woods@hao.UUCP (Greg Woods) (12/14/83)
After one net article and two letters, I will post this. In the USFL, a
pass interference penalty calls for 10 yards (from the line of scrimmage)
and an automatic first down (unless
it is ruled deliberate or flagrant, like hauling a guy down from behind to
prevent a probable score, in which case it is the same as the NFL rule). To
my way of looking at it, this minimizes the impact of this penalty on the
outcomes of games. Surely we all agree that the penalties in the NFL are getting
out of hand these days, and pass interference is right up there with illegal
blocks on kick returns as a prime offender. The USFL penalty is still severe
enough to encourage defenders to avoid it, but I really hate seeing 60-yard
drives, 50 of which are due to a pass interference call. I always thought the
first down on the one yard line was absurd, why not just award the touchdown?
They *do* award a safety on an intentional grounding call in the endzone. NFL
teams with a first and goal from the one will score 95% of the time, according
to a graphic displayed in a recent ABC Monday night game. The disadvantage
of the USFL rule is that it is yet one more judgment on the part of the
officials. However, I only saw the flagrant penalty called a couple of times,
and in all cases that I saw there wasn't much doubt that the interference was
deliberate. We probably all agree that, although there have been some well-
publicized errors, the judgment of the officials is incredibly accurate
considering that they don't get the advantage of instant replay.
Greg "Broncomaniac" Woods
P.S. A trivia question, speaking of instant replay. When was the first time
instant replay was used in a football broadcast? Who was playing and who
was the announcer? (I do know the answers -- I heard it on NPR's "Morning
Edition" this morning)
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