Pass and kick football

Abstract

A new football game to be called pass and kick football is disclosed. Derived from American football (e.g., National Football League or National Collegiate Athletic Association rules), the new game is devised to be gender neutral, to be played on regular indoor or outdoor football fields that are layed out with the same dimensions, horizontal and vertical chalk marked lines, goal post structures, and other features of regular football playing fields. Junior college, high school, and little league athletes with rules modified to take account of their level of play, age, and competence, may also play pass and kick football. Although some regular football rules are used most pass and kick football rules and playing methods diverge sharply from NFL and NCAA rules and playing methods. In the disclosed football game only passing and kicking plays are allowed, carrying the ball for yardage gains and point scoring involving tackling and blocking opposing players has been eliminated. In place of ball carrying several innovative plays have been added to known forward passing and kicking plays, all of which makes for a kinder and gentler game of football in which body conditioning and player skill are emphasized over brute strength and training aimed at hurting opposing players. The playing rules and methods of pass and kick football also make for few player injuries and reduced team sizes and team budgets. Pass and kick football is a lively sport that vigorous people of all levels of age and competence will be able to plays. Because of this, it is expected that pass and kick football will attract its share of enthusiastic fans.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The field of the invention is competitive sports. The present invention of pass and kick football pertains to a game derived from American style football (regular football), but designed to be a field sport sufficiently different from regular football to constitute a competitive sport in its own right. Even though pass and kick football games will be played on the same football playing fields as games played by National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams, almost all the playing rules and methods of regular football are changed in favor of novel playing rules and less hard contact playing methods.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] The prior art for field games derived from regular football pertinent to the present invention includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,443 to Foster that discloses a variation of regular football. Foster's patented game uses the same rules as the NFL except that kicks or passes into the end zone that do not pass between the vertical uprights of the goal posts may be deflected back onto the playing field as “live” balls by hitting rebounding assemblies of resilient material at either end of the playing field that are proximate to the goal lines.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,466 to Suess discloses a modified regular football game for reduced size playing areas, especially indoor playing areas. Other variations from regular football taught by Suess include teams having eight members instead of the traditional eleven. Games played in an indoor playing field may be provided with boundary surfaces above the playing field's central area consisting of heavy netting to prevent high kicked footballs from striking roofing structures.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,433 to Moore discloses a game derived primarily from the passing aspects of regular football, but played on a suitable field surface forty yards long and thirty yards wide with baskets located on the playing field at predetermined distances from a line of scrimmage. Moore's patented game may be played with as few as three and as many as five players one of whom is the offensive quarterback.

[0007] The remaining players serve on defense. The objective of said game is to prevent the quarterback from throwing a regulation football into a basket. Depending upon the rules established for a particular game the defensive players may use contact and non-contact means to prevent the quarterback from throwing balls into said baskets.

[0008] The present invention and the referenced prior art exhibit some similarities, because they are derived from regular football to the extent that some parts of regular football's rules, methods, terminology, and playing field layouts are incorporated in the prior art and in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Pass and kick fcotball pertains to a game between two opposing teams derived from regular football that has an almost entirely different set of rules and playing methods. One of the major differences is that the present invention is played entirely using passing and kicking plays. With all rushing plays eliminated, there is no need for tackling, blocking and other hard contact between opposing players. Light contact between opposing players may occur during forward pass plays and will be allowed if the contact is not judged as pass interference by the officials. Most of the allowable physical contact will be between players on offense trying to catch forward passes and players on defense not only trying to prevent completion of passes but also trying to cause a turnover of ball possession by intercepting passes. By the same token offensive pass receivers will be penalized for illegal contact if they are guilty of roughing up defensive players who are trying to knock down or intercept forward passes. Players on defense and offense will also be cited and penalized equally for “personal fouls” involving intentional hard contacts and violations of rules pertaining to unsportsmanlike conduct. Because of the “kinder and gentler” playing methods, play action should generate fewer penalties against teams and individual players for violations of rules pertaining to personal fouls during pass and kick football games than during regular football games.

