re: Illegal pick plays

Pick plays are plays where receivers make contact with a defensive back that impedes their ability to cover their assigned receiver or their ability to make a play on the football in the air. It is legal if the contact is determined to be incidental, such as two players collide in an area where there was too much traffic to avoid contact. It is illegal if contact was intentional and/or avoidable without an effort to avoid the contact. There is an allowance for receivers to block within 1 yard of the line of scrimmage, this is to avoid unblocked rushers from the outside on a db blitz.

A rub play is impeding the defensive backs coverage without making contact at all. More like they cut off the defensive backs route forcing him to slow down.

Edit: the one for a touchdown was questionable because contact did start within 1 yard, but it then blocked to about half a yard beyond that while the ball was in the air and the DB wasn't rushing towards the line with the receiver running to the DB to initiate contact. The one in open field was clearly an illegal pick as contact started about 2 yards down field from the line, from the replays I've seen.

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the one in the open field should have been called.

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Agree. We got away with that one, but I'm not going to apologize for it...we're usually on the wrong end of getting screwed by the refs. It was satisfying to see Richard Sherman whine like a little girl though.

Bobby Hebert said you'll always get away with it if you immediately turn toward the QB and put your hands up like you're expecting the ball.