Zebra Report Addendum: The Real Answer to the Back-to-Back Timeouts Question

Special thanks to a collegiate official for sending along the NFL rules ... and I'll note here that it's maddening the NFL doesn't provide it's official rulebook anywhere online like the MLB does.

Anyway, remember the question about why the officials let the play clock run out on Eli Manning when he tried to call back-to-back timeouts?

People were wondering why Joe Gibbs was penalized 15 last year for doing the same thing?

Well, it's not the same thing at all. Gibbs was trying to "freeze the kicker." The NFL has a specific rule to deal with this ...

1. Rule 4-5-1 item 3 states that: "a second charged timeout by either team during the same dead ball period is prohibited." Penalty - 5 yards Delay of Game - This is what Manning did.

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2. Rule 4-5-1, item 4 states that "An attempt to call ... a second timeout in the same dead ball period by Team B in an attempt to 'freeze' a kicker shall be considered unsportsmanlike conduct and will subject the offending team to a 15 yard penalty." This is what Gibbs did.

Just as I suspected ... and as usual ... the officials got the call correct in both cases.