[0010] One of the objectives of the present invention, therefore, is to reduce the hard contacts between opposing players that are responsible for most player injuries during games. Credible research reveals that although the annual number of fatal casualties in NFL and NCAA football games in the last thirty years has been reduced to as few as three, in the early years of regular football there generally were more than three in a single season of play. Further research on the subject of fatalities attributable to regular football in the last thirty years in all leagues including NFL, NCAA, junior college, high school, and little leagues, reveals that there have been at least fifty player deaths. All of these fatalities cannot be attributed to the hard contact play methods of regular football. Some fatalities were caused by heat strokes, over exertion, hidden vascular weaknesses and other causes not attributable to injuries suffered during a game.

[0011] It will be informative to recite some of the disabling injuries commonly suffered by players in NFL and NCAA football leagues. When it is realized that injuries to football players can happen during practice and training sessions, in supposedly routine offense and defense plays during games and on special teams that are sent into games during the more hazardous kickoff and punt return play action, considering also that football games are seldom called off during even the most inclement weather, fifty football related fatalities from all causes in thirty years seems like a comparatively small number.

[0012] A good example of the type of injuries suffered by football players who spend a plurality of years in professional football can be found in the injuries experienced by Joe Theismann, a quarterback famous for the number of winning games achieved during his career. He recounts in his book, “The Complete Idiots Guide To Understanding Football”, the major injuries he suffered during his twelve year NFL career: “In my career I have had five concussions . . . . I (have) post-concussion syndrome . . . . The concussions are just the start of my list. Here's the rest:

[0013] broken collarbone (1)

[0014] broken ribs (3)

[0015] broken nose (7)

[0016] broken thumb (1)

[0017] broken leg (2-one really bad)

[0018] torn up knee (left)

[0019] dislocated elbow (left)

[0020] And my three front teeth—well just don't look close. They really aren't mine, but I have a good dentist . . . interestingly enough, the most painful injury I ever had was called a hip pointer—when the muscles around the hip are literally torn away . . . .”

[0021] The injuries experienced by Joe Theismann as an NFL quaterback are far from unique. Some of his injuries may be attributable to his long playing career, others to his position as a quarterback, a position that is particularly vunerable to so-called blitzes, in which several opposing players try to break through a quarterback's backfield defensive shield with enough speed to disrupt an intended play action; if the blitz is successful it is called a sack. In NFL and NCAA football games each hard sack of an opposing team's quarterback is applauded by partisans because sacks can result in the offense losing not only considerable yardage, momentum, and a down, but also shake up or injure the key player for the offense enough to stop an ongoing offensive drive to a possible touchdown. Boosters will claim that the considerable amount of hard contact that is allowed between opposing players is what makes regular football such an interesting game to watch.

[0022] The rules and methods of the present invention do not allow for sacks of quarterbacks and hard contacts between opposing players that are likely to cause serious injuries; these kinder and gentler playing rules and methods, in addition to the benefits to the players themselves of remaining injury free for lengthy periods of time, has other benefits including: faster moving games because officials call fewer time outs to allow doctors and trainers to tend to injured players, team owners and sponsors will incur greatly reduced insurance and hospital expenses by having fewer injured players needing emergency treatment by medical specialists, fewer numbers of players will be needed as substitutes for injured players thus reducing the overall size of team numbers and team expenses, special teams will not be needed to conduct play in various phases of games because one integrated team will have the capabilities of doing everything required, thus further reducing the size and budgetary expenses of pass and kick football teams compared with the far greater expenses incurred by regular football teams.

[0023] Among the other objectives of pass and kick football which the present inventor believes has been attained is to make available a modified American style football game that is a worthy alternative to regular football. Pass and kick football demands of its players virtually all of the athletic skills of regular football, while eliminating most of the chances for serious bodily injury to which players of regular football are routinely subjected. The catagory of plays wherein most injuries occur in regular football are the rushing plays. By eliminating ball rushing, by using passing and kicking plays in a novel way, by emphasizing skill in football handling and body conditioning over sheer brawn, players and spectators should find pass and kick football an exciting game to play and watch.

