Pass Interference
I was watching the BGSU game on TV and the commentator said something about how a CB can look back for the ball and thus become an eligible reciever, nullifying most things that would otherwise be pass interference.
Is this true? Under what conditions does that work?
Also, does the instance Brian highlighted in the Offense UFR stop being PI (under the rules, looked like a weak call to me too) if the CB looks back for the ball?
Someone please explain.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:15 PM ^
It's more the reverse. If the CB does NOT look back, it's PI for sure.
If he does look back, then a lot of contact will not be called PI. But, if the contact is still outrageous, it will still be called PI.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^
a CB cannot be "going for the ball/catch" without knowing where the ball is
the CB cannot know where the ball is if they don't look for the ball
thus, the CB can make contact that is conducted in the course of attempting to catch a pass. if you didn't allow a CB to make contact while trying to make an INT, the WR would have a huge (unfair) advantage... as well as being able to commit "pass interference" when a ball is under/overthrown or placed in the wrong area of the field.
i am so excited to actually be able to give a rule/football answer
September 30th, 2010 at 9:15 AM ^
It's the little things in life that really matter.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^
when looking back, the cb can be going for the ball and contact can result form this. if not, then the contact is just bc he got beat and is taking out the wr
September 29th, 2010 at 10:26 PM ^
you wont get the benefit of the doubt, if there is any contact you'll get flagged.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:28 PM ^
I was always taught to look for the ball when the WR looks for the ball and if your beat dont look back and just watch the WR eyes and try to swat the ball when it hits his hands.
You are not supposed to turn back and look for the ball like a WR the whole time or you will always get beat. You cant touch when the ball is in the air WR untill he touches the ball looking for the ball or not. You can jam him and press him as long as the ball hasnt left the QBs arm.
September 30th, 2010 at 12:21 AM ^
You cant touch when the ball is in the air WR untill he touches the ball looking for the ball or not.
Oh.
September 29th, 2010 at 10:59 PM ^
By rule it does not matting if the db turns or not and the db always has equal right to try and catch the ball, If he is not looking for the ball 99% of officals say then he is not going for the ball and any sort of contact is pass interference, if he does turn back to the ball then he might be going for it so in order to be guilty he must use clearly push off to gain an advantage at the ball, In this case it is the same as offencive pass interference, in theory the same rules go for the reciver but no offical he checks to see if he is looking for the ball as he almost always is.
September 29th, 2010 at 11:42 PM ^
But I'm drunk, so here it goes:
http://www.libraryonline.com/default.asp?pID=39
Again, DRUNK! (I <3 Ashley's!)
September 29th, 2010 at 11:38 PM ^
September 30th, 2010 at 12:13 AM ^
Watch it again. The penalty occured at about the 10 yard line. The contact at the end was not what was called. The ref started reaching for his flag when the BG player grabbed Stonum's arm well before the ball got there. If a receiver can't get his arms up it will get called pretty much every time. The contact after the arm hold was ticky tack but the ref was already going for the flag.
September 30th, 2010 at 8:21 AM ^
Was this a very obscure reference to Dee's instructions to Charlie in "Plipadelphia" after he identified the twist in the Sixth Sense to be the fact that the guy with the hair piece was Bruce Willis all along?
Mack - "That wasn't the twist dude"
Dennis - "No, that doesn't sound right"
Dee - "Watch is again."
Same episode that Charlies goes Goodwill Hunting on the frat boys. (Gordon Wood)
Great stuff, top five episode if not top 3.
September 30th, 2010 at 9:01 AM ^
If the defender is looking for the ball, and happens to interfere with the receiver, the penalty usually won’t be called. If the defender interferes while looking at the receiver, and is making no attempt to get the ball, then the defender has no excuse, and the penalty will be called.
September 30th, 2010 at 9:16 AM ^
The actual NCAA rule:
"Defensive pass interference is contact beyond the neutral zone by a [defensive] player whose intent to impede an eligible opponent is obvious and it could prevent the opponent the opportunity of receiving a catchable forward pass. When in question, a legal forward pass is catchable. Defensive pass interference occurs only after a legal forward pass is thrown....It is not defensive pass interference when two or more eligible players are making a simultaneous and bona fide attempt to reach, catch or bat the pass. Eligible players of either team have equal rights to the ball."
That last part is the part that implies that if a CB is looking for the ball and not looking at the opponent, it is not defensive interference. The rule is written vaguely enough, though, that officials can interpret it within a wide range.
September 30th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
Glad you posted the actual rule. There's a misconception, partly due to the way the rule is interpreted but mostly due to announcer types who blindly parrot it, that faceguarding is illegal. In and of itself faceguarding is legal, but as other posters have stated, if there's contact and the defensive player is making no attempt to catch the ball, it's going to be called PI virtually 100% of the time. But there can be some level of contact when the defensive player is attempting to make a catch, as the defensive player has as much right to the ball or a spot on the field as the offensive player (see Jonas Mouton's pick against ND for example).
September 30th, 2010 at 11:29 AM ^
Defensive pass interference is what they cal it, when they call it, if they call it...
That is all.