Semi-OT: NFL cracking down on illegal contact by DBs
According to Football Outsiders, the NFL penalized illegal contact by DBs 24 times in the first 16 preseason games, more than 10x the rate it was penalized last year. This is most likely because the Seahawks have become infamous for mugging receivers with their huge corners, but as a Michigan fan, this is interesting because if the NCAA follows suit (which they often do), it would hurt teams like Michigan State. Also, it seems like there has been chatter from our own camp that our corners are playing more aggressive press coverage this year.
This rule can make a huge difference by forcing DBs to alter their game. The last time the NFL emphasized this rule, in 2004, Peyton Manning broke the passing TD record and guys like Trent Green, Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, and even Jake Delhomme had career years.
Article link: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/2014/penalty-watch-preseason-week-1-ruh-roh
August 13th, 2014 at 9:14 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^
It'll be interesting to see if it keeps up through the season. I think the logic behind that strategy is mostly psychological. If you're a ref, it's hard to throw flag after flag for interference, especially against the home team (and especially with coaches screaming at you). That's probably much easier to do in the preseason when no one really cares who wins.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
NFL is definitely making a point of it. I watched the Denver/Seattle preseason game and they called 3 penalties on one drive against Denver, who of which were nothing at all and I hope they don't call in the regular season. Announcers said they'll over-call in the preseason to let everyone know it's a point of emphasis this year.
Remember the extra official on the field this year in the B1G - it was mentioned in the Women's Footbal Academy thread, the participants were told it was to watch the defense. We'll see how that plays out. Haven't seen much talk of it this preseason in college though.
August 13th, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
I watched the same game and pretty much thought the same thing. If that type of enforcement trickles down to the NCAA, several teams are going to either have to have their DBs back off some or they're going to pay a (high) price.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:21 AM ^
they also change the penalty to a spot foul. It hurts a lot more in the NFL than it does under the college rules.
August 13th, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^
I think you're talking about pass interference. I think the penalty being called more is illegal downfield contact (you are allowed to "jam" a receiver in the first 5 yds off LOS but then its hands-off). This has been happening in almost every play for certain teams (Seahawks in NFL, MSU in B1G). Will be interesting to see if it is called more. Seems like other rules are already stacked considerably in the offenses' favor, but we'll see.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
Won't last. The reason they stopped calling it in the first place was because it happened on every freaking play so calling it close destroys the flow of the game. And as Turd says, refs are human and getting the shit boo'd out of you play after play keeps those flags in their pocket eventually.
Think of the tough, no-nonsense, we mean business enforcement of hand checking that was suppose to happen this year in college basketball and then go watch the tape for any Wisconsin game and see how that went.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:30 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
They stopped calling it because it happens on every play... but if they started calling it even 20% of the time, it wouldn't be happening every play.
August 13th, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^
want to decrease the frequency of the call? Change the rule to make it a 20 yard penalty. We can start there and go upward. At 15 yards, it's not even really a penalty.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
This does not bode well for Darqueze Dennard.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 9:36 AM ^
In college you can make contact with the receiver at any point as long as the ball is not in the air. The NFL has the 5 yard contact rule but no such rule exists in college.
I will say that there is a clear difference between making contact 20 yards downfield and blatant holding. MSU CB's seemed to get away with quite a bit of holding, except against ND, of course.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^
agrees with this post.
Roy Roundtree is less enthused.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:29 AM ^
The NFL and the NCAA have very different rules here, though. It would be pretty difficult for the NCAA to follow suit in this case.
The NFL has a weird rule where football becomes essentially a non-contact sport for wide receivers 5 yards past the line of scrimmage. Any contact with a wide receiver after 5 yards, whether or not a pass has been thrown, is called "illegal contact" and, in my understanding, is part of this "point of emphasis."
The NCAA does not have a rule prohibiting contact between a defender and a wide receiver prior to the pass being thrown (as long as it is not holding). They do not have a "5 yard" rule for contact by a defender.
What the NCAA could emphasize, and I would be interested to see it, would be offensive pass interference. You see it ignored much more often than defensive pass interference. Really, does the defense actually commit 90 to 95 percent of all pass interference penalties? That's the way they call the game, it seems, but it doesn't seem logical to me.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:47 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^
The first year the Mel Blount rule went into effect (1978), Mel Blount went out and had a career year anyway. He was just a dominant player under any rules.
August 13th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
Are there any specific rules in the NCAA that stop, say, a linebacker from lowering a shoulder into a reciever before the ball is thrown?
August 13th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
From the NCAA Rule Book, this is Approved Ruling #7-3-8-III:
"A83, a wide receiver 10 yards from the nearest interior lineman, slants toward the middle of the field. Before the ball is thrown, B1, a back, legally blocks him and knocks him down. RULING: Legal unless the block was below the waist"
So a legal block (but not a hold and not below the waist) is permitted even on an eligible receiver if the pass has not been thrown.
August 13th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
to the ridiculous "Dwane Wade shoots 5,000 FT against the Dallas Mavericks" NBA Finals. My favorite play was the one where Wade ran full speed into a completely stationary Maverick defender (Dirk?) and STILL got to shoot free throws. Utterly ridiculous.
August 13th, 2014 at 10:01 AM ^
Where playing defense is a penalty. Is the NFL really at a point where their viewership is threatened? I am totally on board with them getting rid of the head slapping on the line, emphasizing illegal hands to the face, hits to the head, and hits to quarterback's knees. Like most who've posted, I'm hoping this is emphasized in the preseason to make a point, then it loosens up, because what I've seen the last couple days watching preseason games makes the game less enjoyable to watch.
August 13th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^
Watching Seattle and MSU mug WR's the whole game leading to incomplete passes and punts all day sucks.
August 13th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
kind of like watching Michigan bball vs. msu bball.
August 13th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
Seattle basically came out and admitted they were going to cheat like hell until the NFL stopped them. Well, maybe the NFL is going to try and stop them.
August 13th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
"In the buildup to Seattle’s first preseason game Thursday against the Broncos, NFL officials visited the Seahawks training camp and called penalties according to the new guidelines. That meant more penalty flags were thrown for clutching and grabbing than might have been the case last season, said NFL referee Craig Wrolstad."
In the comments of the Football Outsiders article is the Seattle Times article from which I lifted this, and I did it because I found the strategy intriguing. I don't know that they would keep up that pace of calling defensive holds and illegal contact and the like, but the approach of teaching your team to proactively mitigate such things in the first place by having your own drills run and called against the rules is a great way to manage the issue, I think.
August 13th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^
Michigan is reportedly (and confirmed by Mattison) going to play a more press coverage style / tighter on WRs. I think this is great news, but do they have officials at practice to monitor said coverage and provide feedback re: pass interference?
August 13th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 2:12 PM ^
August 13th, 2014 at 3:52 PM ^
It's actually more ridiculous in college because there are fewer great athletes on defense and true spread offenses are considerably more widespread. The game generally needs more rule changes to help defense, so this is ridiculous.
I mean, a mediocre QB with atrocious footwork had 5k passing yards a few years ago in the NFL.
August 13th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^
AFAIC, Seattle and MSU exploited a loophole last year and profited greatly from it. They committed multiple penalties on every snap and dared the refs to be "that guy" who dropped a flag every play. This is what the Duke basketball team has been doing for at least 20 years on defense, so there is plenty of precedent.
I hope the loophole gets closed and everybody has to play by the rules again.