[0024] The first matter that must be decided before a pass and kick football game can begin is which of the two opposing teams will have first possession of the ball; this choice is usually made by means of a coin toss. The team that wins the coin toss gets first possession of the ball and the choice of which end zone to defend. First possession of a ball after an initial kickoff sometimes turns to a team's advantage if said team scores the first points, a psychological advantage if nothing else. The team that loses the coin toss will line up on the opposite side of the field, its designated kicker will place the ball on a kicking tee on the minus 30 horizontal line, in the verticle twenty yard wide center of the field. After an official determines that the players on each team are motionless and properly lined up for the kickoff, said official will whistle the game to begin. The designated kicker will kick the ball down the field to the opposing team.

[0025] For junior college and high school games the kickoff line may be advanced toward the opposing team's goal line, generally to the minus 20 yard line; for little league play the kickoff line may be advanced to the minus 15 yard line.

[0026] At this point the rules and playing methods of regular football and pass and kick football diverge sharply. In NFL and NCAA games the kickoff receiver will generally be an experienced running back on a special team that receives kickoffs. If said kickoff receiver calls for a fair catch, the ball will be grounded where it was caught. If a fair catch is not called and the kickoff receiver catches the ball with the intention of rushing for a yardage gain, a blocking wedge of teammates will try to form in front of said running back to block opposing tacklers; if a blocking wedge does form it will increase the risk of collision injuries to both offensive and defensive players because wedge blockers will generally be running at full tilt when they “take out” a defensive player.

[0027] In pass and kick football, kickoff and punt receivers do not run with a ball for yardage gains. The football becomes grounded where caught or picked up. However, kick receivers do have another option, they can look for one of the two players on their team who are eligible to take part in a forward-pass-after-a-kick-reception, a playing rule that allows a kick receiver to forward pass a ball to one of two eligible pass receivers who alone among the team are required to wear vests of a bright color over their jerseys when they are in the line-up. If said two eligible pass receivers are substituted for during a game, the substitutes must wear similar colored vests. The vests are to identify the two eligible pass receivers so that opposing players can track their movements easier and try to cause a pass to them to be incomplete and if possible to be intercepted. Colored vests also help kick receivers pick out the two players on their team who are eligible to receive forward passes after kicks because the playing rules allow only twenty seconds for initiation of a forward pass after a kick is caught. Another part of the forward pass after a kick rule states that said pass must be thrown for at least an eight yard gain, otherwise it will be judged incomplete by the officials. Still another part of the pass after kick rule states that said pass does not count as a down.

[0028] It should be appreciated that even though a forward-pass-after-a-kick-reception may be considered an opportunity to gain yardage for a team receiving a kickoff or punt, said play is not without risks For example, at the unfavorable field position a team on defense is when a punt or kickoff is received, if the kick receiver tries a forward pass after a kick and said pass is intercepted, the turnover will result in a very favorable field position for the intercepting team. Risky play options, whether successfully executed or not, do add to player and spectator interest. In addition risky play options test the judgement and skill of players, who, by virtue of their past performance on a team are given an opportunity to initiate plays.

