Our offense is Pathetic

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by irish

No its not. Its called face guarding and its illegal.

If I'm not mistaken, face guarding is no longer a penalty under nfl rules.

[SmootSmack]

Ask Jerry Markbreit on ChicagoSports.com

Can you call pass interference on a defender if he is turned toward the wide receiver, not looking at the ball, waves his arms, but doesn't touch the wide receiver at all? Say the ball is in the air and hits the defender in the arm because he deflects the pass. Again, he doesn't touch the WR, but isn't looking at the ball either. --Dawn Polomsky, Phoenix, Ariz.

Many years ago, there was a penalty on pass plays for "face guarding." What you describe is face guarding. There is no penalty under current NFL rules for this act, unless there is physical contact. If the ball hits the defender, as you describe, the play would be legal. It is dangerous for a defender to turn his back on the direction that the ball is coming from. If he contacts the intended receiver, it would be pass interference because the defender is not playing the ball. You seldom see what you describe, but it would not be a foul.

[irish]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

If I'm not mistaken, face guarding is no longer a penalty under nfl rules.

I had no idea the rule had been changed. Thanks to you & Smoot for setting me straight.