Not sure you watch a lot of football. "Was he playing the ball" is the idiomatic method to use when trying to figure out if pass interference occurred. Defender

Not sure you watch a lot of football. "Was he playing the ball" is the idiomatic method to use when trying to figure out if pass interference occurred. Defenders are allowed to make contact after 5 yards if they're going for the ball, but not otherwise. Besides, you're just being pedantic, you know what he meant.