdowns must watch a video replay to ensure that the touchdowns are legal.

For this reason, every game, a small black tent will be set up on the sidelines, which is nicknamed the "little black room", and the referees will collectively drill into the small black room, watch the video replay, and contact the broadcaster of the NFL headquarters to comprehensively review the judgment from multiple perspectives and directions to ensure that the final judgment can be as fair as possible.

Incidentally, in 2017, the league changed the rules and wanted to be more transparent about the replay. The dark room was abolished and replaced with a staff member standing on the pitch with a tablet while the referees gathered over to watch the video of the game.

Transparent is transparent, but there is no majesty and dignity, revealing a sense of joy and childishness, which has been complained by countless commentators.

At this time, all the referees gathered in a small dark room on the sidelines and watched the game video over and over again.

The time was a little long, Lu Ke and the members of the offensive team stood on the side of the court, drinking water and resting, and at the same time, Lu Ke also discussed tactics with the coaches of the offensive team.

As soon as he got off the field, Lu Ke became the object of everyone's complaints, missed the kick-off opportunity, and led to the opponent's successful red flag challenge.

Vernon was the first to rush over, pretending to be fierce, "If this offense is blown away, it's all because of you." However, the smile in his eyes still revealed his true emotions in his heart.

Lu Ke looked stunned, "Are you sure it's not because of you?" Didn't you just finish catching the ball when you were pushing? But this time, all the other players said in unison, "No, it's you." ”

Not only the players, but also the coaching staff laughed in unison.

Originally, a red flag challenge, Vernon's brilliant advance may be greatly reduced, and it may also interrupt the San Francisco 49ers' newly revived offensive touch, which is obviously not a good thing; But now, in the midst of the laughter, the team has relaxed and seems to have not been affected too much.

It's just that I pity Lu Ke, for a long time to come, this matter is estimated to become his label.

"Red Flag Boy." Marcus complained.