Psk

[With_Two_Flakes]

Originally Posted by kdf5

But by definition, RTP is "charging into a passer....after it is clear the ball has been thrown". So how can you call an immediate cheap shot roughing?

A passer in the act of passing, or having just passed is a defenceless player.

The NCAA Rules Committee in NCAA want passers to be protected, hence they wish anything cheap to be classed as RTP so that the harsher RTP enforcement (tacking the 15 onto the end of the gain of the pass is completed) might act as a deterrent.
Every clinic I have attended in the last few years has emphasised that White Hats should be especially vigilant for hits to the QB's head or hits using the helmet and call them RTP.

The RTP Rule wording differences between NCAA (who use "obvious the ball has been thrown") and Fed (who use "clear the all has been thrown") are very minor.
I only work Federation occasionally when on vacation in the US, but I can imagine their Rules Comittee would have a very similar philosophy (if not stricter and more protective) to the NCAA regarding how it should be called.