Tampa Bay started a 4th-and-1 play vs. Vikings from well past first down line

We noticed on a couple of occasions Sunday that Tampa Bay center Evan Dietrich-Smith appeared to scoot the ball forward before the snap.

You see this fairly regularly; usually, it's a matter of an inch or two — not much of an advantage gained, and likely explained by the center trying to get a better grip on the ball.

But it appeared to work to Tampa Bay's benefit on one play we remembered from early in the first half, when the Bucs made the decision to go for it on fourth an inches. After the Vikings' victory, we sort of forgot about it, but thankfully reader Ted Jacobson not only remembered but sent a screen shot of the play in question. We'll let Ted explain:

So the blue line is the line of scrimmage where the ball should have been to the right of. The red line is the 1st down line. (I verified that those lines were pretty accurate – 1st down marker was just shy of the 44.)

So the refs placed the ball just to the left of the red line, then they let the center move it another foot or two forward, which is common, but usually not quite that far. So in the photo, all Bucs should have been fully to the right of the blue line.

The play was a QB sneak, and Glennon made a little on it, but I'm not convinced he would have had enough had the ball been correctly placed. From this vantage point, he could almost have done a kneel-down for a -1 and still made it. Almost.

Indeed, we went back and watched the play. Ted was correct about the spotting and the first-down line. We created

1) Officials marked the ball six inches to a foot short of the 44 yard line to set up 4th-and-1.

2) By the time it made it was re-spotted on the hash, the tip of the ball was on the 44.

3) And by the time it was snapped, it was moved forward at least another foot, if not more, by Dietrich-Smith.

Maybe Dietrich-Smith — who was with the Packers from 2010-13 before signing as a free agent with Tampa Bay — does it without realizing it?

Again, moot point now that the Vikings have won and the game is over. Tampa didn't even score on the drive, as Glennon was intercepted shortly after the conversion … but still interesting when a 4th-and-1 play starts from past the marker, as shown in the screen grab Ted sent.