On Sunday, one of the closest games of the day was drastically impacted by the NFL's outdated pass interference call.
On a fourth-and-6, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez heaved a desperation pass in the direction of the Denver Broncos' goal line. Renaldo Hill, the Broncos' defender slipped, reached out and grasped the face mask of Santonio Holmes, the intended receiver, drawing a pass interference flag. After the 46-yard penalty -- a spot foul -- the Jets took over at the Broncos' 2-yard line.
On the next play, the Jets scored the winning touchdown.
Just two weeks before this penalty that went against them, the Broncos were the beneficiary of a similar situation. Facing a second-and-25 late in the fourth quarter, Kyle Orton was flushed from the pocket and threw a jump ball in the direction of the end zone. Titans safety Chris Hope was flagged for pass interference and the Titans were assessed a 49-yard penalty. The Broncos scored two plays later to take the lead and went on to win that ballgame.
These are two recent examples of the spot foul altering the outcome of a game. If you watch the NFL regularly, chances are other examples come to mind. That's because no other penalty in the NFL is anywhere near as draconian as the spot foul for pass interference. Knock a player out while leading with your helmet? Fifteen yards. Graze a receiver's arm while the ball is hanging in the air? That's 60 yards, more than quadruple the penalty for a personal foul that could end someone's career.
It is long past the time to eliminate the spot foul and institute a maximum 15-yard pass interference penalty. Yep, replace the NFL's spot foul rule with college's penalty yardage.
It's also important to note that the NFL could retain the spot foul provision for all pass attempts that occur under 15 yards. If interference happens three yards from the line of scrimmage, it would still just be a three-yard penalty and automatic first down. Make the penalty fit the violation. But if defensive interference is called 50 yards down the field, the maximum allowable penalty yardage should be 15 yards.
In other words, a cornerback could commit football murder and get away with community service. The late Johnnie Cochran would be proud.
-- David Whitley on why pass interference should remain a spot foul in the NFL
Here are five additional reasons why:
1. Offenses move the ball primarily by passing now.
Presumably the reason for the spot foul penalty was to encourage teams to throw the ball deep down the field in an era when most teams ran the football. The potential for a huge defensive penalty encouraged teams to throw the ball deep and made the game more exciting. The NFL is a passing league now. Teams are already incentivized to throw the ball enough as is. There's no reason to keep such a disproportionately punitive penalty in place
2. The discrepancy between offensive and defensive pass interference penalties is the largest in the league.
How often do you see a receiver and a defensive back chicken-fighting deep down the field as the ball hangs in the air? A flag is thrown. What's the call, it could go either way? If it's offensive pass interference, the offense is penalized 10 yards, the same as a hold. But if it's defensive pass interference, it's a spot of the ball foul.
So the referee's determination of who a penalty is on can easily be worth 60 yards or more in relative field position. (Ten yards back or 50 yards forward). What's more, an offensive pass interference penalty, while difficult to overcome, is not insurmountable for an offense. Conversely, a defensive pass interference that occurs deep down the field usually results in points being scored.
There is no other penalty in the NFL where the difference between an offensive and defensive player committing the foul leads to such a divergent outcome. With so many tight NFL games, an official's whistle and assessment of who is to blame can determine the winner and the loser.
3. Intentional interferences are rare in college.
College football makes all pass interferences down the field punishable by 15 yards at most. Even still, it's rare that college players intentionally commit a pass interference penalty when they're clearly beaten. The reason is simple, in order to commit a pass interference penalty you have to be in at least somewhat decent position to interfere with the receiver. If you're able to interfere with the receiver, then you're also able to offer a defense of sorts to the pass. If you're truly badly beaten on a play, you don't even have the opportunity to interfere.
In fact, it's much more common for a defensive player who is beaten badly to reach out and hold a receiver before the pass is even thrown. That's gaming the system because a defensive holding penalty is only 10 yards in the NFL, a pittance next to a big-play touchdown.
Implementing the college rule in the NFL wouldn't alter the way the game is played.
4. Playing for a penalty has become a part of the game plan.
The reward for drawing a pass interference penalty is so great that many quarterbacks intentionally under-throw a pass hoping the defensive back will interfere with their receiver. When a part of the team's game plan includes attempting to draw penalties, you know the penalty has become too much of a reward.
Aside from trying to draw a team offsides with a hard count, can you even think of any other situation where the game plan is intentionally designed to draw the penalty? And if the team is drawn offsides that's a five-yard penalty. Get a defensive back flagged for pass interference down the field and you're pretty much guaranteed a scoring opportunity.
5. Why penalize defensive pass interference the most stringently in the game?
Isn't the purpose of the most draconian penalties to dissuade dangerous play? Look at the other penalties that draw 15-yard flags: chop blocks, unnecessary roughness, face mask violations, late hits, you name it, the penalties that have the greatest value on the field are the ones that could lead to the greatest injuries. The purpose of these penalties is to try and lessen their occurrence.
