Pass so bad it's intercepted and flagged for intentional grounding.

[TxSkyBolt]

http://www.sbnation.com/2015/12/19/10628180/matt-casel-intentional-grounding-interception-picked-off-interceptional--inception-dallas-cowboys


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ralph Damren]

Without knowledge of where the return ended or the down on the play (box was a blur to these aged eyes), taking the penalty could be the choice IF it was 4th down and the return didn't make it back to the spot of the foul.

[Wingmanbp]

My question is wasnt he out of the pocket? Still a dumb play but I didnt think it warranted a IG

[Kalle]

I think he was well inside the pocket.

[Cowman52]

How can you ground a pass that never hits the ground?

[J12]

How can you ground a pass that never hits the ground?

I don't think there is anything in the rules that says an intentionally grounded pass must hit the ground. He threw the ball away to prevent a loss of yardage. There's nothing in the rules that says he has to do a good job at throwing it away.

[Cowman52]

My point exactly, he didn't throw it away, he didn't save yardage, he didn't stop the clock, he didn't get another down.

[chaoslord]

My point exactly, he didn't throw it away, he didn't save yardage, he didn't stop the clock, he didn't get another down.

You might be thinking too much about the words "intentional grounding" rather than the definition.

8-2-1: "It is a foul for intentional grounding if a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion. A realistic chance of completion is defined as a pass that lands in the direction and the vicinity of an originally eligible receiver."

He was facing an imminent loss of yardage, he threw a forward pass, and there were no receivers in the vicinity. It's IG.

E: I guess depending on how you read the word "lands" maybe it's not. I feel like this has been discussed before as some theoretical that you'd probably never see. Maybe I'm wrong though!

[Ralph Damren]

I don't think there is anything in the rules that says an intentionally grounded pass must hit the ground. He threw the ball away to prevent a loss of yardage. There's nothing in the rules that says he has to do a good job at throwing it away.

NFHS 7-5-3 : "..at the spot of  the illegal incomplete forward pass or (if the illegal forward pass is caught or intercepted) or having the ball put away as determined by the action which followed the catch."

[Eastshire]

You might be thinking too much about the words "intentional grounding" rather than the definition.

8-2-1: "It is a foul for intentional grounding if a passer, facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense, throws a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion. A realistic chance of completion is defined as a pass that lands in the direction and the vicinity of an originally eligible receiver."

He was facing an imminent loss of yardage, he threw a forward pass, and there were no receivers in the vicinity. It's IG.

E: I guess depending on how you read the word "lands" maybe it's not. I feel like this has been discussed before as some theoretical that you'd probably never see. Maybe I'm wrong though!

Landing is part of the definition of a realistic chance, not intentional grounding. That is, it's part of the relief from the foul, not a component of the foul itself.

[chaoslord]

Brett Favre was apparently the last person to accomplish this feat, back in December of 2003, per Pro Football Reference

"Brett Favre pass incomplete is intercepted by Lance Briggs at GNB-45 and returned for 45 yards, touchdown. Penalty on Brett Favre: Intentional Grounding (Declined)"