Did anyone else see Dickson hold the what would be tackler on the safety to prevent him getting to Koch so more time could be run off the clock?

Holding on intentional safety exposes loophole in rules

Posted by Mike Florio on February 4, 2013, 8:42 PM EST Getty Images

In Super Bowl XLVI, the unintended use of an extra man on defense exposed a loophole that [the NFL promptly closed].  In Super Bowl XLVII, another loophole has been exposed.

But this one will be harder to remedy.

Facing fourth and seven from their own eight and clinging to a five-point lead, the Ravens opted to take an intentional safety.  The clock showed 12 seconds at the snap, and the Ravens were able to milk eight of those ticks as punter [Sam Koch] moved to the back corner of the end zone.

Helping Koch delay as long as possible his exit from the field of play were multiple Ravens players who held 49ers defenders who were trying to get to Koch more quickly.  And while a flag for holding inexplicably wasn’t thrown, the outcome would have been no different.  Holding in the end zone by the offensive team triggers a safety, and that’s exactly what the Ravens were willing to concede.

Under the circumstances, avoiding the safety was irrelevant.  Using as much time as possible was the goal.

The challenge comes from finding an acceptable way to address the situation.  For a play that ends in a safety with a holding penalty committed in the end zone, the most obvious solution would be to enforce the penalty on the free kick, moving the ball from the 20 to the 10.  But that won’t remedy the fact that a deliberate penalty created a strategic advantage by taking time off the clock.

So perhaps the fairest outcome would be to award the safety, and to restore the clock to the time remaining before the play in question began.

Regardless, it’s a situation that cries out for further study by the Competition Committee.

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While the hold in the endzone would've caused a safety anyway, there's no way Koch would've been able to run 8 entire seconds off the clock before being forced out of bounds, who knows Gin gets out of bounds  after the free kick Kraepernick could have easily tossed a hail mary in the end zone from the 50.

What would you do with this rule?  A) not change a thing B) change rule and have a penalty enforced on the free kick. C) change rule and put time that was allowed to be run off due to hold back on the clock.

I think time needs to be put back on the clock, a penalty is a penalty you shouldn't be allowed to intentionally hold someone just because the result will be the same, you have to consider time in this scenario.

Why do I keep seeing people single out Dickson.  Damn near every player was holding and I doubt this was the first time in NFL history it's happened.

A lot of people are mad the refs didn't throw a flag but it wouldn't have changed a single thing.  They play would have still continued until Koch stepped out or was tackled and the safety would have still been awarded

Personally, I think it was genius and helped my team win.  No rule was broken.  The 49ers should have simply ran Gore and avoided all this.  There's little doubt in my mind he wouldn't score.  Hell, Ngata was out completely.  Pound the rock

It was smart. I gotta say, I think John and his staff thoroughly outcoached Jim and his staff. 

The reason Dickson is singled out is pretty simple, he's the guy in the middle of the screen blatantly holding someone. Yeah they were all holding. Obviously that was the plan and it was very smart. 

I agree with you, I'm not sure what happened but the fact they didnt just pound the ball on all 4 plays if need be still is mind-boggling to me. If they had to throw a pass I thought it should of been off a fake to Gore(in that pistol) and to Walker or Davis. Instead they forced 3 passes to their #1 receiver who Reed was keying on along with whatever corner was guarding him. Gore and Kaepernick had about 150 yards rushing between them in that 2nd half, I'm not sure why they didnt just keep on pounding it, there was plenty of time. I kept telling my wife, watch the kid is gonna run it in for the TD. Never happened. I wonder if Roman called those plays or the hyper-emotional Harbaugh did. 

Credit to Reed and Ellerbe getting to Gore before he got to the end zone. 









 

There's holding on just about every play, just ask James Harrison.

But in this case, giving the punter an extra second or two with a hold was just smart play.

If you don't like it, don't put yourself in the position where the other team can take a deliberate safety.

I don't see any need for a change on this rule. 