Yet, a pass interference penalty can easily count for four times as much as a late hit on a quarterback.
Does that make any sense?
Of course not. It's long past time for the NFL to adjust the defensive pass interference rule.
Follow Clay Travis on Twitter here. With All That and a Bag of Mail returning for the football season, you can e-mail him questions at Clay.Travis@gmail.com
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Let us point out that while a vicious hit ends the play at the spot of the foul, the pass interference causes a spot loss. Allowing the receiver to interfere on the 2 yard line when the receiver is open and has position on the ball does in fact change the entire game for the offensive team. So here you have an end of game drive, receiver gets position on the ball inside the 10 yard line on a deep pass and the defender interferes. It's not likely the receivers are going to be open on every play, let alone the next play, so I think there is a good argument to make that the penalty is fair.
Unless of course the ball is a little high then they can drag the reciever to the ground and the uncatchable rule is in play.
Unless, of course, the defender has position and the receiver is falling down, in which case its only a foul if the receiving team is from New York. Unless of course, there was a fask mask foul in which case its not a spot foul, is it?
You hit the nail on the head already, only if your the Jet's is an unintention facemask brush with your hand a spot foul instead of what the rulebook says should be 15 yard penalty. Oh and most importantly you have to be a team that's spent a boatload of money to bring in a bunch of star players and have proclaimed a SuperBowl victory also. It was comical to watch the Jet game and their player's after every single missed pass begging the Ref's for a interference flag...too funny, never stop to think you jut weren't good enough to catch it, no I had to be interfered with.
Hey, Clay, why wouldn't a defensive player commit pass interference when the choice is a completed 60 yard pass, or a 15 yard penalty? That's also why the game can't end on a defensive penalty. You can't make it profitable for the defense to foul the other team. By the way, too bad your team lost, but we can't change the game every time the rules don't suit you.
I agree that the pass interference call with spot at the point of infraction can be ridiculous. Something needs to be changed. That said, the problems with the writers arguments that a)teams game plan to the call and b) it should be a 15 yard penalty fail to consider that if such a change were made, defensive squads would, in certain situations, game plan to that call. Hmmm, 4th and 15, inside a minute left, long ball to try and get in field goal range or position to throw for a touchdown, I can intentionally mug the receiver, give up 15 yards and let 15-20 seconds burn off the clock.
With regards to this game, the refs were making so many game-changing calls that may as well have been wearing orange and blue or green and white. There was a questionable offensive pass interference call earlier against Keller. Additionally, the Leonhard hit was clearly NOT a helmet-to-helmet hit, which drew a 15-yard flag regardless. It just so happened that this referee crew is a little more stringent. It's a shame that this call ultimately determined the outcome of the game, but the refs had been flag-happy all day.
WHEN A DEFENDER HAS HIS BACK TO THE BALL HE DESERVES THE FLAG PROVIDING THE RECEIVER TRIES TO MAKE A PLAY....THE FACT THAT MARK SANCHEZ SEEING THAT SITUATION HAD THE SMARTS TO THROW TO SANTONIO, SHOWS WHY HE'S AN UPCOMING SUPERSTAR
I think when a CB slips and falls and the receiver gets flagged for Pass Interference is ridiculous, and Ridiculous period cause You have a WR with a CB, and who is the Ball intended for to receive - not the CB... so to me how can it be pass interference? The Refs this year are just plain Bias I think! They already know who they want to win that day.... Refs' are unfair. Even the basic holding calls... you know as well as I do there is holding on every play.... come on!
Does the author of this tripe know anything about football? Did he ever play football? I would hazard to say not. Ok, I'm a cornerback in man to man and my guy is about to haul in a 75 yard touchdown but I'm close enough to take him out before he catches the ball. Hmm... should I let him catch it or should I just take my 15 yard penalty and regroup for the next play? Idiot.
I agree that a 15-yd MAX penalty should be assessed in the pro game, or 1/2 the distance in such cases.
Also, whatever happened to the PI call for the defender not looking back towards the ball when making a play? Is that even a rule anymore? I've seen it plenty this season (including a 4th-and-goal play during the GB-Wash game 2 weeks ago) that haven't been called.
I agree that a 15-yd MAX penalty should be assessed in the pro game, or 1/2 the distance in such cases.
Also, whatever happened to the PI call for the defender not looking back towards the ball when making a play? Is that even a rule anymore? I've seen it plenty this season (including a 4th-and-goal play during the GB-Wash game 2 weeks ago) that haven't been called.
Sounds like a bunch of jealous Bronco fans in here. LOL.........
RIGHT ON ! But what gets me is that this has gone on this long without a concerted effort on the part of EVERYONE to make this reasonable change to such a STUPID rule to begin with !!!