can someone a little more versed in the obscure rules such as the “Illegal snapping of the ball” penalty from yesterdays game explain that rule to me. I have never heard or seen that one play out. Why wasn’t it a live ball?
and did Mosley play or see the field? I thought he was active for yesterdays game but maybe I’m mistaken? 
yeah I NEVER heard of that , sounds like made up on the spot bunk.
glad I’m not the only one. At best had a possible fumble recovery. At worst they lose 4 or 5 yards and a down. Seems like all these bizarro rules only seem to pop up when the Lions are involved and never to our benefit
Well imagine Denver getting the old fair catch free kick pulled on them……
true, but that one at least has come up in the past and a few normal fans were aware of that rule. “Illegal snapping of the ball”, not so much as far as I can tell. I was really hoping that there would be a few posters able to explain this rule to me and it was something that I just did not know but looking at how many people looked at this post without an explanation leads to me to believe that myself and wolfcub aren’t the only 2 that have never seen that “rule” before
Per chatgpt:
Illegal snapping of the ball in the NFL occurs when the center (the player snapping the ball) violates specific rules while executing the snap. These infractions can include:
1. Failure to Snap the Ball in One Continuous Motion
The center must snap the ball in one smooth, continuous motion. If the center hesitates, moves the ball forward and then back, or makes any other irregular movement, it is considered illegal.
False Start
If the center flinches or simulates the start of the play before actually snapping the ball, it is treated as a false start. This results in a 5-yard penalty against the offense.
Improper Positioning
The center must be lined up correctly on the line of scrimmage. If they are too far off the line or not properly aligned, the snap could be deemed illegal.
Illegal Handling of the Ball
The center cannot pick up the ball or move it after it has been placed on the ground for the snap.
These violations typically result in a 5-yard penalty for the offense. The purpose of these rules is to maintain fairness and prevent deceptive actions before the play begins.
I assume it is #1 in this case.
No. It’s pretty straight forward. You cant fidget w the ball as the snapper. The defense is keying on the ball. If the ball moves at all it has to be one continual movement back to the qb upon command. The defense and more importantly the refs felt Hatten fidgeted w the ball. The logic is if a snapper can fidget w the ball he can draw an offsides. Seen it called before at various levels of football including raiola.
I’m talking about the penalty on the Bears for this. They made a lame snap that never made it to Caleb when they were in shotgun formation. It landed short and instead of a live ball that would have cost them a few yards and a loss of down they kept the down and got the 5 yard penalty
I am pretty sure that was a false start, which would be a dead ball penalty. Basically someone moved, and I think the center thought he could snap the ball and hope to avoid the penalty, but quickly realized the whistles were blowing and just kinda let the snap go all in one motion. So seeing it happen in realtime, it looked like a halfassed snap but I think it was more like an aborted snap due to the play being blown dead.