Scrye 14 - 62 - Donruss: Feature - Red Zone Optional Rules
OPTIONAL
RED
ZONE
RULES
NOTE: These rules must be agreed
to on a case-by-case basis by both
coaches prior to play.
DECLINING PENALTIES
Oftentimes a player may make a great
offensive or defensive call (e.g., a Long Bomb
against your opponent's Goal Line) only to
have the play wiped out because of a penalty.
With this optional rule, players are now able
to decline penalties.
If a player receives a penalty during a
play, play is continued from the Draw Deck.
The coach who flipped and got a penalty now
flips again from his Draw Deck until a color
is revealed. Ignore further penalties and/or
FADDs (Flip Again from the Draw Deck).
Once a color is drawn, both players can deter-
mine the yardage the play received.
The coach who did not receive the penalty
may then choose to take the down and the
yardage gained (thus declining the penalty) OR
accept the penalty and not lose the down.
RED
ZONE
RULES
NOTE: These rules must be agreed
to on a case-by-case basis by both
coaches prior to play.
DECLINING PENALTIES
Oftentimes a player may make a great
offensive or defensive call (e.g., a Long Bomb
against your opponent's Goal Line) only to
have the play wiped out because of a penalty.
With this optional rule, players are now able
to decline penalties.
If a player receives a penalty during a
play, play is continued from the Draw Deck.
The coach who flipped and got a penalty now
flips again from his Draw Deck until a color
is revealed. Ignore further penalties and/or
FADDs (Flip Again from the Draw Deck).
Once a color is drawn, both players can deter-
mine the yardage the play received.
The coach who did not receive the penalty
may then choose to take the down and the
yardage gained (thus declining the penalty) OR
accept the penalty and not lose the down.
• Example: Ron and Duncan are playing, and
Duncan has got the ball 1st and 10 on his 20-
yard line. Duncan plays a Long Bomb, and
Ron calls a Goal Line. However,
when the two players are making
an execution color check, Ron flips
a 5-yard penalty. Normally the play
is dead, and Duncan now has a 1st
and 5 from the 25.
However, prior to the game, both
managers agreed to use the optional
rule of Declining Penalties. Thus, Ron
must now flip another card from his
Draw Deck until he gets a color. Duncan had
obtained a yellow and Ron now has a yellow
from the Draw Deck as well.
Since Ron committed the penalty, Duncan
can either choose the yardage from the chart
(Long Bomb-Yellow vs. a Goal Line-Yellow, or a
19-yard gain) OR he may accept the penalty
and take the 1st and 5 from the 25. In this
case, Duncan declines the penalty and
Starts 1st and 10 from the 39.
NO LONG BOMBS
IN THE END ZONE
Duncan has got the ball 1st and 10 on his 20-
yard line. Duncan plays a Long Bomb, and
Ron calls a Goal Line. However,
when the two players are making
an execution color check, Ron flips
a 5-yard penalty. Normally the play
is dead, and Duncan now has a 1st
and 5 from the 25.
However, prior to the game, both
managers agreed to use the optional
rule of Declining Penalties. Thus, Ron
must now flip another card from his
Draw Deck until he gets a color. Duncan had
obtained a yellow and Ron now has a yellow
from the Draw Deck as well.
Since Ron committed the penalty, Duncan
can either choose the yardage from the chart
(Long Bomb-Yellow vs. a Goal Line-Yellow, or a
19-yard gain) OR he may accept the penalty
and take the 1st and 5 from the 25. In this
case, Duncan declines the penalty and
Starts 1st and 10 from the 39.
NO LONG BOMBS
IN THE END ZONE
In real football, once a team
enters the Red Zone, pass receivers
have to modify their routes
because of the limited field.
Defenders have a big advantage
because they do not have to cover as
much ground. To represent this, once
an offensive team has entered the Red Zone,
and a pass play reveals a yardage gain from
the chart that would go past the back of the
end zone, the play is considered an incom-
plete pass (INC). This special INC is only
used if the chart reveals a number longer than
the field. If an Individual Skill Check or a
Long Gain takes a player past the end zone, it
is still a touchdown (the defenders were
beaten so badly it didn't matter where they
were on the field).
• Example: Ron is driving on Duncan and is
now at the 6-yard line. Ron calls a Trick Pass
and Duncan calls a Goal Line. Ron obtains a
yellow Offensive Pass (OP), and Duncan
also reveals a yellow Run Defense (RD).
