The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Hi all, I'm sure you've seen the second to last play of Thursday night over and over and over again. Hawk jumps over the back of Sproles and hits the ball CLEANLY......but then afterwards, makes minor contact with Sproles.

Now, the ball is knocked OFF flight path and the ball would not have been catchable by Sproles.....IMO

Was the penalty the Right or Wrong call.....? Someone know the rules...?

Bang Bang call.....

It was a bad call, IMO. The ref was behind them both and couldn't tell he hit the ball first. I was glad when they stuffed the run on the untimed down.

Here's my take on it-

Did you see where the ref who threw the flag was standing? He was behind Hawk. From his line of sight, and in fast motion, it looked like pass interference.

Hawk made an "over the back" move which is like "reaching in" in the NBA. Just like in the NBA, if you get all ball and don't touch the opponents body, then it is not an penalty or a foul in the NBA; however, each referee calls what they see differently. For some basketball refs, anytime someone reaches in 9 out of 10 times, it is a foul. I think the opposite happens in the NFL. Anytime someone goes over the back to block a pass, 9 times out of 10, no call is made unless it is very, very blatant.

I don't know where this ref lies on the continuum, but I think that he was not in position to see that there was no contact with the bodies or minimum contact at best. From his position, to him, it probably looked like a blantant, no brainer "over the back," pass interference call.

With the aid of replay, it certainly looks like it was all ball, but the replay is not conclusive about body contact after Hawk tips the ball. Was it a wrong call? I doubt that the Head of Refs will say it was. Was it a good call, I would say no, because 99.9 out of 100 of plays like Hawk made will not get called even if there is clearly minimal contact.

There is not a lot of buzz on the internet about it, but that might be because the Packers still won. Had they lost the game, the NFL Head of Refs might have had to step forward and say something.

If Hawk made any significant contact with Sproles, it appeared to come after he tipped the ball.

http://scores.nbcsports.msnbc.com/fb/st ... =9&src=NFL

^^^^^^^^^ I agree with your assessment.