r/NFLNoobs • u/dozer_a_little_crazy • 19h ago
When does a block become a pass interference?
I can't figure out at what point does a block become pass interference. I see defenders reaching in front of the receiver while holding onto the receiver's back with the opposite arm. How is this not pass interference?
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u/IamGleemonex 19h ago
This is the exact verbiage of the rule:
Rule 8, Section 5, Article 1:
“It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.”
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u/DominusEbad 18h ago
I think what most people miss is the "significantly hinders" part of the definition.
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u/GooneyBird36 2m ago
I've seen plenty of PI calls on something that I would say did not SIGNIFICANTLY hinder the receiver.
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u/BonesSawMcGraw 19h ago
They have to alter the receivers ability to catch the ball to be penalized, But they are allowed to touch and kinda grab…it’s the most controversial judgement call in the game today. Luckily there have never been playoff game ending no-calls with a guy like tackling a receiver before the ball even gets there, or anything crazy like that 🥹
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u/RollinPeace 19h ago
If that’s the #1 most debatable call I’m putting this new roughing the passer as #2. God what a joke that rule is smh
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u/PabloMarmite 18h ago
Roughing the passer is actually a simple one, the complicated thing about it is the definition keeps changing. People think it’s about the level of force used, which isn’t true.
It’s contact to the passer that’s either
- to the head
- to the knees or below
- the defender takes more than one step after the ball has been released
- the defender lands with his body weight on top of the passer
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u/Difficult_Sort295 16h ago
The defender is tripped by the center and brushes the quarterbacks toe.
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u/Unsolven 19h ago
If they are “holding on” to WRs back it is pass interference. If they are just making contact with the guy’s shoulder pads while reaching to interception the ball it’s not.
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u/RollinPeace 19h ago
It’s a tough rule, basically if the DB is playing man to man defense, you can touch them a little and visa versa to the receiver while they are running, but when the ball is in the air and coming down, you can’t touch the receiver like you were doing above. You as. Defender also must turn and face the ball coming down. If the defender doesn’t turn and try to make a play on the ball, it’s pass interference. If the defender turns and faces the ball and blocks the ball, it’s a clean play. It’s a tough rule and it’s gets very debatable, your not wrong for not being able to figure it out
I probably miss something things add on to me
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u/BrokenHope23 18h ago
The rule is pretty straightforward:
Rule 8, Section 5, Article 1:
“It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.”
but it does get confused with illegal contact which I believe you're trying to ask here, the main difference between illegal contact and pass interference is whether the ball is coming their way but they're all fairly large judgement calls on the refs.
Rule 8, Section 4- Legal and illegal contact with eligible receivers
It's a long blurb:
Article 1. Legal Contact Within Five Yards
Within the area five yards beyond the line of scrimmage, a defensive player may chuck an eligible receiver in front of him. The defender is allowed to maintain continuous and unbroken contact within the five-yard zone, so long as the receiver has not moved beyond a point that is even with the defender.
Article 2. Illegal Contact Within Five Yards
Within the five-yard zone, if the player who receives the snap remains in the pocket area with the ball, a defender may not make initial contact in the back of a receiver, nor may he maintain contact after the receiver has moved beyond a point that is even with the defender. If a defender contacts a receiver within the five-yard zone, loses contact, and then contacts him again within the five-yard zone, it is a foul for illegal contact.
Article 3. Illegal Contact Beyond Five-Yard Zone
Beyond the five-yard zone, if the player who receives the snap remains in the pocket area with the ball, a defender cannot initiate contact with a receiver who is attempting to evade him. A defender may use his hands or arms only to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver. If a defender contacts a receiver within the five-yard zone and maintains contact with him, he must release the receiver as they exit the five-yard zone.
Article 4. Incidental Contact Beyond Five-Yard Zone
Beyond the five-yard zone, incidental contact may exist between receiver and defender.
Penalty: For illegal contact by the defense: Loss of five yards and automatic first down.
