THE MYSTERIOUS PICK PLAY, by Ken Green, President, CFOA

The offensive unit revels in the success of their pass offense established on well executed “pick plays”.

The defensive coach screams “foul” claiming the offense is “picking” his defensive backs. Meanwhile the rule book has no specific reference whatsoever to this so-called “pick”.

Basically, the “pick” play is an offensive tactic whereby an eligible receiver attempts to establish a position or direction which prevents the defensive player from obtaining coverage of a second eligible receiver.

Thus the basic issue is one of whether or not the play constitutes pass interference. To establish this we must look at the various components of pass interference.

---- while the ball is in the air, no contact is permissible ----

Firstly then, there must be contact involved, and such contact must have been initiated after the ball has been thrown if the play is to be illegal.

---- defensive players have equal right to the path of the ball as eligible ‘O’ players

Secondly, since both sides have equal right to the path of the ball, the question then becomes who is interfering with whom. To clarify this situation, let us refer to the following case:

Play: On a pass play, receiver O1 starts to run a pass play straight down the field. Defender D1 backs up in front of O1 for about 10 yards and then stops directly in the path of O1 so that contact results. Ruling: Each player is entitled to their position on the field provided that they take it in sufficient time to allow another player who is moving towards that position or in that path to stop or change direction without contact.

If D1 stops in the path of O1 so quickly that O1 has no chance to stop (e.g. within one yard), then D1 is guilty of interference if contact occurs.

If D1 stops in the path of O1 so that O1 could stop if they knew D1 was there (e.g. within 2-3 steps), the onus of the responsibility is on O1. The offensive player must expect to be closely guarded and be aware of such tactics.

Let us take another illustration.

Play: Eligible receivers O2 and O3 start downfield about two yards apart running parallel to one another. Defensive backs D2 and D3 drop back with them. On the O45 – O2 suddenly stops and stands still with D2 closely covering. O3 immediately cuts to the left at the O44 and D3 trying to cover O3, runs into O2 after three steps. Ruling: O2 allowed D3 sufficient time (3 steps) to adjust and thus O2’s actions are legal – no foul has occurred.

In an attempt to draw conclusions, the following factors must be considered.

(A) Who established the position or direction first?
(B) Who was responsible for the contact? (i.e. Was sufficient distance/time allowed for the opponent to adjust?)
(C) The rule of thumb by which officials rule, requires the person first in position to allow the opponent 2 or 3 feet to adjust.

Hopefully, the preceding explanation will to some extent remove the mystery involved in “pick plays”. If players, coaches and officials are operating on the same basic concepts, hopefully the disagreement in the interpretation will be somewhat alleviated.

At the minor and high school levels it is most beneficial for all concerned to initiate coach/official rules discussion sessions prior to the season. This will most certainly allow for mutual understanding of plays similar to those discussed in the above, and ultimately lead to better rapport throughout the season.