 Intentional grounding can sound confusing, but it's actually a very straightforward call. Intentional grounding exists to prevent a quarterback from throwing a pass that does not land in the general area of one of his receivers, whether that is into the sidelines or an empty area of the field, for the sole reason of avoiding a sack. There are a few main criteria that the play must meet to be intentional grounding. These rules apply to any passer, but more often than not, it will be the quarterback. First, the quarterback must be inside the tackles in order to be called for intentional grounding. This is probably the part of the rule that most people forget. If our quarterback scrambles outside of the tackles, he can throw the ball anywhere he wants beyond the line of scrimmage and it will be legal. Remember, our tackles are on the end of our offensive line outside of the guards. So if our quarterback were to receive the snap and then run over here, he could throw a forward pass wherever he wanted to. This also includes plays where the quarterback runs outside of the tackles and then runs back into where the tackles once were. So once he crosses the line of the so-called tackle box, it is eliminated for the duration of the play. The second part of the rule deals with any physical contact the quarterback might encounter. If the quarterback is hit in the middle of his motion while throwing the ball and this causes the pass to land in an area away from the receiver, it's not intentional grounding. This is also the case if a pass is thrown in physical contact either to the ball or the quarterback causes the ball to land short of the line of scrimmage. The only time a quarterback is permitted to throw a pass short of the line of scrimmage and not in the vicinity of one of his receivers is when he is spiking the ball, which must be done in one continuous motion upon receiving the snap from the center. Spiking the ball counts as an incomplete pass and results in the loss of that down, but you will see teams do it so they can stop the clock without having to use a timeout. Any type of delayed spike is intentional grounding and would be illegal. One thing to note is that the rule does not give a specific area around a receiver that the pass must fall within in order that it is not intentional grounding. It states only that there must be a realistic chance of completing the pass and referees will tend to give the offensive team some leeway. The penalty for intentional grounding, at least in the NFL, is twofold because not only does the offensive team lose 10 yards, but they also lose a down as well. So if the quarterback commits intentional grounding on a second down from his own 20 yard line, their next play will be third down from their own 10 yard line. So the next time you see a pass land in a wide open area of the field, ask yourself, was the quarterback between the tackles when he threw the pass? And if he was, then ask yourself, was there any physical contact with the quarterback? And if not, you've got yourself intentional grounding.