DPI or Illegal use of the hands?

[Suudy]

This came up at our association meeting, so I want to get everyone's feedback.

Here's the situation somebody emailed me:

--------Situation--------------
A1 an end runs a route across the middle about 8 yards deep, defender B1 pushes A1 from behind while a pass from A2 is in the air. A2 is under pressure and as he is hit he throws the ball not in the direction of A1.

I know we do not have uncatchable pass but 7-5-11 (c) (new this year) says that it is not forward pass interference if: Contact by B is away from the direction of the pass. My take on it is we have DPI if the pass goes to the feet of A1 or over his head but not if it is thrown by A2 at an angle so that it leads him by 5 yards or trails him five yards.
-------End----------------------

My response to him was that I think if the ball is not obviously away from A2, it is DPI. Otherwise it is illegal use of the hands.

Comments?

[grantsrc]

I say DPI in this case. How do we know the direction of the pass? The hit changed the flight/path of the ball. A1 may have been the intended receiver but we don't know that. Now, if A2 is looking the complete opposite way, then yes, illegal use of hands. But from the sounds of your play, he was the intended receiver, the contact forces the ball off target by 5 yards. The intent of the rule is it isn't DPI if the ball is thrown to a totally different receiver, not just off target.
Common sense always wins out. Sometimes many of us forget that at times, inlcuding me!

[Edited by grantsrc on Nov 4th, 2005 at 06:49 AM]

[Uncle Ernie]

hey guys,

There is a play just like this in the funny book (NFHS Simplified and Illustrated). We had the exact same play a couple of weeks ago.

If no pass is thrown it is illegal use of hands, but if the foul occurs while the ball is in the air, then DPI should be called..or something close to that.

[WaRef]

In general, I would not throw a flag unless a] the contact prevented a fair opportunity for the receiver to catch the pass, b] the contact prevented the QB access to a potential receiver (before the pass is thrown - not DPI), or c] the contact constitutes a personal foul. So, on minor contact over the middle, you need to make a quick judgment as to advantage/disadvantage and decide on a call or no-call.

[grantsrc]

Originally posted by WaRef
In general, I would not throw a flag unless a] the contact prevented a fair opportunity for the receiver to catch the pass, b] the contact prevented the QB access to a potential receiver (before the pass is thrown - not DPI), or c] the contact constitutes a personal foul. So, on minor contact over the middle, you need to make a quick judgment as to advantage/disadvantage and decide on a call or no-call.

I see your point. As I said earlier, it boils down to common sense. But in this case, the rule book offers us no support in saying the receiver had no chance or a fair opportunity to the ball. We are not given that responsibility to make a judgement like this. If the pass is intended for this receiver and there is contact that constitutes DPI, it is DPI. If there is contact that is illegal use of hands, it is illegal use of hands. If the contact is very minor or incidental and did not effect the play, then no call is correct. In this example, the receiver is pushed from behind while the ball is in the air and he was the intended receiver. It is the hit on the QB that changed the flight of the ball. DPI.

7-5-10 A:
It is forward-pass interference if:
Any player of A or B who is beyond the neutral zone interferes with an eligible opponent’s opportunity to move toward, catch or bat the pass.

In this play, I feel that you could say that B interferes with A's opportunity to move towards the ball. Unfortunately, our role is officials is to enforece the rules as written. I think if we take liberties with the rules and form our own interpretations, we set ourselves up for failure. We create an opportunity for coaches to use the dreaded, "It wasn't called like that last week!" Just MHO.