I think the force out of bounds rule in the NFL is so stupid. How is a ref supposed to clearly see if a reciever would have come down in bounds or not. Aside from the fact that it is a good play on the defenders part. They already have enough rules to put the defense at a disadvantage don't they?

In the minds of the NFL, "defense is boring. We like to see high scores." Me, I'd prefer to see an old school 10-7 defensive game where someone gets hit real hard every play.

If not for that rule, defenders could just push the receiver out of bounds to stop the completion...plus this allows receivers to do all kinds of show stopping catches that get ratings.....it's all about ratings.

TD's sell...the NFL has made it easier for Offenses to score because most people dont like games with a 9-6 final score...

Im right by your side on this one. I hate this stupid rule, but there are lots of stupid rules in football these days.

So it would be ok if the defender just carried a receiver out of bounds when he jumped up for a pass?

Kind of makes what Jerry Rice did all the more amazing, eh? He played when there weren't soft rules like that.

If the rule was abolished, that would basically open up a 1 or 2 yard "no catch zone" along the sidelines and the back of the endzone where the receiver could never go up for the ball or the CB would just shove them out of bounds before they could get their feet back down with it.

Arguments about the league being biased against defenses aside, that would be a lot worse for the game than having the rare occasional call go against the defense in close passes.

edit: OK, so the replay might not help in these plays, but you do have an official who's close and it still isnt hard to tell which direction the WR was going when he jumped up - downfield or towards the boundary. And it isnt hard to tell if the defender altered his trajectory or not.

And my main argument still stands that the alternative is a lot worse for the game :)

The Force Out Rule, although lame in nature, isnt exactly a bail-out for a receiver or offense by any means. Teams cannot challenge whether they were in or not, but they can challenge whether or not the receiver had control of the ball throughout the play.

Try again Droid, force out plays are not reviewable by rule. As to your question, I like the rule. As others have said above, without the rule, when a receiver jumps to make a catch near the sideline, the defender could simply catch the guy and carry him OB to negate the reception. It's a judgment called, just like many of the penalties the refs call.

I THINK IT IS A PASS INTERFERENCE IN THE END ZONE WHICH RESULTS IN A TOUCHDOWN

Don't waste your time on rules like this...
Instead, protest all this BS protect the Quarterback crap. Hit the punk in the head!

I wonder how many TDs Favre would lose if this rule did not exist? Hmmm.....

The NFL is filled with rules, sure some are bull crap, like horse collaring, Punter/QB related rules, and the non-movement of offensive linemen, but they screw and help each team equally.

Playing defense around the sidelines would be far too easy if this rule didn't exist.