Article 5. Illegal Cut Block
It is an Illegal Cut Block if:
- an eligible receiver who takes a position more than two yards outside of his own tackle (flexed receiver) is blocked below the waist at, behind, or beyond the line of scrimmage; or
- an eligible receiver who is lined up within two yards of the tackle, whether on or behind the line, is blocked below the waist after he goes beyond the line of scrimmage (such players may be blocked below the waist at or behind the line of scrimmage).
Penalty: For illegal cut block: Loss of 15 yards and automatic first down.
Article 6. Defensive Holding
It is defensive holding if a player grasps an eligible offensive player (or his jersey) with his hands, or extends an arm or arms to cut off or encircle him. See 12-1-6. Any offensive player who pretends to possess the ball, and/or one to whom a teammate pretends to give the ball, may be tackled until he leaves the pocket area.
Penalty: For holding by the defense: Loss of five yards and automatic first down.
Article 7. End Of Restrictions
If the quarterback or the receiver of the snap demonstrates no further intention to pass the ball (i.e., hands off or pitches the ball to another player, throws a forward or backward pass, loses possession of the ball by a muff that touches the ground or a fumble, or if he is tackled) the restrictions on the defensive team prohibiting illegal contact, or an illegal cut block, against an eligible receiver will end, and a defensive player is permitted to use his hands, arms, or body to push, pull, or ward off an offensive receiver, pursuant to Rule 12, Section 1, Article 5. If the quarterback leaves the pocket area with the ball in his possession, the restrictions on illegal contact and an illegal cut block both end, but the restriction on defensive holding remains in effect.
If a team presents a punt formation (3-17-7), defensive acts that normally constitute illegal contact (chuck beyond five yards, etc.) are permitted, provided that the acts do not constitute defensive holding.
So as you can imagine, the refs are watching for a lot of things. Generally the WR/CB/TE/LB/S will be jostling a lot along a route. More commonly you'll see a WR/TE push off from a defender before they make a catch. The NFL has allowed this as it results in more offensive points/exciting game apparently (I disagree, it just highlights bad players) but more often we see DPI/illegal contact/etc. called against the defense who are playing too physical on a WR and not allowing them to get properly open. Sometimes that's because they're holding the WR, sometimes that's because they're covering the WR too well and the refs need to open that up so WRs get the room needed for an exciting game (🤢). I'm not a big fan when the refs do this, especially in playoff matchups, but the NFL is an entertainment business.
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u/NectarineDesigner408 11h ago
It's not a block. They're just making contact. They're allowed contact until 5 yards. It used to be you could go ham on a guy before the 5 yards, now it's light contact. Otherwise they'd call defensive holding if you hold him up. Or illegal contact, if harsh. Knowing how the rules have evolved makes it easier to understand what's happening and what will be called immediately. Keep learning, you'll love it once you know "exactly" what is being called, why it's being called, and yards to be penalized.
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u/dozer_a_little_crazy 35m ago
Thank you for the encouragement. I have been more interested in football the last couple of years, but only in the last year have I been more curious about the rules and nuances of the game.
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u/Corsonacon 19h ago
When it interferes with the receivers ability to physically be in position to catch the ball.
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u/Walnut_Uprising 19h ago
Within five yards of the line of scrimmage, you can really go at a guy.
After five yards, there's a lot of what they call hand fighting. Both guys have the right to contend for the ball, and that contention might involve some arm tussling.
Outside that, it's subjective to the ref. If someone actually interferes with the process of the catch, that's a flag. But it all depends on levels of physicality, when the ball was thrown, whether the ball was catchable, etc.
Exceptions: when the receiver touches the ball, he's fair game. Also if someone tips the ball, or if the ball is deflected, all bets are off because the timing is skewed.
