Rule change I'd like to see re: penalties

[WIDE LEFT]

The NFL does a fairly good job in adapting rule changes to fit the evolving game. I do wish they would consider tweaking the rules a bit in regards to holding penalties.

The overriding philosophy for penalties in general is that the punishment should fit the crime. That's why a pass interference penalty is placed at the spot of the foul ie it's where, in theory, the receiver would have caught it had he not been interfered with. Likewise a holding penalty on a pass play is 10 yards, because a sack of the QB would likely have resulted in a loss of around 10 yards. It's the 10 yard penalty for holding on a running play that I object to. Very very few running plays, when successfully defended, result in a 10 yard loss. Looking at most holding calls on run plays, the defense would have been lucky to hold the runner to no gain had there not been a hold. Too many times you see an offense clicking on all cylinders, only to be stopped cold by a holding call on a running play. It puts the offense in a huge hole, and holding calls by refs are very arbitrary to begin with. Retain the 10 yard penalty for holding on a pass play, but let the punishment fit the crime and make it a 5 yard penalty for holding on an obvious running play.

 

[The Big Cat]

Valid point.

 

I'm still waiting for offensive pass interference to result in a loss of down.

[eball]

Poor choice for thread title -- can you change it to say "Rule changes I'd like to see re: penalties" or something like that? I clicked thinking you were reporting on actual changes, not what you want to see.

[CodeMonkey]

I'm still waiting for offensive pass interference to result in a loss of down.

I agree. But the NFL wants more offense, not less, to make it more exciting for the casual fan.

[Optometric Insight]

Then what happens when the QB scrambles?

[WIDE LEFT]

Then what happens when the QB scrambles?

 

Has to be an obvious running play - never a 5 yard penalty when QB is involved.

[sodbuster]

Has to be an obvious running play - never a 5 yard penalty when QB is involved.

what about option plays?

[johnnychemo]

Valid point.

 

I'm still waiting for offensive pass interference to result in a loss of down.

To carry the OP point to it's logical conclusion WRT this, it should be loss of possession. After all, the offense PI is likely to prevent an interception.

[The Wiz]

Then what happens when the QB scrambles?

what about option plays?

If the play was intended to be a pass and the QB scrambles - 10 yd, if an option - 5 yd.

 

Would probably result in officials needing to make a judgement call on whether it was designed that way or not but I really don't think most QB options are disguised well as pass plays.

Edited May 23, 2013 by The Wiz

[WIDE LEFT]

what about option plays?

As noted, it has to be an obvious running play. If you are talking about read option, where QB keeps the ball, then 10 yard penalty because QB is involved. Running back option, again, has to be a clear and obvious running play. It's easy to tell.

[The Big Cat]

To carry the OP point to it's logical conclusion WRT this, it should be loss of possession. After all, the offense PI is likely to prevent an interception.

 

That was precisely my point?

 

If the play was intended to be a pass and the QB scrambles - 10 yd, if an option - 5 yd.

 

Would probably result in officials needing to make a judgement call on whether it was designed that way or not but I really don't think most QB options are disguised well as pass plays.

 

Holding is already a judgement call (happens on every play), hence why I don't have a problem with the extra layer of subjectivity.

[KD in CA]

The NFL does a fairly good job in adapting rule changes to fit the evolving game. I do wish they would consider tweaking the rules a bit in regards to holding penalties.

The overriding philosophy for penalties in general is that the punishment should fit the crime. That's why a pass interference penalty is placed at the spot of the foul ie it's where, in theory, the receiver would have caught it had he not been interfered with. Likewise a holding penalty on a pass play is 10 yards, because a sack of the QB would likely have resulted in a loss of around 10 yards. It's the 10 yard penalty for holding on a running play that I object to. Very very few running plays, when successfully defended, result in a 10 yard loss. Looking at most holding calls on run plays, the defense would have been lucky to hold the runner to no gain had there not been a hold. Too many times you see an offense clicking on all cylinders, only to be stopped cold by a holding call on a running play. It puts the offense in a huge hole, and holding calls by refs are very arbitrary to begin with. Retain the 10 yard penalty for holding on a pass play, but let the punishment fit the crime and make it a 5 yard penalty for holding on an obvious running play.

 

You cant force the refs to judge run or pass play (it's not always obvious at the time of the penalty), so instead they should make it a five yard penalty from the spot of the foul. That way it's generally a 5 yard penalty for runs and a 5-10 yarder on pass plays.

[Fan in San Diego]

I think the pass interference call at the spot of the foul is way too punitive. That can result in 25 plus yards of penalty yardage. A ten yard penalty is plenty IMHO.

[johnnychemo]

That was precisely my point?

 

You said loss of down, I said possession, ie giving up the ball to the would-be intercepting team in the case of an offensive PI call.

[Optometric Insight]

I think the pass interference call at the spot of the foul is way too punitive. That can result in 25 plus yards of penalty yardage. A ten yard penalty is plenty IMHO.

But then playing the receiver would be the safer play if the ball is thrown more than 40 yards down the field, making deep completions less likely

[jtewy]

I have long argued that holding should be a 5 yard penalty across the board. I never thought of making it different if it's a run or pass. I still say make it a 5 yard penalty across the board and take out more subjectivity. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks 10 yards is too stiff on a call that can be made every play. How many times do you see a team inside the 5 or 10 yardline trying to run it in and get called for a 10 yard holding penalty? Those are game-changing calls, and holding could be called every play.

[artmalibu]

But the 10 yard penalty does not result in a loss of down.

[vincec]

Here's a rule change that I would like to see: no more half the distance penalties. If you are at the 15 and you get a holding penalty, then you go back to the five. If the total yardage would put you in the end zone then you go back to the one. I really don't get the logic for half the distance.

[CardinalScotts]

pass interference called with a more consistent overall decision, what is in one game is not in another. Or the guy on the play no flag but the guy 30 yards away throws his-- not your call and it's such a huge penalty to call from 30 yards away you better be damn sure it was a penalty

[The Wiz]

Here's a rule change that I would like to see: no more half the distance penalties. If you are at the 15 and you get a holding penalty, then you go back to the five. If the total yardage would put you in the end zone then you go back to the one. I really don't get the logic for half the distance.

I think the logic makes more sense for defensive penalties than offensive. If you're on the 7 yard line in the red zone its the difference of being on the 3.5 instead of the 2. Plus there is the fact that the NFL wants high scoring games with a lot of action and putting a team back further(on offense anyways) just makes them run happy to get out of the end zone which is boring (unless it's CJ).

 

I think the biggest problem with the PI calls is the reward it gives for the offense. Defensive PI is at the spot of the foul so it can be anywhere from 1 yard to as far as the QB can throw it. Offensive is 10 yards and a redo of the down. Either make both 10-15 yard penalties or negate them both the same way. Something along the lines of a 10 yard penalty plus a lose of down for offensive PI would work for me if they aren't treated equally.

Edited May 24, 2013 by The Wiz