With regard to the penalty of pass interference in football: have there ever been times, in your remembrance, when it was called one way and was so obviously the other (for example, it was called on the offense when it was clearly against the defense, or vice versa)?
Yep.
OK! Thanks for the response! Do you have any examples to share? I’m interested!
It’s fairly common as PI is a judgement call. Watch a few games and you’re sure to see at least one questionable call.
Agreed. I can’t think, offhand, of any “famous” calls like that (which would be what you’d really need for memorable “examples”), but I agree that pretty much any NFL game would give you at least one example of a PI call that could easily have gone the other way. In particular, I’d guess that 90+% of PI calls go against the defense, but there are plenty of times when the receiver is pushing off just as much.
I’d say receivers push off much of the time, just not hard enough to get the call. I’ve seen many instances of phantom defensive pass interference, but I don’t recall ever seeing a clear push-off that was called on the DB. The action of offensive PI is visually different to defensive PI. I have seen mutual hand-fighting that was called on the defender, though.
While the subject is up, PI should not be a bigger penalty than a personal foul. 15 yards is even too much, IMHO. And offensive PI should come with a loss of down.
I wonder if the defensive PI penalty should be something like the spot of the PI, or 15 yards, whichever is less…that way, you don’t have these horrendous 45 yard PI penalties.
I mean…I understand why it’s at the point of the PI, the idea being if there wasn’t any PI, the receiver would have caught the ball at that spot…but that’s certainly not true…you just have to look at all the instances of receivers failing to make a catch when they are out in the open and receive a perfect throw.
Isn’t that the way it is in NCAAF?
I think there should be two PI penalties. If the DB tackles the receiver after being beaten, it should be a spot penalty. If there is just a bit of contact, then it should be 15 yards at most.
I don’t recall seeing a PI penalty obviously called the wrong way. Mostly it is mysterious non-calls or mysterious penalties. If I ever want to rile up a friend of mine who is a huge Miami Hurricanes fan, I just mention the national championship game against Ohio State and the phantom PI penalty in overtime.
Yeah, well, because of the interference, we’ll never know, will we?
The principle is that you cannot allow the wrongdoer (the interfering defensive player) to benefit in any manner from their infraction. If it’s a long bomb pass, a blatant defensive interference becomes a cheap “good play” by limiting the gain to 15 yards. You still have this effect as it is, with D PI in the end zone (“saved the touchdown”). The current NFL spot rule (first down line at the 1 yard line) still gives defensive players an incentive to foul in that situation, since many defenses can sustain a 1-yard red zone stand, and some offenses can’t score on a short field to save their lives (Kansas City, I’m looking at you…)
I think the NFL rule on defensive PI is as close to the right one as you can get. If the defender is beat, he’s beat. Don’t cheat to limit the damage.
eta: I think mcgato’s suggestion has merit. The equivalent of the basketball “blatant foul”.
And, back on track, I’ve seen enough phantom PIs (“WTF did the zebra see?”) that it doesn’t merit recollection any more. Seems to me, at least once per month (NFL and college). Similarly, “obvious” interference that got overlooked, but the cynic in me shrugs it off.
It seems the general philosophy in sports is “Just win, baby.” This leads to “it isn’t cheating if you’ren not caught” and “good offensive blocking is holding without being penalized” and “save the touchdown no matter what.”
Disgusting, but fundamental human nature.
In just the last couple weeks, I remember seeing a pass interference called where it was obvious on replay that the receiver just tripped on his own. Can’t review that, so the call stands.
With so much football recently, I can’t even recall if it was college or pro, let alone which game.
Why can’t pass interference be reviewed? It’s probably the call (or non-call) that causes the most whining and theatrics.
Maybe it’s just confirmation bias, but has anyone else noticed a lot more offensive PI called this year? I have no stats to back that up, but I would love it if someone could confirm or deny that.
Here’s a pretty egregious one. Moss uses his hands to create separation three yards from the line of scrimmage (legal within five yards), yet draws a flag. Completely, clearly, blatantly blown call.
Unsurprisingly, it was Jeff Triplette and crew making the call. Actually, if you want a primer on bad calls, just watch tape of Triplette’s games.
I’ve never seen a situation where a defensive back was called for interference, even though he was completely innocent and the receiver was flagrantly roughing up the defensive back.
I HAVE seen many cases in which:
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BOTH the receiver AND the defensive back were pushing and/or jostling each other, but only one of them (it’s usually the defensive back) was flagged for interference.
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The defensive back was flagged for what I considered minor, negligible contact (this happens most often when the receiver in question is an established star).
That said, I’ve also seen numerous in which a defensive back absolutely MUGGED the receiver long before the ball got there, but the refs pretty much shrugged “Let 'em play” and did nothing. (Yes, New England Patriots, I AM looking at you!)
I’ve often heard fans and reporters say, “refs COULD call holding on practically every play,” and it’s true. Offensive linemen ARE holding on practically every play- they just don’t get called for it unless it’s blatant. In the same way, refs probably COULD call interference (offensive, defensive or BOTH) on a LOT of passing plays. Receivers and DBs give each other a pounding.
If you call stuff that happens in Canada " famous’ - and even then, probably only the fans of the two teams remember this, as well as the referee in question, obviously - then there was a case this past season that led to the referee actually losing his job. The league’s head of officiating came right out and called it an " absolutely terrible" call. The Alouettes managed to hang on with a goal-line stand, so thankfully the game wasn’t decided by this blown call, though it very easily could have been.
There were a ton of other bad calls in that game - against both teams - but that one had the pub I was in in full red hot rage! The cheer when the Als won was nearly that of a playoff win!
I watched the video and noticed that one of the youtube comments mentioned that even within the 5 yards the receiver can’t push off. So I went googling around and that does seem to be the way the NFL rules are written, it appears to be a good call.
"(b) Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass. "
The wording on the 5 yard rule is from the defender’s point of view, it says what the defender can do, I can’t find any reference from the receiver perspective.
Wow! Just looked at that, and if I was there, I’d be at least as angry, if not more. I’d be thinking that they were paid.
Penalties (for the most part) can’t be reviewed or challenged.
My for the most part is too many men on the field. I think that can be reviewed, and it’s a penalty.
The 5 yard thing applies to pre-pass contact. PI happens when the ball is in the air, and the only allowances for that are behind the line of scrimmage or if the ball is tipped.