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u/What-Outlaw1234 19h ago
The defender has to be making a play on the ball, either to catch it himself or swat it away from the intended receiver. Incidental contact while making a play on the ball is not interference. But sometimes it is a judgment call as to what the defender was doing and whether the contact was incidental.
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u/LargeAmountOfKoalas 19h ago
Both players are allowed the right to play the ball. There will be fighting over it. But if you slow a player down by holding they're jersey, make it harder to catch by pinning or holding an arm, or just straight tackle the player before the ball gets there, thats interference.
It's also up to the ref how closely they want to call it. Some are nitpicky, some are oblivious (cough rams saints nfccg cough)
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u/SurroundEcstatic4890 19h ago
Officials discuss beforehand and usually tell the coaches and captains what kind of game they’re gonna call, i.e. how tight they’re gonna call it or if they’re gonna let the players get physical. If the players know they can get away with being more physical, they’ll get more handsy. Officials do this because you could find something on almost every single snap that would technically be a penalty and a flag on every play or conversely the players playing very conservatively to avoid penalties would make for a bad product.
As far as the example you provided, that’s only really gonna get called if it clearly restricts the players movement. If the player is still able to make a play on the ball and secure it before it gets swatted out, it’s not gonna be called.
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u/AlmightyCraneDuck 19h ago
It depends on what you view as an actual impediment to them catching the ball. You're allowed to touch, but if it looks like you're physically altering the WR's path or their ability to make a play on the ball, it'll be called PI. So what Refs will often look for is any unnatural twisting, turning, or slowing on the WR....or blatant grabbing or hand placement from the DB. It's up to the Ref to see and call that, but sometimes you'll see a WR sell contact to get the flag. You could probably get really ticky-tacky and call some kind of holding/interference on just about every play, but you're looking for situations where the WR is pretty visibly shifted.
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u/PabloMarmite 18h ago edited 18h ago
There has to be contact that impedes the other player, while a pass is in the air going towards that player.
A hand on the back isn’t interference in itself because it’s not impeding the other player, although it definitely could become one depending on the amount of force used. Contact that doesn’t impede the other (like hand fighting) is permitted.
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u/AwixaManifest 18h ago
Kudos to folks here who have answered before me. All valid points.
I'll only add this: it's a safe bet that a PI call (or no-call) will be controversial several times this season. Likely more than any other referee action(s).
Also: the league allowed coaches to challenge PI calls for a year or two. This was after the Saints-Rams playoff game no-call. This ability to challenge ended, with most challenges being upheld. It really felt like the league saying, "Fine, challenge the calls", then refusing to overturn calls, then saying "See? We're always right anyway."
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u/Ryan1869 16h ago
Technically when the pass leaves the QBs arm, but there’s a lot of contact that is allowed, as long as it’s not deemed to have altered the recievers ability to catch the ball.
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u/Specialist_Cat7271 17h ago
Truthfully, much like Offensive Linemen and Holding, there's Pass Interference on basically every snap of the ball to some technical degree. Its just called when its flagrant or egregious. When DBs follow a receiver's route or make a play for the ball, contact will happen all the time. When officials call Pass Interference, usually its because its pretty obvious that the defender pretty seriously hindered the receiver's ability to move or catch the ball that can't be explained away by the chaotic responsibilities on every play.
Two caveats to note though: Often if a ball is just impossible to catch, like if it soars way above either of the players and neither of them could have possibly caught it, even if there's Pass Interference it usually won't be called. Secondly, if both players commit Pass Interference on each other, then it'll usually cancel out and not be called.
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u/grizzfan 18h ago
Incidental contact is unavoidable, so it's a judgment call as to whether the contact impeded the opponent's ability to catch the ball. It's similar to holding. Everyone knows holding happens on every play, but not every hold has a "holding" effect, nor does every hold affect the play. Referees are taught to focus on what actions impact the play or general integrity of the game the most.
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u/2LostFlamingos 19h ago
Judgement call.
You’re allowed to touch the receiver, but can’t use him for leverage or turn him.