[0029] In pass and kick football, after completion of a play, the ball is grounded at the spot where the play was completed. The rules require that a grounded ball must be picked up by an official and “spotted” in the twenty foot wide mid-zone that runs full field length. Said rule also states that a grounded ball must be spotted on the closest five yard apart horizontal line. If a yardage gain was made during the previous play, said line becomes the new scrimmage line; if no yardage gain was made the ball is returned to the original scrimmage line. This rule obviates the need for a yardage chain and the officials needed to monitor it. (A yardage chain is used in regular football to show how far the team on offense has moved the ball since their first down. It requires the attention of at least two officials; sometimes a third official assists them by rotating a rod that displays the number of downs remaining to the offense). With the need for a yardage chain eliminated, the grounded ball rule still must assure that officials will be certain at all times where the correct line of scrimmage is. This assurance is somewhat complicated by another part of the grounded ball rule which requires that a ball will be advanced to the next five yard apart horizontal line as the new scrimmge line if the ball in the previous play was grounded more than two and one-half yards beyond a five yard apart horizontal line. If the previos play was grounded less than two and one-half yards beyond a five yard apart horizontal line, officials will spot the ball rearward to the first five yard apart horizontal line. To help officials, team coaches, and players know which horizontal line is the correct line of scrimmage at any time, a sideline official is tasked to push colored stakes into the turf to mark the downs and after each yardage gain or loss to mark the new position of the ball. Pass and kick football rules also require that to earn a first down a team on offense must gain at least fifteen yards within the alloted four downs, otherwise possession of the ball will revert to the opposing team.

[0030] Another pass and kick football rule that differs from regular football is in regard to fumbles, wherein if a fumbled ball is recovered by the team that fumbled, the ball becomes dead where recovered and incurs a penalty, namely the loss of a down. If the ball is recovered by the opposing team, they take possession of the ball. It is not always easy for game officials to decide which player has recovered the ball. When a decision is made often it is a judgement call. The team that loses possession of the ball may request a video review of the decision. If video review equipment is not available the decision of the officials is final.

[0031] The field goal, a kicking play that will be common to both regular and pass and kick football, is an assisted place kick in which the team in possession of the ball attempts to score three points from an advantageous field position. To execute a successful field goal, a snapped ball to an assisting teammate squatting in the twenty yard apart verticle center of the field at least ten yards behind a line of scrimmage, must be caught by said assisting player and held facing properly on the turf for a place kick. If the kicked ball goes over the cross bar and between the uprights of the goal post to which it is directed, it scores three points for the team that executed the play. Another kicking play that will be frequently used in both regular and pass and kick football is the assisted field kick from the verticle center of the field for an extra point after a touchdown. The kicking position for the latter kick, however, needs to be only five yards behind the goal line rather than ten. The reason why assissted field goals and field kicks after touchdowns are required to be from greater distances from goal posts in pass and kick football than in regular football is that in pass and kick football there will not be any attempt by the opposing players to rush kickers and attempt to block kicks or cause the kicker to hurry a kick and fail to execute it successully. To compensate for the lack of pressure on a kicker by the defense, a successful kick is made more difficult by the requirement for extra kicking distance. The rules also provide for so-called drop kicks which may be used by a skilled kicker to earn one point after a touchdown or three points as a field goal if kicked successfully through a goal post structure.

[0032] In pass and kick football all players on the offensive team except the center lineman and the two backfield players are eligible to catch routine forward passes thrown from behind a line of scrimmage. When a player on offense catches a forward pass the ball becomes “dead” where caught and is turned over to an official who will spot the ball in accordance with the rule that requires that a forward pass must be for a gain of at least seven yards to be counted as completed. One reason for this rule is that when opposing teams line up only five yards apart, the defensive team must have time to track the eight offensive linemen who will be running downfield trying to elude defensive players and become open to receive a forward pass.

[0033] In pass and kick football the pass interference rules allow a defensive player who is trying to cause the incompletion or interception of a forward pass minimum contact with an offensive pass receiver. By the same token an offensive player is only allowed minimum contact with a defensive player trying to intercept or knock down a forward pass. If pass interference is called the offending team suffers a ten yard penalty; it is a judgement call that officials will have to make often because forward passes will be the most frequent play used in the disclosed invention. The pass interference rule also requires that offensive players move downfield at least five yards beyond the scrimmage line before they are eligible to receive a forward pass. A violation of this part of the rule will result in loss of a down and a five yard penalty against the offending team.

