A rule that MUST be changed....

This penalty from the spot of the foul crap. That TOTALLY works against the defense. Here is a formulated scenario: 4th and 4 for some team, late in the game; offense runs a play that goes for 30 yards but a receiver is holding 15 yards downfield and gets flagged for it. Penalty offense, but from the spot, is 10 yards, is accepted by the D, and the O still gets a first down out of the play. Now, in this case, the O gets a penalty and it should work against them, which it does in yards, but they get their first down anyway. REally not fair for the defense. I would be willing to bet that this has happened to everyone's favorite team at one time or the other (both for and against). Anyone like to chime in and educate me as to why in the world this is like it is?????

 

All I can say is, AMEN BROTHER!

 

I agree, it should come from the line of scrimmage in my opinion. But I guess the thinking behind this rule is to not penalize gains made by the offense for infratctions that may have occured downfield and/or away from the play side. However, penalties on the defense are assessed from the line of scrimmage and not the point of the foul, i.e. pass interferance. I have also seen the offense gain yardage after having been assessed penalties for holding and illegal blocks downfield. Not fair to the defense. Maybe they could change the rule to penalize the offense from the line of scrimmage for such infractions that occur downfield, beyond the line of scrimmage.....and from the spot of the fould for infractions that occur behind the line of scrimmage. Just my 2 cents.

 

Couldn't agree more, guys. A 30 or 40 yard penalty (or more!) for pass interference? Give me a break. It definitely should be enforced from the LOS!

 

NCHSAA rules stipulate that defensive pass interferance is 15 yds. from the line of scrimmage, different from the NFL.

 

I agreee - all penalties should be from the line of scrimmage. I never can figure high school penalties out.

The one rule I like is the 15 yard interference penalty from the line instead of making it a spot foul. Just like in college too.

I was railing about this in the Redskins/Cowboys thread. The refs blow interference calls so often and they aren't reviewable so I hate teams getting first and goal from the one on a bad call.

 

I'm on the other side of the fence on this one, fellas.

Illegal Block and Holding should be from the spot, because the runner and the team did everything fairly up to that point. On 4th and 5, my running back gains 30 yards fairly and legally. Downfield, there's an illegal block and you should penalize from there because everything up to that point was gained legally. 10 yards from the spot is fair. If your defense could stop the runner, then you'd have the ball, but if my team can beat you downfield, then they should not be penalized the entire play for something done near the end of the play. Holding behind the line of scrimmage is penalized from the original line because it's unfair to have a penalty count for more than the 10 yards it's supposed to count for. I do agree with the panel that pass interference should only be 15 like it is now, unlike the NFL, where a penalty can be 40 and 50 yards on long bombs. BUT, you should not penalize the offense for an entire play when part of it was obtained legally. The same goes true for a defensive penalty near the end of the play (like a late face mask). The offense should not have to give up the play to accept the penalty... it should be tacked on.

The game of football is designed to move the ball and score points. That's why it is what it is. If they beat a defense faily from the start of the play, you credit the runner and the team what they earned on their own before something illegal happened.

 

I must be in the slim minority but I like the spot foul on defensive pass interference. I see too many high school and college defensive backs grab and hold because it's better to give up 15 instead of 50 and a score.

 

I see what you're saying, but here is my point of view. Example: Say that your defense has a great run stopper safety who has the ability to make plays on backs but has to drop off in pass coverage first. Say he gets held while downfield and is therefore denied the opportunity to "come up" make a play on the runner BEFORE the runner has the opportunity to gain those EXTRA yards, thus allowing the offense an advantage in that situation...much like bigdans view on the defensive pass interferance penalty. I guess I'm being defensive minded like always.

 

Sorry for the late reply, I just saw this...

My only answer to that is your run stopper must not be that great if he's being held by a wide receiver (notorious for not wanting to block or be physical on run plays). Should be penalized from the line of scrimmage if the run is still back there, but official should throw his flag toward the runner to mark the spot of the run to that point. I don't know any deep officials smart enough to do that, so you have to live with the spot of the foul minus the ten yards on the penalty. I'd have to believe this situation is very rare if it's happening way in front of a play. If this secondary player is that good at stopping the run, he should be playing linebacker.