I can write all day about PI but I'm not sure I'm going to clear much up.
1. PI is one of the most subjective calls on the field. Whether the official made a good call or not is usually determined by which team the observer is rooting for.
2. PI is hard to call with any consistency for one guy -- I know that consistency from official to official is non-existant. (Like a block/charge rule in basketball)
3. It takes years to learn how to call PI well. Of course, it takes years to learn how to call holding well. There are far more things to consider that what most people think.
Here is what the Rules Book says:
RULE 7, Article 5 Section 10... . . It is forward-pass interference if:
a. Any player of A or B who is beyond the neutral zone interferes with an
eligible opponent’s opportunity to move toward, catch or bat the pass.
b. Any player hinders an opponent’s vision without making an attempt to
catch, intercept or bat the ball, even though no contact was made.
Section 11...It is not forward-pass interference if:
a. Unavoidable contact occurs when two or more eligibles are making a
simultaneous, bona fide attempt to move toward, catch or bat the pass.
b. Contact by A is immediately made on a B lineman and the contact does not continue beyond the expanded neutral zone.
c. Contact by B is obviously away from the direction of the pass.
The b in the first part describes faceguarding, and no, it's not legal in h.s.
The b in the second part DOES NOT describe uncatchable pass, that's an NCAA rule. You can have PI on a pass that's uncatchable if it is in the general direction of the receiver.
Those short entries don't give officials a lot of detailed direction into the proper way to call PI. The NCAA officials I know, and most of the top level h.s. officials who work in that area of the field, have a set of criteria to determine if action is pass interference.
They are:
-Not Playing the Ball with Early Contact
-Playing Through the Back
-Arm Grab
-Arm Bar
-Cut Off
-Hook & Turn
-Face Guarding (H.S. only)
A couple of explanations.
Playing through the back draws complaints because all players have a right to play the ball. That's true, but if a player, while playing the ball, impedes an opponent's chance to play the ball, it's PI.
Arm grab is a tactic of the best DBs. It's also called "Making a one-armed receiver." It's often hard to see and you'll see a flag where there appears to be little contact. Holding a wrist of elbow, even slightly, is PI if it allows the opponent only one hand or arm to make the catch.
Arm bar is one of two actions -- impeding an opponent from moving toward the ball, or (most often) creating seperation from an opponent.
Cut off is self-explanitory but it can be very subjective. There was a huge DPI call in the Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech game last season in a key situation where the GT DB was flagged. I'm a Hokie fan and even I didn't see the foul. It was a classic cut-off and the call was praised by Doug Rhodes, the ACC coordinator of officials, who basically said it was downright brilliant.
Does this clear anything up? I'm afraid it's nearly impossible to say most action definitately is or isn't PI.
This post was edited on 9/29 4:16 PM by White hat
