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From: halle1@houxz.UUCP (J.HALLE)
Newsgroups: net.sport.football
Subject: Re: NFL Rule Changes
Message-ID: <619@houxz.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Dec-83 10:24:39 EST
Article-I.D.: houxz.619
Posted: Mon Dec 12 10:24:39 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Dec-83 06:17:14 EST
References: <1025@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 15

There is one major problem with changing the NFL defensive pass interference
penalty to the USFL (or was it WFL) one.  Here is the situation.
Ball on the 20 after a touchback.  The quarterback fades back,..., and lets
it fly.  There on the other twenty, the receiver is behind the defender and
the pass is on target.  He has a sure cat#$%..... The safety in a desperate
effort leaps and bumps the receiver, causing him to have no chance whatsoever
to catch the ball.  So now the offense gets it on their 35 instead of the
other 20?  With that rule change pass interference will become a frequent
DELIBERATE foul.  No, that change is bad news.

What I would like to see, though, is a change back to the old scoring rule
regarding pass interference.  Until about two years ago, a pass interference
call went into the books as a completed pass.  Now it is a long penalty.
I think the old way was more realistic and gave less distortion to
the statistics.  Besides, that was one rule Howard always got WRONG.