STATISTICAL SCORING RULES

SECTION 8 — KICKING PLAYS

  1. Kicks that cross line of scrimmage:
    1. Punts are measured from the line of scrimmage to the point where the ball is recovered by a player, goes Out of Bounds or is otherwise declared dead.
    2. If the ball is punted over the Goal Line, the distance into the Goal Area will be included in the length of the punt.
    3. If the receiver touches the ball but it continues to roll downfield, the point of ultimate recovery will determine the distance of the punt.
    4. Should the receiver lose yards in attempting to run back a kick, the loss will be charged as a loss on punt returns, See Section 10. Where, however, the momentum of the kick forces the receiver backwards, such yardage lost in this manner will be added to the length of the kick. In cases where a receiver concedes a rouge by running back across the deadline, the kick will be measured only to the point possession was gained by the receiver.
    5. If the receiver should kick the ball back to the opponents, this will count as a punt and will be measured from the point of kick. This does not apply to dribbled balls which are dealt with in Section 11 on fumbles.
    6. If the kicker should recover his own kick, or another onside player of that team should do so, the kick will count as a punt and the yardage measured to the point of recovery. Yards gained subsequent to the recovery will be recorded separately under Own Punts Recovered.
    7. An attempted field goal that fails to score becomes a punt and is subject to the section. For individual record purposes, however, missed field goal attempts are recorded separately from normal punts.
    8. Punts partially blocked that cross the line of scrimmage are treated as ordinary punts.
    9. An attempted punt that fails for any reason to cross the line of scrimmage will not be recorded as a punt since it could still evolve into a rushing or passing play, See Section 8(b).
    10. Distances of successful field goals are recorded on the scoring summary.
  2. Kicks that do not cross scrimmage line:
    1. If a kicker should attempt a kick from scrimmage and the ball fails to cross the line of scrimmage, this will not count as a punt but will be considered the same as a lateral pass behind the line of scrimmage. If legally recovered by a player on the kicker's side, the eventual outcome of the play will determine the way it should be recorded, that is, if a forward pass is thrown it will become a passing play; otherwise, it is a rushing play.
    2. If recovered by the defending side, the kicker will be charged with a fumble lost and the yards lost from the line of scrimmage to the point of recovery will be charged as a Team Loss.
    3. If a blocked kick is recovered by the kicking team, the kicker will be charged with a fumble. The events after recovery will determine whether the play shall be recorded as a rushing play, passing play or Team Loss play.
    4. If such blocked kick is recovered by a defending player, the kicker will be charged with a fumble lost. The yards lost from the line of scrimmage to the point of recovery will be charged as a Team Loss under Section 5. Yards gained by the blocking team after recovery will be recorded under Fumble Returns, See Section 11.
    5. The name of the defending player blocking the kick will be recorded in the space provided on the statistics reporting forms. The type of kick attempt blocked should also be indicated (punt, convert or field goal).

THE OFFICIAL PLAYING RULES FOR THE CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2008

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The CFL Official Rule Book is published annually by the Canadian Football League. Any inquiries regarding the CFL Official Playing Rules may be directed to George Black at gblack@cfl.ca.