Carolina vs New England last play

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

You have to prove you were restricted by your movement. Gronk never changed direction or showed a struggle. He kept going in the same direction. If you are truly restricted show me.

What could he possibly show you? Once his shoulders are pushed back, the only way he can keep from falling backwards is to move his feet backwards. As it was, he did a little of both. Would it have looked more like a struggle if he hadn't tried to stay on his feet, and just fallen on his butt where he'd been standing? Or would it have looked more like a struggle if he'd moved his feet backward fast enough to stay erect? Looks like you want players to draw fouls by play acting, only it's not even clear which way you want them to act!

He was in the process of changing direction when he was hit. His next move was to move his upper body forward, but that movement was prevented by the opponent's pushing him on his shoulders.

And need I remind others in this thread that "catchable" means possible to catch, not "likely"? When the long haired player came in to intercept the ball, you are not to judge whether his presence would've made it merely difficult for the interfered-with player to catch the ball, only whether it would've been impossible. The purpose of the interference rule is to keep opponents from using contact to deprive one of the opp'ty or lessen one's ability to catch the ball; it's not to be presumed that a catch would have been made in the absence of the contact. If a "would've been caught" standard were applicable generally to pass interference fouls, then you'd see all sorts of head-scratching and appeals to the players' demonstrated abilities as receivers.

In case you're wondering, I had no interest in the teams or even knowledge of this game, and am judging solely by the video loop that's been posted here.