Has anyone heard of a penalty called...(Staff - "face-guarding")

[tideomega]

Face-guarding ? I thought that is a penalty and it seems to never being called anymore. Another that I hate is: it seems when a WR catches the ball and gets nailed, then fumbles never gets called either. I no, it has to do with the receiver having caught the ball and holding it for a certain period of time, but I have seen alot of WR's getting their bell ring and fumbling. The call: incomplete.

Any reply's.

Roll Tide and please Beat those Vol's

6-0

 

[Alanbama27]

Face guarding is also known as pass interference. However, it's not a college rule, but rather a pro rule. It's where a defender will never look back for the ball and put their hands up trying to prevent the receiver from making a catch. In the pro's that's illegal and is called Face Guarding.

If a receiver doesn't not get both feet on the ground with possession it will usually be called incomplete...however, there are other times it will be called incomplete as well and this is a judgement by the referee.

 

[lnadell]

I cannot say for certain about the face guarding. As for the other perhaps you are refering to how there is no longer a halo rule in football which means on kickoffs and punts the kicking team no longer has to allow the receiver 2 yards to catch the ball. I for one do not like taking away the halo rule in college football the pros don't have one, but someday some college special teams receiver is going to get killed because they are not allowing them any protection anymore. Yes a receiver must have "possesion" of the ball for there to be a fumble called, but I'm really not sure about what you are asking.

 

[PIPinTALLY]

If that is the rule for face guarding, then it is a stupid rule. You should be able to do what you want as long as don't touch him while the ball is in the air. The NFL has some stupid rules, I really dislike the NFL. BTW, when did the hog collar penalty come into affect?

 

[BamaSteve999]

lnadell

Not flaming you at all, but a kick returner can always give himself complete protection (or at least as complete as you can get in football) by calling for a fair catch.

 

[Bama-94-00]

Clarifying rule

As for the other perhaps you are refering to how there is no longer a halo rule in football which means on kickoffs and punts the kicking team no longer has to allow the receiver 2 yards to catch the ball. I for one do not like taking away the halo rule in college football the pros don't have one, but someday some college special teams receiver is going to get killed because they are not allowing them any protection anymore.

The rule was changed by removing the magic 2 yds "halo" zone. The defender(s) still must allow the returner room to catch the ball. They can't hit him the same time the ball gets there. The returner has less room but there's still the fair catch as another poster mentioned.

 

[bamatex82]

If that is the rule for face guarding, then it is a stupid rule. You should be able to do what you want as long as don't touch him while the ball is in the air. The NFL has some stupid rules, I really dislike the NFL. BTW, when did the hog collar penalty come into affect?

The NFL has a lot of stupid rules. FYI, this is the first year for the horse-collar penalty. It came about because of the Cowboy's safety Roy Williams used it and hurt 4 people last year, most noticably Philly's star WR Terrell Owens. Kind of strange one to me for defenders have been using that technique for years. I guess when a star player gets hurt the owners take notice.
May 25 link to ESPN

 

[Mamacalled]

Bamatex, You are correct about the collar rule.

As far as the halo rule, that came about because of an incredible return man for Boise State named Gilligan. He refused to call for a fair catch and even when a defender was in his face he would make the catch and make a big return.

 

[Tennessee]

I've always thought the stupidest rule is if the WR has possesion, and the WR was going to come down inbounds, but the DB forces him out of bounds, it is still a catch...

To me that seems like good D...I have never understood why that rule is there

 

[alatider]

I just want to say that IMO there are too many pass interference calls in college football (which is 99% of what I watch).
It's almost to the point to where a defender ever breathes on a receiver he will be call for pass interference.

Now that I got that off of my chest, I feel better !

 

[Alanbama27]

If that is the rule for face guarding, then it is a stupid rule. You should be able to do what you want as long as don't touch him while the ball is in the air. The NFL has some stupid rules, I really dislike the NFL. BTW, when did the hog collar penalty come into affect?

Stupid or not...it is the rule! They feel that the defender should look back for the ball and not just be able to throw your hands up in front of a receiver. With that said, pass interference has gotten out of control, with the exception to me of the Alabama vs. Ole Miss game. I thought the refs did an outstanding job of calling that game...with the single exception of not calling HOLDING on the "O" lines. There were plays by both DB crews where Pass Interference could have been called if the Ref wanted to be a stickler...however, they let the receivers and DB's play the game and I for one enjoyed that.

 

[UAME]

I've always thought the stupidest rule is if the WR has possesion, and the WR was going to come down inbounds, but the DB forces him out of bounds, it is still a catch...

To me that seems like good D...I have never understood why that rule is there

It seems ridiculously extreme, I know, but that rule prevents the following situation: A small wide receiver (Prothro, Palmer, Joey Jones) leaps to make a spectacular catch near the hash marks toward the middle of the field. Before he hits the ground, a linebacker wraps up the small receiver, slinging him over his shoulder and proceeds to carry him out of bounds before letting him drop. Without this rule, the call would be "INCOMPLETE PASS."

I know it is ludicrous to take it to that extreme. Such an occurrance as I described would be an unbelievable feat in and of itself, but at some point there is a threshold between that scenario and the one you described (the receiver is near the side boundary and gets pushed or carried out of bounds before touching the ground.) It would be difficult to require a referee to make a judgement on how far from the sideline that the pushing or carrying could legally begin, so (I think) the rule is that if it appears the receiver would have landed in the field of play if not having been pushed/carried, then the pass is complete.

 

[Bama-94-00]

NFL rule

I've always thought the stupidest rule is if the WR has possesion, and the WR was going to come down inbounds, but the DB forces him out of bounds, it is still a catch...

To me that seems like good D...I have never understood why that rule is there

That's an NFL rule. That does not apply in NCAA football.

 

[Tennessee]

That's an NFL rule. That does not apply in NCAA football.

Yeah, I know...It's just a rule that bugs me, LOL

Thanks for the info, UAME

 

[Bama-94-00]

Sure

Yeah, I know...It's just a rule that bugs me, LOL

No arguement there. I didn't want everybody to go off half cocked on that. The NFL rule is just another rule to promote offense.

 

[bamatex82]

I've always thought the stupidest rule is if the WR has possesion, and the WR was going to come down inbounds, but the DB forces him out of bounds, it is still a catch...

To me that seems like good D...I have never understood why that rule is there

As someone pointed out, that is an NFL rule. I like the way college rules works on this one. Doesn't require another judgement from the ref on whether he would think the player would come in bounds or not. He only has to determine 2 things - control of the ball and where does a body part come down. A lot simpler to do.

Hey, if the defender could actually catch the rcvr mid-air and carry him 10 yds out of bounds I would call him a stud and that would be a great defensive play!

Also note that the face guarding is only a NFL rule - I think. Face guarding is obstructing the view of the rcvr without making contact. Is there an NCAA rules knowledgable person on this one?