Personal foul?

[Jim D.]

There is no "right" answer, but I think you handled it fine. The action was behind and did not affect the play so I would either not flag it and talk to the player or, if I think a flag was justified (do to the severity of the action plus it may have been visible to all) then I'd probably go with a dead ball foul. The run of however many yards was made without the help of this foul, so I don't want to bring it back unless I have to. The dead ball foul lets A keep the gain they got legally, but still penalizes the cheap shot.

Since there was contact, a PF is the correct call.

[bbcof83]

Originally Posted by Jim D.

...The dead ball foul lets A keep the gain they got legally, but still penalizes the cheap shot.

Since there was contact, a PF is the correct call.

I agree. This is what I have been taught by the vets that I have worked with this year. Whenever you can, in this type of situation (rough/cheap play very close to the end of the play and far from the action) try to make it a dead ball foul. Remember, the whistle doesn't necessarily end the play. So if the coach says "I saw that flag on the ground before the whistle, that's a live ball foul!" you can explain that the player going out of bounds, going down, incomplete pass, etc ended the play, not the whistle.

[mbyron]

A live ball PF by B will be enforced from the end of the run if it was a running play or if the foul happened after A catches a forward pass. Either way, A gets to keep their gain.

The OP says that the B player "tried" to throw A to the ground. If he failed, I'd talk to him rather than flagging it. If he succeeded, I'd be more likely to flag it, depending on how severe the contact is.

Question 1: before or after the whistle is not the issue; you need to know whether the ball was live or dead. A dead-ball PF is enforced from the succeeding spot; a live ball foul might not be.

Question 2: already answered; contact foul cannot be USC.