I had a question about roughing the passer. Rule 2 defines the passer as the player who throws a legal forward pass and goes on to say that he is the passer until the pass is complete, incomplete, intercepted or he moves on to participate in the play. Roughing the passer is charging into the passer or throwing him to the ground after the ball has been thrown. That being said, here is my question:

Ball on the A 45. A8 receives the snap and pitches the ball back to A 26. A 26 throws a forward pass to A88 who goes out of bounds at the 25. After throwing the pass and before continuing participation in the play, A 26 is a) hit by B96 b) thrown to the ground by B96. What is the call, if any?
Is A26 protected as a passer?

Just out of curiosity, did you read the first paragraph you typed? If not, please do. If yes, reread it.

Bob

Sleeper, the foul is for roughing the passer, not roughing the QB. A passer is any player who throws a legal forward pass.

That is what I thought, and I did read, re-read and then read again the section in Rule 2. What I wasn't clear on was that A26 had received a backward pass (thinking about the half back pass play) and I didn't know if confusion on what his intent was would have anything to do with the call. This particular play is normally based on misdirection and I wanted to know how people on the board had made the call. This is my first season and I am trying to gather as much information as possible before I start officiating. Just trying to learn.

Continue to ask questions and ignore those who would snap your head off for asking. We were all once where you are now.

Thanks for the help. I am not worried about asking questions, because that is the only way I can learn. A written forum can be limiting and sometimes people misunderstand the intent of the question. I have a mentor that is helping me as well, but I am trying to tap as much experience as possible.