Automatic First DownThere shall be no interference with a forward pass thrown from behind the line, is one rule about interference. Defensive pass interference is called when a defensive player interferes with a receiver's attempt to catch the ball. If the defender makes contact with the receiver, it is pass interference, unless the contact is incidental, or done in order to make a play on the ball. For example the defensive player can knock the ball down, even if he has to contact the receiver to do it. But he cannot push the receiver, trip him, grab his arm, pull his shirt, etc. Typically referees will call pass interference if the defensive player makes contact with the receiver but is not looking back at the ball.When defensive pass interference is called, the offense receives an automatic first down, and the ball is placed where the interference occurred. If the interference occurs in the end zone, the ball is placed on the one yard line. Pass interference cannot be challenged once called.
In the NFL, pass interference is a penalty where a defensive player interferes with the ability of an eligible receiver to make a catch. The penalty for pass interference is typically a spot foul, meaning the offense is awarded the ball at the spot of the foul with an automatic first down.
In both college and the NFL, personal fouls (such as unnecessary roughness, grabbing the facemask, clipping, roughing the passer/kicker) and unsportsmanlike conduct. In college, offensive pass interference is a 15 yard penalty and defensive pass interference is 15 yards if the foul occurred 15 or more yards past the line of scrimmage (otherwise, the ball is placed at the spot of the foul). In the NFL, offensive pass interference is a 10 yard penalty and, for defensive pass interference, the ball is placed at the spot of the foul.
In general, interference is a deliberate act, with contact, to impede a receiver from catching a pass...or an act by a receiver to prevent defensing a pass (offensive pass interference). It is most often hitting or grabbing the receiver before the pass arrives, or a receiver shoving a defender away. If the pass has not been thrown when a defensive penalty occurs, the lesser penalty of illegal contact will apply instead. The rules are different in each level of play (high school, NCAA, NFL), as are the penalties applied.
Roughing the passer, defensive pass interference, offsides
interception
Pass Interference
Yes.
You can't tackle a player that doesn't have the ball in his possession. You can block any player you want -- you can even knock someone over with a pancake block -- but grabbing onto a player who doesn't have the ball and taking him to the ground would constitute holding.
At the right hash where the interferenc occured in the NFL in high school it is a 15 yard penalty and the ball would be placed at the same point laterally on the field as the previous snap.
Yes- that is a good strategy that most defensive backs use.
Yes, defensive holding can be called when one of the defenders - usually a defensive back - holds onto a receiver and prevents him from running his route. Think of it as a minor pass interference. Defensive holding is a 10 yard penalty.