NFL Face Guarding Rules
The NFL has had its share of controversial calls over the years. Some of them are on misinterpretations of the rules by officials. Others are just rules that are not explained correctly to the public by television broadcasters. Defenders are permitted to interfere with a player's vision, and as long as no other rules are broken it is not a penalty in the National Football League.
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Definition
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Face guarding in the NFL is the act of trying to block the vision of a receiver from being able to see the football when attempting to catch a pass.
Legality
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There are rules in the NFL against pass interference, but there are no such rules against face guarding. A defender can block a receiver's view of the ball with any part of his body.
When Face Guarding Becomes Pass Interference
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If the defender makes physical contact with a receiver while trying to block his view of the football before the ball arrives, that is considered pass interference. The penalty is for pass interference, not for face guarding.
Controversy
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One of the more controversial calls was made in the 2007 AFC Championship Game, when analyst Phil Simms indicated a Patriots defender, Ellis Hobbs, was penalized for face guarding. The NFL later indicated it should not have been a penalty.
Misconceptions
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Considering face guarding is not a penalty, a defender does not have to be "looking for the ball" when breaking up a pass for the receiver. Instead, he just needs to make sure he makes no physical contact at all with the receiver before the ball arrives.
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