Talk:Eligible receiver

What's the point of this rule?
Maybe it might be a good idea to explain the reasoning behind this rule if you know it. Or is it simply "it's always been like that"? -- 77.7.163.176 (talk) 17:21, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I would suspect that it is to maintain some balance between the offense and the defense. By limiting the number of players who can legally receive a forward pass and the positions they can take prior to the snap, the defense is not presented with as many possibilities to attempt to defend as if it was wide open. In the pass, rules regarding forward passes were even more restrictive. I believe that the term "gridiron" came into being early in the 20th century, when lines parallel to the sidelines were used, and a forward pass could only be thrown within the confines of one of the "lanes" defined by these lines.Wschart (talk) 14:50, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

I edited an incorect statement about quarter backs being ineligible in the NFL. Only the T formation is listed in the official rulebook. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.67.9.2 (talk) 11:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)


 * I put in a reference to this NFL rule. One thing could use some clarification. The rules that I have seen indicate that in the T Formation, the QB is not eligible, but other sources say that when the QB takes the snap from the line of scrimmage, as opposed to from the shotgun, that the QB is not eligible. My question is, when the NFL says T Formation, do they actually mean the T formation, which has been obsolete in the NFL for years, or do they mean any formation where the QB takes the snap directly from the center at the line of scrimage? Is a QB in the I Formation eligible?--RLent (talk) 13:40, 1 July 2010 (UTC)

I wouldn't say just "obsolete" for T formation. Try something like "effectively obsolete", because it has never been made illegal and could be used again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 (talk) 16:21, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

wouldn't a penalty be called?
In the section about professional football, I find:

"If, for example, eight men line up on the line of scrimmage, the team loses an eligible receiver."

It goes on to say this could happen if a flanker or "slot" back mistakenly lines up on the line instead of being a step back of the line. I do recall hearing of a penalty for illegal formation, but, as usual for a non-dead-ball foul, the play goes on and the defense has the option of taking the penalty or taking the play (thus declining the penalty). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 (talk) 16:20, 28 August 2012 (UTC)