NFL considering banning more/all blocks below waist (1 Viewer)

[GregR]

Peter King is reporting the NFL's Competition Committee will consider abolition of ALL blocks below the waist in 2013.

King's opinion, for whatever that is worth, is that they won't eliminate all blocks below the waist, but they will probably eliminate all chop blocks, and low blocks downfield.

Just to avoid confusion over the terms Cut Block and Chop Block... a quick working definition:

Cut Blocks are blocks below the waist. Such blocks near the line and from the front of the target are legal. In other circumstances (blindside/from behind, moving back towards goal line, after turnover, etc) they are illegal. As blocks below the waist, King is saying they will look at making these illegal but he doesn't expect it to pass, as every offense uses cut blocks and it'll be tough to run the ball without them.

A Chop Block is when one blocker engages them high and another blocker engages below the waist. They are also legal under some conditions, and illegal under others. Near the line, so long as the two players doing them are adjacent (like a center and guard, or a guard and tackle) they are generally legal. King is saying they would also be considered since they are blocks below the waist, but he thinks these actually will be made illegal even if cut blocks are left alone.

 

[Da Guru]

Peter King is reporting the NFL's Competition Committee will consider abolition of ALL blocks below the waist in 2013.

King's opinion, for whatever that is worth, is that they won't eliminate all blocks below the waist, but they will probably eliminate all chop blocks, and low blocks downfield.

Just to avoid confusion over the terms Cut Block and Chop Block... a quick working definition:

Cut Blocks are blocks below the waist. Such blocks near the line and from the front of the target are legal. In other circumstances (blindside/from behind, moving back towards goal line, after turnover, etc) they are illegal. As blocks below the waist, King is saying they will look at making these illegal but he doesn't expect it to pass, as every offense uses cut blocks and it'll be tough to run the ball without them.

A Chop Block is when one blocker engages them high and another blocker engages below the waist. They are also legal under some conditions, and illegal under others. Near the line, so long as the two players doing them are adjacent (like a center and guard, or a guard and tackle) they are generally legal. King is saying they would also be considered since they are blocks below the waist, but he thinks these actually will be made illegal even if cut blocks are left alone.

I really think the NFL will evolve to where you have a tackling zone much like a strike zone in MLB. Only above the knees and below the shoulder. This NFL going forward will be impossible to officiate correctly. They can`t do it now.

 

[Workhorse]

It would basically eliminate zone blocking in the run game since the vast majority of those schemes use some form of cut blocking.

 

[aesclepius]

All blocks should be done away with. Also touching the QB, diving for a loose ball, or tackling a receiver. Also allowing you helmet or shoulder to touch a running back.

 

[dgreen]

A rule that favors the defense is a good thing with scoring getting a little out of hand.

 

[Raider Nation]

A rule that favors the defense is a good thing with scoring getting a little out of hand.

You should be praying this doesn't pass. The Redskins and Texans, to name two, will be severely impacted by this rule.Also, Pat Kirwan was discussing this on Sirius all week, and he suspects that a rule change of this magnitude will require much more data-gathering, and the committee eliminating these blocks may be two or three years away... not 2013.You can't tackle anyone legally anymore. You can't block anyone legally anymore. A player got a personal foul two weeks ago for using naughty language towards a referee. I firmly believe that if we could look in on the NFL 100 years from now, it will be flag football.

 

[TakiToki]

They should alter the ineligible man downfield penalty to include any forward pass, at least if caught outside the hash marks. A perfectly executed jailbreak screen leaves a graveyard of cut-blocked defenders.

 

[Slapdash]

Ridiculous.

 

[sporthenry]

A rule that favors the defense is a good thing with scoring getting a little out of hand.

Will it really benefit defenses? More passing in the most pass heavy/pass friendly league ever. Less running means less running of the clock which helps some great defenses stay off the field. Might as well just make it 7 v 7 with flags or touch.

 

[Rick James]

I don't get it. Chop blocks are already illegal.

 

[GregR]

I don't get it. Chop blocks are already illegal.

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.