Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has suggested that he’s wrongly targeted by the officials for offensive pass interference. But NFL V.P. of officiating Dean Blandino says otherwise.
Reviewing an offensive pass interference call that went against Gronkowski on Sunday, Blandino said in his weekly officiating video that it was the right call.
“Offensive pass interference: A lot of discussion about that this year, a lot of discussion about this play,” Blandino said while showing Gronkowski pushing off Broncos safety David Bruton. “He’s going to go into the defender, use his forearm to push off, extend his arm and create separation. This is a foul for offensive pass interference. Whether he uses the forearm or an open hand, the key is the extension. The extended arm into the defensive player to create that separation. You can see the effect it has on the defender and the separation that is created. That’s a foul for offensive pass interference.”
Blandino said when a receiver extends his arm to create space between himself and the defender, that’s a penalty that should be called every time.
“If the receiver leans in with a bent arm and there’s no extension, there’s no foul,” Blandino said. “But when you extend the arm to push off in that manner, that is offensive pass interference.”
Few would dispute that there’s some inconsistency to the way pass interference is called in the NFL. Blandino, however, says that on the play in question, it was called correctly on Gronkowski.