Todays topic comes from Sunday nights Chicago-Green Bay game. Jeff of Naperville, Ill., wrote that it was appalling to see the game nearly decided on an illegal contact call against Packers cornerback Al Harris in the fourth quarter.
Indeed, officials whistled Harris for illegal contact against receiver Devin Hester on a third-down play at the Packers 40-yard line with 8:39 remaining in the game. Green Bay held a 13-12 lead at the time, and quarterback Jay Cutlers pass to receiver Earl Bennett had fallen incomplete. (In fact, cornerback Charles Woodson made a diving tip to alter its trajectory.) Its highly unlikely the Bears would have attempted a 57-yard field goal, and they almost certainly would have punted.
This type of call is especially frustrating, knowing it happened away from the play. When you watch the replay, it doesnt look like Cutler considered throwing to Hester. (Maybe he should have. After the contact, Hester was wide open.)
I scoured the NFL rule book to see what applied to this play. Heres what the rules allow (Section 4, Article 1 if youre interested):
Within five yards of the line of scrimmage, a defensive player may chuck an eligible receiver in front of him. The defender is allowed to maintain continuous and unbroken contact within the five-yard zone, so long as the receiver has not moved beyond a point that is even with the defender.
When you watch the replay, you see Harris lightly shove Hester just as he crossed the 35-yard line. At that point, its a judgment call by the official to determine Hesters distance from the line of scrimmage. Even though Harris contact was a routine chuck for a cornerback passing off the receiver in zone coverage, the power of the contact is not part of the rule.
But lets say you disagree that Hester was past the 5-yard marker, or you believe it was too close to call. There is another part of this rule that I cant say I was aware of (Section 4, Article 2):
Within the five-yard zone, if the player who receives the snap remains in the pocket with the ball, a defender may not make original contact in the back of a receiver, nor may he maintain contact after the receiver has moved beyond a point that is even with the defender.
When you watch the replay, Harris definitely shoves Hester on the back of his right shoulder. It wasnt hard and it didnt really knock Hester off his route. But if you want to make a strict interpretation of this rule, you can say Harris made original contact in the back of a receiver, an illegal play even if it occurs within the 5-yard radius.
I cant read the mind of the officials who made the call. But in retrospect, you can produce a rule to match the call. I acknowledge that similar plays go uncalled all the time. But was it in error? Im not sure we can make that argument. Whether the rule should be in place is another debate entirely.