[0034] In pass and kick football, before the start of a down, players on offense are required to line up in a nine man balanced line, with the center lineman in a squatted position, ready to snap the ball to one of the backfield players. All players on the offensive team are required to hold still after lining up until the ball is snapped at a signal from the quarterback, who alone is allowed to call signals. A false start by an offensive player before the ball is snapped will incur a five yard penalty, repeat the down. Players on defense are required to line up on a horizontal five yard apart line five yards downfield from the offensive line, either in a balanced or an unbalanced seven player front line and remain immobile until the ball is snapped. The four backfield defensive players are allowed to be in motion behind said line before the ball is snapped. A false start before the ball is snapped by any of the seven defensive players will incur a penalty that will advance the offensive scrimmage line five yards, same down.

[0035] In pass and kick football games, the team that is on the field at any time is normally used for both offense and defense; also, the same designated kicker who serves in the offensive backfield with a quarterback, rather than a substitute special kicker, usually performs all the necessary kicking plays. If for any reason a time out is necessary to allow players to leave a game and for substitute players to come into a game, only quarterbacks and head coaches can ask a game official in charge of time keeping to call a time out.

[0036] In pass and kick football one period of ten minutes of time outs is allocated to each team during a game for substitutions, conferernces between coaches and quarterbacks, as well as for other team needs. Said ten minute time allocation is in addition to all other officially called play stoppages such as the time needed by officials to “spot” balls after play completions, stoppages between scheduled quarter periods and half periods, time called by officials to remove injured players, and for other official reasons. The amount of time a team takes to complete its own time out needs will be deducted from said ten minute allocation until the fund of time is exhausted. After exhaustion of a ten minute time fund, teams that call time outs will be penalized one down for the first extra time out and a yardage penalty of five yards for every additional time out of up to two minutes. A specifically tasked official may be needed to keerp track of time outs called by teams as distinct from time outs called by officials.

[0037] In pass and kick football a substitution rule requires that substitutes inserted in a game during a period are required to remain in the game for at least one complete down before they themselves may be substituted for; also, a team whose quarterback does not regroup said team before a time out expires, will incur a penalty of loss of a down. In summary, the present inventor has maintained all aspects of regular football pertaining to the size and layout of playing fields, including goal post structures, the size and shape of the football, the use by officials and players of similar looking equipment and uniforms; these and other aspects of a pass and kick football game in progress will look much like an ongoing regular football game. However, certain appearance differences will also be apparent, for example, there will be no ball rushes, the number of game officials usually required to officiate in regular football games will be less in pass and kick football games because there will be no yardage chains to monitor. All of the similarities and differences between pass and kick and regular football as expounded in this invention summary should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art of American style regular football. Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the teachings in this invention summary. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Not applicable

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0039] Not applicable

Claims

1. The rules and methods for playing an active game between two opposing teams derived from American style football (regular football), using regular football playing fields, regular footballs (the ball), in a novel field sport to be known as pass and kick football, comprising playing field lay out; game rules, plays that score points and their point values, playing time arrangements, duties of officials who, among other duties, monitor said games for rule violations and impose penalties for said violations, keep accurate time, and perform other referee duties as required.

2. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising play actions that are limited to passing and kicking plays with no ball rushing involved, wherein any properly maintained football field conforming to the requirements of regular football as to size, lay out of chalk marked horizontal and vertical lines, goal post structures and other features required by National Football League (NFL) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) specifications are suitable for playing pass and kick football; also suitable are indoor playing fields that meet NFL and NCAA requirements; downsized playing fields, goal post structures, and smaller size footballs used for playing regular junior college, high school, and little league football games are also suitable for playing pass and kick football in said lower level leagues,

3. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising teams composed of a plurality of players that may be of mixed genders, but preferably of eleven players each of the same gender, wherein each team on offense at the start of a down shall preferably field nine scrimmage line players composed of a center lineman and eight other linemen in a ballanced front line, and two backfield players, one a signal caller and play initiator, known as a quarterback, the other a designated kicker, who shall be the only player eligible to execute kicking plays, but, who, along with said quarterback shall be eligible to execute forward pass plays, wherein, also, the team on defense at the start of a down shall field seven scrimmage line players in a balanced front line and four backfield players in unbalanced formation.

4. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising passing and kicking plays which, if successfully executed, may produce yardage gains and points scored, wherein six points are scored if a team in possession of the ball (the offense) completes a forward pass into the defensive team's end zone for a touchdown; the offense can score an additional one point after touchdown if the offensive team's ball kicker successfully kicks an assisted place kick of a ball snapped by the center lineman from a point five yards behind the line of scrimmage, within the twenty yard wide verticle center of the playing fied, that goes above the cross bar and between the uprights of the defensive team's goal post.

5. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising a way to score two points instead of one point after a touchdown by completion of a forward pass into the defensive team's end zone, said forward pass ball shall be snapped from no closer to the line of scrimmage than the same spot on the horizontal five yard apart line from which an assisted place kick after touchdown would have been kicked.

6. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising a throwing play that, if successful, will score two points for the team on offense, said throwing play, to be known as a far-reaching-throwing-play, is not thrown to be caught, but is thrown to be high enough and far enough to clear the defensive team's goal post structure in the same manner as a successful kick after touchdown, said throwing play, in games played on NFL and NCAA regulation playing fields, shall be thrown from at least thirty yards back from a defensive team's goal post to demonstrate a sufficient level of skill on the part of the thrower to ensure that said throwing plays are not assured of success; the required distance back from the line of scrimmage for initiation of throwing plays shall be pre-determined for the level of player competence expected of different conferences, for example, a higher level of competency would be expected at NFL and NCAA level of play than at junior college, high school, and lower competency level leagues.

7. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising two kicking plays available to the offense which if executed sucessfully will score three points each, wherein one of said kicking plays is an assisted field goal in which the ball must be snapped by the offensive team's center lineman to a teammate squatting at least ten yards back from the line of scrimmage at a point within the playing field's twenty yard wide verticle central zone and held by said teammate for the kick; if the kick is successful the ball will go above the defensive team's goal post crossbar and between the uprights; the other three point kicking play is an unassisted drop kick in which the ball is snapped to a kicker standing at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage within the field's twenty yard wide verticle central zone, said drop kick must clear a goal post in the same manner as an assisted field goal.

8. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising time kreeping arrangements regarding division of games into periods of active play interspersed with periods of rest; both said periods are measured in minutes and monitored by a game official; the preferred play periods for advanced level pass and kick football games are three periods of twenty minutes duration, except that shorter durations varying from three twelve to three fifteen minute periods may be adopted by junior college, high school, and little league teams; the preferred duration of rest periods shall be between five and eight minutes duration; a format of four quarter play periods, a non-play period between halves of as much as twenty-five minutes, which is the format adopted by NFL teams, or some other format, may be adopted by various pass and kick football leagues; a time-keeping official shall be designated to monitor play and rest periods and shall carry a stop-watch for that purpose, said official shall notify each team's quarterback and head coach at least one minute before the expiration of play and rest periods; at the beginning of a new period, possession of the ball on the same scrimmage line as when the previous period ended, with a full complement of downs, shall revert to the team that was in possession of the ball when said period ended.

9. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising rules for a new line of scrimmage placement of a ball after completion of a forward pass, wherein an official dedicated to ball placement shall determine the horizontal five yard apart line nearest the spot where said forward pass was caught. Said official shall place the ball on said five yard apart horizontal line as the new line of scrimmage, to ensure that a line of scrimmage shall at all times be located on a five yard apart horizontal line within the playing field's twenty yard wide verticle central zone. If said forward pass is intercepted by a player on the defense, the same procedure for spotting the ball for the next play as in the case of a completed forward pass shall be followed. If a forward pass is judged incomplete by an official, placement of the ball reverts to the previous placement. If a forward pass is nullified by a rule violation, the line of scrimmage for the next play shall be determined by the cicumstsnces; if the team on defense committed the rule violation the penalty shall be a forward or backward placement of the ball equal to the yardage penalty imposed.

10. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising new line of scrimmage placement of the ball after a punt by the offense, wherein after a ball is punted to the team on defense and grounded, an official dedicated to ball placement shall determine the new line of scrimmage by the same procedure as if the punt had been a forward pass intercepted by the defense.

11. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising certain time monitoring duties by a designated time-keeping official, wherein fourty-five seconds shall be allotted to the offense for completion of a play, the fourty-five seconds shall be divided into two phases; the first phase shall extend from a huddle, through a line-up of teams at the scrimmage line and signal calling, to the ball snap from the center to the backfield, for which twenty-five seconds shall be alloted; the second phase of twenty seconds shall be alloted to the backfied consisting of the quarterback and designated kicker to complete a passing or kicking play. The time-keeping official shall carry a stop-watch to monitor elapsed times; said official shall stop the clock during the following non playing times:

a) after completion of the game starting kickoff, kickoffs after touchdowns, field goals, and far-reaching-throwing-plays;

b) when the ball changes possession from one team to another;

c) when a forward pass is incomplete;

d) when a play is nullified by one of the officials because a player has committed a violation of game rules;

e) when a kicked ball goes out of bounds;

f) when a team calls a time out;

g) when a forward pass is caught out of bounds and is declared incomplete by the officials;

h) when a player suffers an injury;

i) wheh a team coach disputes a play decision by the officials and asks for a video playback review of said decision by the referee;

j) when substiutes are being inserted into a line-up.

12. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising non-forseeable problems arising during a game, wherein officials shall call a time out to stop the time clock to allow a consultation among themselves how best to handle the problem; for example, if a violent lightning storm requires players, spectators, and officials to seek shelter, the time-keeping official shall not restart the time clock until the storm has subsided and the opposing teams can again line-up at the correct scrimmage line to resume the game; if, however, in the opinion of the officials a game once stopped should not be resumed because weather reports indicate that inclement weather has set in for at least several hours, and even if the storm stops in a lesser time and the playing field remains too wet for the safety of players, officials shall declare one team the winner if said team's score after half of the game has been completed is greater than that of the opposing team; if after half of the game has been played and the score is tied, officials shall declare that the game ended in a tie score; if less than half of a game has been completed, the game shall be declared by officials as called off with no score recorded; no player and team records shall be recorded if a game is called off without a declared winner.

13. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, comprising violations of game rules that game officials take notice of by dropping a small flag on the playing field to serve notice to players, head coaches, other officials, and spectators that a violation of the rules has been detected that will nullify the play; the referee shall announce the nature of the violation, point out the guilty player; a penalty shall be imposed on the team whose member committed the violation; if multiple violations are detected in a single play, separate penalties may be imposed on members of the same team; if the violations were committed by players on opposing teams during the same play, imposed penalties may cancel out in whole or in part. Following is a list of rule violations and the penalties assessed:

a) a “delay of game” shall be called when a team on offense fails to line up and initiate a play within fourty-five seconds after time-in is called; the assessed penalty shall be loss of five yards, still the same down;

b) a “delay of game” shall be called against a team which requests a review by a referee of a video playback of a disputed decision such as, for example, a pass interference call against a team member. If after review the disputed call is upheld, a loss of a time out penalty in addition to the penalty already assessed for the rule violation shall be assessed; if the disputed decision is overturned after review. there shall be no “loss of a time out”;

c) a “false start shall be called against a team on offense when one or more players in the lined-up position move before the ball is snapped by the center lineman to a backfield player; the assessed penalty shall be loss of five yards, still the same down;

d) a “false start” shall be called against a team on defense when one or more players in the lined-up position move before the ball is snapped by the offensive center lineman to a backfield player; the assessed penalty shall be a gain of five yards for the team on offense, still the same down;

e) a “violation of the time out rules” shall be called against a team if the team calls for a time out after said team's ten minute allotment of time for outs and for other team needs for the game have been taken; the assessed penalty is a loss of five yards, still same down;

