Okay, so what exactly is considered holding in the NFL?

No other penalty in the NFL can wreck a game's enjoyment like holding penalties. Honestly, I wouldn't mind them as much if they were called consistently and evenly. It seems as if the refs are picking and choosing when, where and who to call holding penalties on and the it is clearly affecting the outcome of games. Yes, Pocic sucks, but the amount of holding calls seemed lopsided.

It's pretty simple -- it's a judgement call.

It's simple every crew has a different threshold for holding. What teams do every week is adjust -- the Hawks didn't adjust. Most of the calls (especially on Pocic) were obvious holds. A

Just because the penalties were lopsided does not mean they were called unfairly. The two PI 's were BS but the holding calls were there and obvious.

Anyone got video of the two holds on Pocic? I'm guessing he deserved them but would like to see them.

Year of The Hawk":celb3xjq said:

Just because the penalties were lopsided does not mean they were called unfairly. The two PI 's were BS but the holding calls were there and obvious.

Click to expand...

Bingo - the one on Griffin was awful and negated a great play by Poona (who is much more impactful than Stephen) -- the holds were obvious

Obvious steerig the game by the refs. Most of the penalties were called on third down which in effect kill the drive.

Did you see the second hold on Pocic? The one that eliminated the big play to mckissic. Never announced who irte was on. They showed a replay and Pocic looked in good position.

Rbenner99":t2hm0n7x said:

Did you see the second hold on Pocic? The one that eliminated the big play to mckissic. Never announced who irte was on. They showed a replay and Pocic looked in good position.

Click to expand...

Did you see all the holds on Reed? There is holding on every play. Call it even, or don't call it at all.

Rbenner99":3cr7qpd1 said:

Did you see the second hold on Pocic? The one that eliminated the big play to mckissic. Never announced who irte was on. They showed a replay and Pocic looked in good position.

Click to expand...

They showed the wrong replay.

I went back and watched the play in question. Pocic tackled his man, keeping him from getting to Wilson. Blatant.

Holding is called 100% of the time when seattle starts a run to win the game. Almost as if the NFL can't ever see us back in the bowl again

WestcoastSteve":2xplbjqn said:

It's pretty simple -- it's a judgement call.

It's simple every crew has a different threshold for holding. What teams do every week is adjust -- the Hawks didn't adjust. Most of the calls (especially on Pocic) were obvious holds. A

Click to expand...

What is a "threshold" for holding? It either is or isn't? I think this is where the problem starts. You either call it consistently or don't call it at all--"let them play" is the cliche I believe. When refs start picking and choosing when, where and who to call holding on it starts to taint the outcome of games--it's impossible not too.

Any Xs and Os members want to chime in on the definition of holding...?

TAB420":9e86pny9 said:

Rbenner99":9e86pny9 said:

Did you see the second hold on Pocic? The one that eliminated the big play to mckissic. Never announced who irte was on. They showed a replay and Pocic looked in good position.

Click to expand...

Did you see all the holds on Reed? There is holding on every play. Call it even, or don't call it at all.

Click to expand...

Exactly, it effects the outcome of games when you don't call it consistently.

The 49ers committed some horrific holds in the first half that weren't called and allowed them to set the tone for the game. I was screaming at my TV like crazy. "Holding" is the most maddening call/non call in the game. Just wish they'd be consistent.

Selective vision at selective parts of the game.

The NFL has a HUGE officiating problem. Games like today give my argument ammunition and proof that games in the NFL are “steered” from time to time. It’s not just a Seattle thing either.

Best case scenario is incompetence, very bad case scenario is steering, worst case scenario is both.
What’s going to kill the NFL game is the integrity of the results of the game, and all of these “penalties” KILL the flow of the game.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Seattle got “gifts” next week vs KC from the zebras either like they gave SC today. That shouldn’t happen either way.

I got a “emphasis rule” idea for the NFL.

DON’T call the ticky tack shit, only the obvious stuff. If you “think you saw something” no flag, if it’s obvious then flag it.
Let em play. If these incompetent fools in stripes, are not going to be fired, then streamline and dumb down the rulebook.

SeaChickN":gxrc0yzm said:

The 49ers committed some horrific holds in the first half that weren't called and allowed them to set the tone for the game. I was screaming at my TV like crazy. "Holding" is the most maddening call/non call in the game. Just wish they'd be consistent.

Click to expand...

One of which was in the endzone, which would have made it a safety.

I wish the NFL took more a more streamlined (and less complex) approach to the rule system. I agree with the OP, holding can apparently be called on just about any play (according to some), and varies from very ticky tack (as we saw tonight) to blatant. But it doesn't have to be....

I was thinking about a change to the rule system and lineman game-day equipment that could basically eliminate 80+% of holding calls. It may be a terrible idea, but I'll float it to see what you all think....

My rule change would be to take every non-eligible lineman (other than the center) on the offense (of every team), and force them to wear a type of mitten that prevents them from being able to grasp an opponent with their hands. They could still wrap their arms around a defender, tackle them, etc. to be penalized for holding. But the idea would be that pulling on a jersey would be rendered impossible, and this would eliminate a lot of the flags. It should also ensure that holding is more obvious and less subject to individual opinion when it occurs.

Good idea or bad, it's clearly the nuances of officiating that frustrates fans. If the NFL were smart, they would implement as many work-around's as they could into the rules and equipment of the game that made officiating easier and more consistent.

We live in a world where nearly every industry has automation, and AI is taking over... Why is the NFL coming in last in this effort even among other professional sports? There are probably a hundred great idea's for replacing officials in this game, and it's probably an effort that would unify fans (generally speaking).

BChawkfan":3f5l0fkw said:

Obvious steerig the game by the refs. Most of the penalties were called on third down which in effect kill the drive.

Click to expand...

The holding calls were legit, regardless of what down they were. Its the F'ing stupid OL goons that can't get it through their damn skulls not to friggin hold!

I say run the OL guys that hold until they collapse and puke every day at practice. Eventually they will catch on. How many years must we watch our team lose due to holding penalties. So. Sick. Of. It!

I hate watching NFL football in general where this many flags are thrown. It’s just terrible viewing. But if you are going to throw a ton, I just wished they called it evenly.

The announcers kept saying how the refs were calling a tight game, but it didn’t really feel that way for the niners. There were holds etc not called for sure. No question the way the game was officiated influenced the outcome. We played pretty poorly, too, it was the only recipe for us losing to the worst team in football.

It’s holding whenever the refs decide it’s a hold.

johnnyfever":vh1i4zz6 said:

BChawkfan":vh1i4zz6 said:

Obvious steerig the game by the refs. Most of the penalties were called on third down which in effect kill the drive.

Click to expand...

The holding calls were legit, regardless of what down they were. Its the F'ing stupid OL goons that can't get it through their damn skulls not to friggin hold!

I say run the OL guys that hold until they collapse and puke every day at practice. Eventually they will catch on. How many years must we watch our team lose due to holding penalties. So. Sick. Of. It!

Click to expand...

They hold because it gets missed a lot. It’s that simple.