It was an obvious holding, and I noticed it right away.  The point is it gave the punter what, 2 or 3 extra seconds?  Forty-niners blew a lot more time than 3 seconds.  I don't see any way you can change the rule.  The offense is penalized by giving them a safety.  So what if that was their intent anyway?

I must say I'm a little surprised at everybody's answer, why should the kicking team be allowed to hold at all, it doesn't matter if the kicking team is already intentionally giving the opposing team a safety or not, it's still a play in the game and is supposed to be officiated like the rest of the series of plays. Koch could've been forced out of bounds a lot sooner than he was saving extra time on the clock. Yes it was a good play call, I'm not questioning that I'm questioning the amount of time that was able to run off the clock as a result of the hold, the reason Dickson is the one mentioned is because Koch ran out of bounds to the side Dickson was on and if Dickson didn't bear hug him the edge rusher would have forced Koch out of bounds way before Koch could get to the sideline.

it doesn't matter if the kicking team is already intentionally giving the opposing team a safety or not, it's still a play in the game and is supposed to be officiated like the rest of the series of plays. Koch could've been forced out of bounds a lot sooner than he was saving extra time on the clock

The thing is, even if every ref in the game threw a flag, the play still wouldn't have ended until Koch was tackled or ran out of bounds.  So flags could have been on the field and every Ravens player still could have tackled and held down every defender if they want.

I still say the reason the refs didn't bother throwing a flag is because it changes absolutely nothing.  The kick off spot wouldn't change.  The it still would have only been two points.  The play doesn't stop with a flag

If a DB is beat and the ball is in the air he is better off to just dive and tackles the guy and be called for PI at that spot. If he continues to run downfield he will gain more yardage, so it creates a strategic advantage to commit the penalty.

Some will argue its better to be called for a hold than leave your QB's blind side completely exposed to a pass rusher, so committing that penalty could create a strategic advantage.

Swatting a fumbled ball out of bounds is a penalty that creates a staregic advantage. Its better to take the penalty than turn the ball over.

Taking a delay of game before a punt to either buy your punter a few extra yards to play with or waste every last second creates a strategic advantage.

Holding in the endzone created a strategic advantage and was a smart play by the Ravens. No rule change is necessary. Many penalties as smart to take and this is true in sports other than football too(Hack-a-Howard). Rule books are written in black and white and can't accomidate to how the world ought to be. They simply lay guidelines for how the games is to be officiated and played. Breaking a rule is not cheating because there is a built in punishment for that. The Ravens weighed their options and decided they were willing to accept that punishment. 

Or.................if San Fran had simply lined up and do what they do best against a defense that was reeling at the time and without its best player (Ngata), and RUN THE BALL for a td instead of getting cute and trying to THROW three straight plays,  they wouldn't have needed to worry a safety or time on the clock.

When did football become rocket science?  Throwing at the 5-yard line against a mediocre defense, when you have the best OL in football, a mobile QB, and a very good RB.  Run the damn ball!

The 49ers weren't going to get anything whether or not the penalty was called. A safety is the reward for holding in th endzone. They wouldn't have gained a single yard from the penalty. It was just knowing how to abuse the rules in your favor. Good coaching, hard to believe a Harbaugh could be accused of good coaching.

Helping Koch delay as long as possible his exit from the field of play were multiple Ravens players who held49ers defenders who were trying to get to Koch more quickly.  And while a flag for holding inexplicably wasn’t thrown, the outcome would have been no different.  Holding in the end zone by the offensive team triggers a safety, and that’s exactly what the Ravens were willing to concede.

It made sense to hold because nothing happens that isn't happening already.  Would throwing the flag make the time the play took any shorter?

John Harbaugh, the ol' speial teams coach, had his team ready for this very play.  Do they really practice that or just talk about what ifs?  In any event, it's a smart play.  Use the rule book to your benefit.  It seemed the 49ers weren't even prepared for the possibility.  Great call by John H.