Offensive Pass Interference

[great_captain]

Hello, everyone.

I would like to ask you a question.

1) The QB throws the ball forward.
2) A defender is about to make an interception. His hands are on the ball, when he is hit by a WR.
3) The ball is dropped.

What is the right call? Would it be illogic to give the ball to the defensive team? If the WR hadn't made that illegal hit, the defender would have made the interception.

Thanks for your answer.

[ETXZebra]

What is illegal about the hit?

[js in sc]

How is it interference if the defenders hands are on the ball.  Sounds like a perfectly timed hit.

[great_captain]

I am just a fan... Sorry for the mess. Think about a defensive pass interference. The WR is about to complete the reception, but a defender hits him. YELLOW FLAG.

Reverse the situation. The defender is about to make an interception, but a WR hits him. Same kind of hit. Would you throw a yellow flag?

Thanks.

[ETXZebra]

If the receiver has touched the ball, there is no DPI (defensive pass interference). Both players are entitled to catch the pass.

[ElvisLives]

I am just a fan... Sorry for the mess. Think about a defensive pass interference. The WR is about to complete the reception, but a defender hits him. YELLOW FLAG.

Reverse the situation. The defender is about to make an interception, but a WR hits him. Same kind of hit. Would you throw a yellow flag?

Thanks.

Great_Captain,

Pass interference rules apply equally to both teams.  Contact BEFORE the ball is touched can be interference, if the contact was an obvious attempt to impede an eligible opponent and could prevent the opponent the opportunity of receiving a catchable legal forward pass.  And that goes for both teams.  However, once the ball has been TOUCHED (not necessarily held - just touched) by any player (or an official), pass interference rules no longer apply.
In the scenario you offered, the defensive player touched the ball just before the offensive player contacted him.  That is just good, legal play.  And, that applies regardless of which player is on offense and which player is on defense. They both have equal rights to the ball.
In reality, the order of the ball being touched and the contact by an opponent often happens so closely together as to be imperceptible to the human eye and judgment.  Those are cases that are referred as "bang-bang," and we are instructed to rule such plays as "no foul."  Super slow-motion replay may show that the player contact occurred a split-second before the ball was touched, but, being humans, that is something very difficult to judge, and, often, would cause an incompletion anyway, even if after the ball is touched, thus, the ruling of "no foul."

We welcome your questions.

Robert

[great_captain]

I try to make it clearer.

1) Bad throw by the QB. Misunderstanding between him and his WR.
2) The defender is about to intercept the ball. NOBODY HAS TOUCHED THE BALL.
3) The WR wants to prevent the interception, so he hits the defender. It is an illegal contact.

So, a yellow flag must be thrown. This is my question: if the WR hadn't made that illegal contact, the defender would have intercepted the ball and advanced it (and maybe even scored). So, I think it would be fair to give the ball to the defensive team.

What does the rule book say? Thanks for your patience. I hope it is clear what I want to say.

[bossman72]

I try to make it clearer.

1) Bad throw by the QB. Misunderstanding between him and his WR.
2) The defender is about to intercept the ball. NOBODY HAS TOUCHED THE BALL.
3) The WR wants to prevent the interception, so he hits the defender. It is an illegal contact.

So, a yellow flag must be thrown. This is my question: if the WR hadn't made that illegal contact, the defender would have intercepted the ball and advanced it (and maybe even scored). So, I think it would be fair to give the ball to the defensive team.

What does the rule book say? Thanks for your patience. I hope it is clear what I want to say.

If you felt this contact by the WR interfered with the defense's attempt to catch the ball, then Offensive pass interference is the correct call.  Offense keeps the ball, you back them up 15 yards (or 10 in NFL) from the previous spot and replay the down.  If you decline the foul, it's just an incomplete pass (which is the result of the play).

You can't give the defense the ball.  The team that was in possession at the time of the foul would keep the ball after enforcement.  (Team possession doesn't change until after an interception or recovery).

It's also not fair to change the rule to give the defense the ball because it assumes the defense would catch the ball.

[ElvisLives]

I try to make it clearer.

1) Bad throw by the QB. Misunderstanding between him and his WR.
2) The defender is about to intercept the ball. NOBODY HAS TOUCHED THE BALL.
3) The WR wants to prevent the interception, so he hits the defender. It is an illegal contact.

So, a yellow flag must be thrown. This is my question: if the WR hadn't made that illegal contact, the defender would have intercepted the ball and advanced it (and maybe even scored). So, I think it would be fair to give the ball to the defensive team.

What does the rule book say? Thanks for your patience. I hope it is clear what I want to say.

It certainly appears you are familiar with international "football" (soccer, futbol, whatever you want to call it).  I will call it soccer, for clear distinction.  That is a fine sport, but the principals are dramatically different.  In soccer, no player (other than the goalie) may physically possess (hold) the ball.  There are no distance penalties.  Penalties for fouls include awarding possession to the opposing team, because most fouls are about just that - one player illegally hindering an opponents ability to keep team possession, which is constantly changing, by the very nature of the game.
In American football, the ball is to remain in team possession until the offense is unable to advance the ball sufficiently.  Fouls are penalized by distance, not by changing team possession.  Now, there are instances when a penalty might return possession to an offended team, but there are no fouls for which the penalty itself is awarding possession to the opponent.

Different?  Yes.  Better?  You be the judge.  But, that's the way it is.

And, by the way, we only have one color of flag, so no need to say "yellow flag."  Just "flag" will suffice.  Those are actually "foul markers."  We do, also, have "spot markers," affectionately called "bean bags," which are black in NCAA, blue in the NFL.  They are typically used to mark potential spots related to distance penalty enforcement, or spots of illegal touching of a loose ball.

Robert

[HLinNC]

One of the fundamentals of football is No Foul Causes Loss of the Ball.  Possession may change due to a turnover or an end to the series of downs but the mere fact that a foul occurred doesn't entitle the opponent to possession.