Face Guarding
I know face guarding is not defined in the book, but I hope you all know what I'm talking about. How do you guys determine whether a defender has face guarded or not?
Reason I'm asking is that last Friday we had a deep pass to A1. A1 is being guarded by B1. B1 is facing A1 and as the pass approaches, B1 raises his arms so his palms are facing the pass, and he looks straight up, kinda like a Willie Mays catch. As this is going on, B1 also runs into A1, so we have a flag for DPI. This got our crew into a discussion after the game, as to what we thought was face guarding. The veteran in our crew said you had to look at the hands, meaning that if his palms were facing backwards, he was ok. He also said that if he knocks the pass down, it is not a foul either. I did not agree with him, but thought I'd see what you guys thought. I think it has more to do with whether or not he is looking for the ball. |
Start with the rule. 7-5-10b states:
"Any player hinders an opponent’s vision without making an attempt to catch, intercept or bat the ball, even though no contact was made." That's pretty clear, IMO: if the B player has his back to the pass and hinders A's vision, you've got DPI. Running alongside is not a foul; getting the hands up in the face is. |
B1 has to turn to find and make an attempt on the ball.
In your OP, I have DPI. |
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Just because a DB gets beat doesn't mean he can't make a play on the ball. However, he will almost always keep his hands down until he turns to find the ball.
When you see a beaten DB with hands up and eyes on the receiver, it's usually face-guarding. |
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I also disagree that B1 has to first have a view of the ball to avoid face guarding. If A1 put his hands out, B1 could've taken that as an indication of the approach of the ball. Did B1 appear to be putting his hands or arms into the sight line, or closer to where A1's hands were? |
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