This results in a 16-yard gain, which is still a
touchdown because it gains the 6 yards to the
Goal Line but is still within the extra 10 yards
of the end zone. If the colors had been an OP
green and a RD yellow, that would have
resulted in an 18-yard gain that would have
gone past the back of the end zone (the ball
would have been 2 yards past the back line).
enters the Red Zone, pass receivers
have to modify their routes
because of the limited field.
Defenders have a big advantage
because they do not have to cover as
much ground. To represent this, once
an offensive team has entered the Red Zone,
and a pass play reveals a yardage gain from
the chart that would go past the back of the
end zone, the play is considered an incom-
plete pass (INC). This special INC is only
used if the chart reveals a number longer than
the field. If an Individual Skill Check or a
Long Gain takes a player past the end zone, it
is still a touchdown (the defenders were
beaten so badly it didn't matter where they
were on the field).
• Example: Ron is driving on Duncan and is
now at the 6-yard line. Ron calls a Trick Pass
and Duncan calls a Goal Line. Ron obtains a
yellow Offensive Pass (OP), and Duncan
also reveals a yellow Run Defense (RD).
This results in a 16-yard gain, which is still a
touchdown because it gains the 6 yards to the
Goal Line but is still within the extra 10 yards
of the end zone. If the colors had been an OP
green and a RD yellow, that would have
resulted in an 18-yard gain that would have
gone past the back of the end zone (the ball
would have been 2 yards past the back line).
If Ron had obtained a
Long Gain or a Wide Receiver
Skill Check, it would not have
mattered how many yards he
gained because any result of 6
or more yards would have
been a touchdown, regardless
of the total gain.
Harsh Version
In addition to the above
modifications, some people
have even eliminated a Wide Receiver's (WR's)
ability to catch a pass in the back of the end
zone. Thus, the only time a player may catch a
pass past the back of the end zone is on a Long
Gain. In the above example, say Anthony
Miller made an Individual Skill Check and
received a 19-yard gain from the 6-yard. This
would then become INC if you played with
this rule.
Harshest Version
Long Gain or a Wide Receiver
Skill Check, it would not have
mattered how many yards he
gained because any result of 6
or more yards would have
been a touchdown, regardless
of the total gain.
Harsh Version
In addition to the above
modifications, some people
have even eliminated a Wide Receiver's (WR's)
ability to catch a pass in the back of the end
zone. Thus, the only time a player may catch a
pass past the back of the end zone is on a Long
Gain. In the above example, say Anthony
Miller made an Individual Skill Check and
received a 19-yard gain from the 6-yard. This
would then become INC if you played with
this rule.
Harshest Version
Eliminate even a WR's ability to catch a
pass past the back of the end zone with a Long
Gain. Again, these rules only apply when a
team starts a play inside the Red Zone.
COFFIN CORNER KICKS
There is some confusion regarding the
coffin corner kick. It may only be used when
you are in the scoring half of the field (i.e.,
your team needs 50 yards or less to score).
This prevents unscrupulous players from
always kicking the ball out of bounds. One of
our players emailed us the following sugges-
tion regarding the Coffin Corner Kick.
After a Coffin Corner punt, flip a second
card from your Draw Deck. If the player section
is yellow, add five yards to the punt, but there
is a runback. If the section is red, the punt is
out of bounds, and there is no return. Finally, if
it is green, the punt is
the stated yardage, and
there is a runback.
pass past the back of the end zone with a Long
Gain. Again, these rules only apply when a
team starts a play inside the Red Zone.
COFFIN CORNER KICKS
There is some confusion regarding the
coffin corner kick. It may only be used when
you are in the scoring half of the field (i.e.,
your team needs 50 yards or less to score).
This prevents unscrupulous players from
always kicking the ball out of bounds. One of
our players emailed us the following sugges-
tion regarding the Coffin Corner Kick.
After a Coffin Corner punt, flip a second
card from your Draw Deck. If the player section
is yellow, add five yards to the punt, but there
is a runback. If the section is red, the punt is
out of bounds, and there is no return. Finally, if
it is green, the punt is
the stated yardage, and
there is a runback.
The modifications
to the yardage above
are in addition to what-
ever the kicking coach
selected to subtract
from the kick. We use
this rule because no
punter is accurate
enough to always kick
the ball out of bounds.
