Quote:ARTICLE 6. COMPLETE STOP. All offensive players are required to come to a complete stop and be in a set position simultaneously for at least one second prior to the snap.

 

The only exception is one player in motion, where everyone else has to be stationary.

 

ARTICLE 7. ILLEGAL MOTION. When the ball is snapped, one player who is lined up in the backfield may be in motion, provided that he is moving parallel to or away from the line of scrimmage. No player is permitted to be moving toward the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. All other players must be stationary in their positions.

 

ARTICLE 8. SHIFTS. The offensive team is permitted to shift and have two or more players in motion multiple times before the snap. However, after the last shift, all players must come to a complete stop and be in a set position simultaneously for at least one second.

 

http://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/2015-nfl-rulebook/

 

 

The application of this rule is disturbing, as you can have a scenario where like in this game, you have time to line up and snap the ball, but not enough time to get "set" for a full second.

 

In effect if there is a moving clock and a second is left, then even though you have time to line up and get the snap off, you effectively have less than that second if the OL has to be set for at least one second.

 

The NFL is essentially saying it takes a minimum of 1.1 seconds for a 1 second snap.  For a team trying to make a last second play, a sixty minute game becomes a 59:59.9 second game.

 

I don't see how they can definitively make that determination when NFL clocks do not measure tenths of seconds.

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