WTF??? Has anyone ever heard of this rule???
UMass was around midfield when they showed punt on 4th down. But they faked it and the punter threw a nice pass to the receiver almost to the end zone. The Liberty defender obviously interferes and a flag was thrown.
However, the flag was picked up and the head ref says: "There is no defensive pass interference because the ball was thrown high and long on a 4th down". Why would that even be a rule? Is it because on 4th down the defender would mistake it for a punt?
So does that mean it's OK for a defender to interfere with a receiver if the ball is thrown "high and long" during a 4th down? What about when it's not in a fake punt situation and instead in an obvious attempt to go for fourth down? Is it still OK for the defender to interfere with the receiver?
UMass was around midfield when they showed punt on 4th down. But they faked it and the punter threw a nice pass to the receiver almost to the end zone. The Liberty defender obviously interferes and a flag was thrown.
However, the flag was picked up and the head ref says: "There is no defensive pass interference because the ball was thrown high and long on a 4th down". Why would that even be a rule? Is it because on 4th down the defender would mistake it for a punt?
So does that mean it's OK for a defender to interfere with a receiver if the ball is thrown "high and long" during a 4th down? What about when it's not in a fake punt situation and instead in an obvious attempt to go for fourth down? Is it still OK for the defender to interfere with the receiver?