Refs got it right in Patriots vs Panthers game





















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Steve Young is my favorite QB of all time. Seriously he just is. I fell in love with the QB as a kid and he will always have that title in my sports' heart. However, he does not know the rules for pass interference.



Nor do a multitude of people who are complaining about the final play of the New England vs Carolina game on Monday Night Football. The rules required the refs to pick up the flag thrown when Panthers' Luke Kuechly bear hugged  Patriots tightend Rob Gronkowski on the final play of the game with one play left to determine the game.

The play involved Gronskowski running a route to the center back of the endzone and possibly running back to the middle. The pass from Brady was about three yards shy of where Gronk had run. Yes he was wrapped up by Kuechly, but he was running to where he wanted to go.

The back judge threw the flag, but after consultation picked it up. Young said "Because Gronk was kept from competing for the ball, that's pass interference."

No...Steve...it is not.

The NFL rules on pass interference are clear...even when something is otherwise pass interference, it is negated in two (of several) cases: 1. If the ball is uncatchable and 2. If anyone else touches the ball the restriction ends.

Both instances were said to have occurred in the Pats vs Cats game. 1. The refs determined that even if Kuechly had not mauled Gronk, Gronk would not have been close to catching the short pass thrown from Tom Brady. And secondly, the ball was not only touched by someone else, it was intercepted by Panthers rookie safety Robert Lester at the same time the alleged pass interference was occurring. I will break it down further, as the restriction only occurs defensively once the ball has left the QBs hands.



Don't believe me? Here are the rules:

Pass Interference

  1. There shall be no interference with a forward pass thrown from behind the line. The restriction for the passing team starts with the snap. The restriction on the defensive team starts when the ball leaves the passer’s hand. Both restrictions end when the ball is touched by anyone.
  2. The penalty for defensive pass interference is an automatic first down at the spot of the foul. If interference is in the end zone, it is first down for the offense on the defense’s 1-yard line. If previous spot was inside the defense’s 1-yard line, penalty is half the distance to the goal line.
  3. The penalty for offensive pass interference is 10 yards from the previous spot.
  4. It is pass interference by either team when any player movement beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible player of such player’s opportunity to catch the ball. Offensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is snapped until the ball is touched. Defensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is thrown until the ball is touched. 

    Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to: 

    (a) Contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch. 

    (b) Playing through the back of a receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball. 

    (c) Grabbing a receiver’s arm(s) in such a manner that restricts his opportunity to catch a pass. 

    (d) Extending an arm across the body of a receiver thus restricting his ability to catch a pass, regardless of whether the defender is playing the ball. 

    (e) Cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball. 

    (f) Hooking a receiver in an attempt to get to the ball in such a manner that it causes the receiver’s body to turn prior to the ball arriving. 

    Actions that do not constitute pass interference include but are not limited to: 

    (a) Incidental contact by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball, or neither player is looking for the ball. If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference. 

    (b) Inadvertent tangling of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball. 

    (c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players. 

    (d) Laying a hand on a receiver that does not restrict the receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball. 

    (e) Contact by a defender who has gained position on a receiver in an attempt to catch the ball. 
The issue is several fold. 1. Gronk had not turned to run back toward the ball while Kuechly held him. Some would say he couldn't... but the reality is he didn't even attempt to do so. He was still running toward the back of the endzone. Tom Brady short armed his pass to the tightend there was at least two yards between Gronk and Lester, and even Lester had to come back toward the ball.


A Patriots' fan even agrees with me: "Rules: Breakdown"

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