A Muff Is Not A Fumble. The NFL Draws The Line At Possession.
The league's glossary defines the two separately, and the only thing separating them is whether the player ever had the ball.
Broadcasts use fumble and muff as if they were the same event. The NFL's own glossary defines them as two different things.
What the glossary says
A fumble is 'a turnover that occurs when any player who is in possession of the football drops it during a play.' The player had the ball and lost it.
A muff: when a player touches a loose ball while unsuccessfully attempting to gain possession.
A muff is defined as 'when a player touches a loose ball while unsuccessfully attempting to gain possession.' The player never had it at all.
Why the distinction is not pedantry
Possession is the hinge. A punt returner who gets a hand to a ball he never controlled has not fumbled it, because there was nothing to fumble - he never possessed it. The same loose ball on the same grass gets a different name depending on whether anyone ever owned it.
- 01A fumble requires possession first, then the loss of it
- 02A muff is an unsuccessful attempt to gain possession
- 03The returner who bobbles a punt he never controlled muffed it
- 04One word, possession, is the entire dividing line
Quick answers
- What is the difference between a muff and a fumble?
- Possession. A fumble is when a player who is in possession of the football drops it during a play. A muff is when a player touches a loose ball while unsuccessfully attempting to gain possession - he never had it.
- Is a dropped punt return a fumble?
- Not if the returner never gained possession. By the NFL glossary's wording that is a muff, because a fumble requires the player to have been in possession first.
Sources
- NFL Football Operations - Football Terms (the league's own glossary)
- The Official NFL Rulebook, NFL Football Operations
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