Offensive Pass Interference

[JugglingReferee]

It seems quite excessive to have OPI before the ball is thrown.

Why is there no offensive illegal contact?

On 4D, OPI is 15y + a turnover! While the ball is in the air, each team has equal right to the ball. With the ball still in the passer's hands, B has less right to the ball, since A still has it!

I think OPI prior to the ball being thrown being a turnover needs to be changed!

[rngrck]

I agree with you. How many times are you going to flag A for blocking down field? IF it happens away from the play, never. After a catch, never, while the ball is in the air, maybe but it better be in the vicinity.

[PSU213]

Originally Posted by rngrck

I agree with you. How many times are you going to flag A for blocking down field? IF it happens away from the play, never. After a catch, never, while the ball is in the air, maybe but it better be in the vicinity.

In my mind, it is defintely OPI if the block were to free up the player to whom the pass is eventually thrown. As for after the catch, by definition, it is impossible to have OPI here. An argument can be made for not calling OPI when the pass is in the air and the pass is thrown somewhere else. There are not any catchability requirements for DPI, why then should this matter for the offense? In addition, the "vicinity" rule is only in effect for contact by B. Now it is true that we need some common sense about it, but it is impossible to say that contact was away from the play before the pass was even thrown.

[Jim D]

Originally Posted by rngrck

I agree with you. How many times are you going to flag A for blocking down field? IF it happens away from the play, never. After a catch, never, while the ball is in the air, maybe but it better be in the vicinity.

How many times will I call OPI when A blocks downfield? 100% of the time. Same with away from the ball.

If A88 goes down field and blocks, B knows that it's a run and breaks off coverage. A88 has now opened up himself and every other receiver on the field. Not to call this OPI is cheating B.

There is no need for A to block on this play. Why would you let a foul that can have a huge impact on the game go by?

Feel free to lobby for a rule change, but until then, you have to have to make the call.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

It seems quite excessive to have OPI before the ball is thrown.

Why is there no offensive illegal contact?

On 4D, OPI is 15y + a turnover! While the ball is in the air, each team has equal right to the ball. With the ball still in the passer's hands, B has less right to the ball, since A still has it!

I think OPI prior to the ball being thrown being a turnover needs to be changed!

Big deal. OPI for years until ~1970 was always a turnover in NCAA. There was no distinction until then between offensive and defensive pass interference; the penalty was 1st down to the team interfered with at the spot of the interference. I think the Canadian rule was changed at about the same time. (Fed has had a penalty from the previous spot for a long time, going back to when NCAA did that too -- as they now do again.)

However, at that time, there was also no such thing as pass interference by either team before the pass was thrown. That's why crossing patterns were so much more popular at that time -- to pick off the defender.

Robert