NFHS Additional Rules per helmeted players

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Tim C

“Offensive and defensive pass interference and the penalty structure related to these fouls has been debated many times in recent years,” Garrett said. “Proposals that either deleted the loss of down or the automatic first down – but not both – failed to gain support among committee members. The proposal to eliminate both components, thus not upsetting the balance between offense and defense, was the key factor in the adoption of the new rule.”

But overall it favors the offense. 15 yds. will usually produce a 1st down anyway, and if I'm 2nd & 16, I'd rather repeat the down and get 2nd & 1. Where it'll mostly matter is against the defense in a half-the-distance enforcement -- which actually is where you needed the AFD the most.