“You Can Call Holding Every Play”

[Bobref]

Can we please stop with the nonsensical old saw that the officials “could call holding on every play.?” IT’S NOT TRUE!!!  What you can say is that there is a technical violation of blocking rules on every play ... often several. But as has been pointed out on the GID in many different contexts, the black and white of the rulebook is only the starting point when deciding whether to call a foul. I’ve seen many different formulations of the criteria for calling holding, but they all basically come down to a few important rules:

1. There must be a violation of the rules.
2. You have to see all the contact, from engagement to disengagement.
3. If the blocker is simply overpowering the defender, it’s not holding.
4. Should be near the point of attack.
5. Has to have an impact on the play.
6. The defender must make the attempt to get off the block.
7. Should fit into one of several classifications of holding:

• BEAR HUG
• WRAP/GRAB & TURN 
• SHOULDER DIP
• SHIRT STRETCH
• PULLOVER
• GRAB OF LEG
• PULL AND SHOOT

If it doesn’t fit into one of these classifications, you should think long and hard before throwing the flag. So, the next time you hear on TV that the officials could call holding on every play, just smile knowingly and say to yourself “I know better.”

Edited September 20, 2019 by Bobref

[Irishman]

36 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Can we please stop with the nonsensical old saw that the officials “could call holding on every play.?” IT’S NOT TRUE!!!  What you can say is that there is a technical violation of blocking rules on every play ... often several. But as has been pointed out on the GID in many different contexts, the black and white of the rulebook is only the starting point when deciding whether to call a foul. I’ve seen many different formulations of the criteria for calling holding, but they all basically come down to a few important rules:

1. There must be a violation of the rules.
2. You have to see all the contact, from engagement to disengagement.
3. If the blocker is simply overpowering the defender, it’s not holding.
4. Should be near the point of attack.
5. Has to have an impact on the play.
6. The defender must make the attempt to get off the block.
7. Should fit into one of several classifications of holding:

• BEAR HUG
• WRAP/GRAB & TURN 
• SHOULDER DIP
• SHIRT STRETCH
• PULLOVER
• GRAB OF LEG
• PULL AND SHOOT

If it doesn’t fit into one of these classifications, you should think long and hard before throwing the flag. So, the next time you hear on TV that the officials could call holding on every play, just smile knowingly and say to yourself “I know better.”

Thank you for that explanation Bob. Over recent years, we have seen number 3 flagged against us many times. We also see number 5 being a factor. We ran a jet sweep and after the ball carrier reaches the hashes, our guard on the side away from the play is called for a hold at the LOS. I would add that there are times we are flagged when number 6 should be a factor. 

[Bobref]

1 minute ago, Irishman said:

Thank you for that explanation Bob. Over recent years, we have seen number 3 flagged against us many times. We also see number 5 being a factor. We ran a jet sweep and after the ball carrier reaches the hashes, our guard on the side away from the play is called for a hold at the LOS. I would add that there are times we are flagged when number 6 should be a factor. 

I should add that you shouldn’t make any judgments based on when the flag comes out. There’s a lot of information you need to process before going for the flag and it can take a while. Hearing the guys on TV talk about a “late” flag is a dead giveaway that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

[Irishman]

1 minute ago, Bobref said:

I should add that you shouldn’t make any judgments based on when the flag comes out. There’s a lot of information you need to process before going for the flag and it can take a while. Hearing the guys on TV talk about a “late” flag is a dead giveaway that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Understood, and taken into consideration before I posted. The guy that was being held was 270 pounds, and was not the fleetest of foot. 🙂

[Bobref]

1 minute ago, Irishman said:

Understood, and taken into consideration before I posted. The guy that was being held was 270 pounds, and was not the fleetest of foot. 🙂

😅😂🤣

[JustRules]

1 hour ago, Irishman said:

Thank you for that explanation Bob. Over recent years, we have seen number 3 flagged against us many times. We also see number 5 being a factor. We ran a jet sweep and after the ball carrier reaches the hashes, our guard on the side away from the play is called for a hold at the LOS. I would add that there are times we are flagged when number 6 should be a factor. 

I watch enough high school games to know you are telling the truth. Not every official fully understands this the same way so I agree there is wild inconsistency here. Some will see any jersey stretch and flag it. If the jersey is loose that action doesn't take a step away from the official there is no restriction.

I've seen a different flavor of category, but they are similar: grab and restrict, hook and restrict, jerk and restrict, take down, tackle, pull over. One other thing that is generally a part of it as well is the blocker is beat. If he's got good feet meaning he's between the defender and the ball he's probably fine. It's when he's beat that you could have a foul. Feet beat cheat is a good axiom.

The defensive categories are pull and shoot, preventing next level, and restricting an eligible receiver from running his route before the pass is thrown.

[Impartial_Observer]

When they started their youth league here locally, the mandated coaches go thru a training program for their coaches. I was given a few minutes to explain rules. I always covered what is holding and what is not holding. I have always tended to take @JustRules philosophy I tend to focus on the feet, when you get beat, you have to let go. It helped things tremendously with coaches understanding the point that two 6th graders hugging it out isn't holding. 

On a side note, after reading all the stuff that goes into the decision making process for a holding call, I kinda got to thinking, wow, I process all that information in a fraction of a second, and I'm reaching for my flag or letting it go..................Man I really am good! 😁

[JustRules]

1 hour ago, Impartial_Observer said:

When they started their youth league here locally, the mandated coaches go thru a training program for their coaches. I was given a few minutes to explain rules. I always covered what is holding and what is not holding. I have always tended to take @JustRules philosophy I tend to focus on the feet, when you get beat, you have to let go. It helped things tremendously with coaches understanding the point that two 6th graders hugging it out isn't holding. 

On a side note, after reading all the stuff that goes into the decision making process for a holding call, I kinda got to thinking, wow, I process all that information in a fraction of a second, and I'm reaching for my flag or letting it go..................Man I really am good! 😁

When I work with new officials or experienced officials who need "help" I also tell them to look the release of the block. For the stuff on the edge especially the release is where the hold actually takes place. It's not an absolute but the more I do this and the more I scrutinize my work the more clearly I see things like this both on video and on the field.