Football Officiating, Part Two

A holding penalty is one that is either called too often or not enough (depends on which team you are rooting for and how the penalties are being assessed!). Most football coaches will tell you that a holding occurs on every play, and my opinion is that it is the most subjective of all officiating calls. Simply, a holding penalty is just what it says - one player holds on to a player from the other team to prevent him from doing his job. Most often, holding is called on offensive linemen who will tackle a defensive man (only defense can tackle) or grab a handful of jersey or an arm. Blocking is to be done with the arms or upper body, but not the hands. The defense can get called for holding too, but it is more rare. The signal from the official is grasping a hand around the opposite wrist and pulling it in a downward motion. The penalty for an offensive holding is 10 yards from the spot of the foul and replay the down (ie, if a hold happens on the first down of play right at the line of scrimmage - the point where the ball is snapped - then the penalty would put the ball 10 yards back and the offensive would have a first and 20). For a defensive holding, the penalty is 5 yards and a first down.

Pass interference may be the trickiest calls to make. There is a very fine line between a great defensive play and a bonehead defensive play. A pass defender can not interfere with the receiver's right to get the ball while the ball is in the air. You'll often see a lot of bumping between the defensive backs and the wide receivers, but that is allowable in a certain area. A defender cannot push a receiver away from the ball, nor can he tackle the receiver before he attempts to catch the ball, nor can he intentionally block the vision of the receiver. (And the offensive player cannot do these things to the defensive player.) The most important thing to remember here is the phrase "while the ball is in the air." The best defensive backs time themselves to hit the receiver the moment the ball touches the receiver's hands, knocking it loose for an incompletion, or timing a leap to bat the ball away an instant before the catch. If the defensive (or offensive) player makes his hit too early, a flag will be thrown and the official will signal with a pushing motion with the palms of his hands forward. In the NFL, a defensive pass interference is an automatic first down at the spot of the foul (if it happens in the endzone, the ball is put on the one yard line). In college and most high school (and younger) programs, it is a fifteen yard penalty from the line of scrimmage. An offensive pass interference is a 10 yard penalty from the line of scrimmage and replay the down.

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