T1B

Nolan: Let the punishment fit the crime


San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan wants to see the NFL adopt a new pass interference rule that gives officials some leeway in handing out punishment.

Nolan's plan would let officials decide if a penalty should result in a 15-yard penalty or a harsher, spot of the foul penalty.

The current rules state that a defensive pass interference penalty rewards the offense with the ball at the spot of the foul or at the one yard line if the penalty happens in the end zone.

Nolan, a former defensive back, points out that with the subjectivity of pass interference calls, it pushes offensive coaches into calling plays that simply try to draw penalties.

"You'll see them drop back and throw it vertical," Nolan told the Sacramento Bee. "They'll overthrow the play; they just want the penalty."

Nolan appears to be passionate about the topic but so far doesn't expect the issue to get much traction.

According to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, the NFL's powerful competition committee discussed the pass interference proposal in Naples, Fla. The concept received a lukewarm reception from the committee, which means it probably doesn't have much chance of passing muster with the full league membership at the Phoenix meetings later this month.

"You can maim someone, and it's 15 yards," Nolan told the Sacramento Bee. "You can end someone's career, and it's 15 yards. Pass interference -- it's not a reflection of the severity of the crime. It's like getting the death penalty for going 75 mph in a 55 zone."

ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli contributed to this report.

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He's right.

It sucks BADLY when you have a ticky-tack PI call made which gives the offense a 40 yd gain.
Sucks even more when receiver and defender get tangled up slightly and the call goes against the defender ....... resulting in a 40 yd gain for the offense.

Those cases ought to result in a 15 yd penalty.

Let the officials use their judgement.
If the defender is burned badly and basically tackeles the receiver to avoid giving up the huge gain, then yes, spot of the violation makes perfect sense.

poptart wrote:Let the officials use their judgement.

I judge that it was an incomplete forward pass.

The whole point on the Coleman farce was that he said he wasn't using any judgement.
Claimed to be simply following the letter of the law.


Do you agree with Nolan or not .... ?

poptart wrote:The whole point on the Coleman farce was that he said he wasn't using any judgement.
Claimed to be simply following the letter of the law.

And my whole point is that PI is already a judgment call.

Do you agree with Nolan or not .... ?

No I don't. And if he had better cover corners, then he wouldn't either. Funny how coaches with shitty defenses propose rule changes to benefit their less talented players.

Of course PI is a judgement call.
A DB's intent ought to also be.

A defender ought not get ass-fucked for 40 yd penalty on a ticky-tack call the same as he does when he tackles a receiver because he has been beaten very badly.

On top of that, a defender can knock the living shit out of a QB with a blow to the head or a late hit and it's 15 yds.
But heaven forbid a d-back snag just a touch of a receiver's jersey on a deep pass play.

40 yds .....


Ri-fuckin-DICKless, man.

I see where Nolan is going w/ this. It does make sense, only people are going to bitch when they think it was ticky tacky and the ref gives them the 40-50 yards b/c he thought it was intentional. Also, vice versa.

I just say leave it the way it is.

poptart wrote:Of course PI is a judgement call.
A DB's intent ought to also be.

So now refs should be mind readers?

A defender ought not get ass-fucked for 40 yd penalty on a ticky-tack call the same as he does when he tackles a receiver because he has been beaten very badly.

On top of that, a defender can knock the living shit out of a QB with a blow to the head or a late hit and it's 15 yds.
But heaven forbid a d-back snag just a touch of a receiver's jersey on a deep pass play.

40 yds ..... Ri-fuckin-DICKless, man.

Then I guess teams should put a premium on schooling their DBs on the finer points of coverage technique.

I'd prefer to see all penalties subject to review. But leave the way MEN play football alone. What's next? Recievers only need one foot in bounds?

Point well taken, Cicero.
However, both of you guys are trying too hard with this.

It's should be a spot of the infraction penalty ONLY when the defender BLATANTLY goes after the receiver because he has been toasted.
Other than that, a PI call is 15 yds.

If Nolan had his way we would see more aggressive and physical play from d-backs, and THAT is what keeps the NFL honks from doing the right thing.

More aggressive and physical d-back play = lower scoring.


Tonto say NFL not happy with that scenario.

poptart wrote:More aggressive and physical d-back play = more holding and more grabbing.

FTFY