f) a “personal foul” shall be called against a player on defense if said player intentionally tries to prevent the forward progress of a player on offence by, for example, holding and blocking; the penalty is a five yard gain for the team on offense, repeat the down; if the personal foul is unintentional, as for example if a player on defense accidently trips and falls in front of a player on offense thus impeding said offensive player's forward progress, if the referee determines that the violation did not affect the outcome of the offensive team's play, no penalty shall be assessed; if the referee determines that the unintentional foul prevented the successful completion of a play, the penalty shall be a five yard gain for the team on offense, still same down; if the player fouled is injured by the foul to the extent that said player cannot continue playing in that period, the penalty shall be a ten yard gain for the offense, next down;

g) a “personal foul” shall be called against a player on defense if said player intentionally interferes with a player on offense attempting to catch a forward pass, the assessed penalty is for the referee to declare that said pass was complete at the point of interference, still same down; if the referee determines that the pass interference was unintentional, the referee shall declare the pass complete at the point of interference, next down;

h) a “personal foul” shall be called against a player on offense if said player interferes with the fair catch of a punt after an opposing kick receiver signals a fair catch by holding both arms straight up, the assessed penalty shall be a gain of ten yards from the point where the fair catch was signaled, first down;

i) a “personal foul” shall be called against a player on offense if said player interferes with the fair catch of a kickoff after an opposing kick receiver signals a fair catch by holding up both arms straight up, the assessed penalty shall be a gain of ten yards from the point where the fair catch was signaled, first down;

j) an “intentional grounding of the ball” shall be called against a backfield player on offense who, while attempting to throw a forward pass, cannot find an open pass receiver, throws the ball forward on the playing field where there are no players, the assessed penalty shall be loss of five yards, same down

k) an “intentional grounding of the ball” shall be called against a backfield player on offense who, while attempting to throw a forward pass cannot find an open pass receiver, and not wanting to take a chance that a forward pass if attempted might be intercepted, holds on to the ball until the fourty-five second time limit for completion of a play runs out, the assessed penalty shall be loss of five yards, same down;

l) an “illegal substitution” shall be called against a team if after a substitute player enters a line-up of players and another player does not return to the sidelines within the twenty-five second period allowed for the snap of a ball from a center lineman to start a play, the penalty assessed against an offensive team with too many players on the field shall be a five yard loss, same down; the penalty assessed against a team on defense shall be a five yard gain for the team on offense, same down;

m) a “player's clothing deficiency” violation shall be called against a player not properly suited for play with the required protective clothing for the particular conference said player's team is a part of, the penaltyassessed shall be suspension from playing in a game until the clothing deficiency is rectified;

n) an “aggravated personal foul” shall be called against a player for unsportsmanlike conduct such as, for example, loudly disputing with an official the outcome of a play, by intentionally jostling an official, by using loud, profane language on the field, by intentionally trying to cause injury to an opposing player by, for example, throwing a punch, committing a “helmet violation”, using unnecessary roughness; notice shall be taken by officials for other violations such as suiting up for a game while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, by engaging in any behavior that reflects badly on his team and the game of pass and kick football; the maximum penalty available to officials to deal with an “aggravated personal foul” shall be expulsion from the game.

14. A game of pass and kick football between two opposing teams as defined in claim 1, wherein if a game is tied at the end of regulation play, the rules and procedures for determining if an attempt to produce a game winner shall be agreed upon are as follows: the head coaches of each team shall at their option agree to end the game in a tie or play at least one overtime period in an attempt to break the tie. The procedure for determining which team shall have first possession of the ball shall be the same as at the beginning of a game, by the toss of a coin. The first team that scores two or more points during an overtime period shall be the game winner. If either team fails to score during a first overtime period the head coaches may opt for one more overtime period, The first team that scores two or more score points during the second overtime period shall be the winner. If neither teams scores during a second overtime, the game shall preferably be declared ended in a tie score.