So, this became a rule in 2019 and then kind of went into mothballs as 'over-officiating' led to numerous misapplications of the rule. So I haven't seen this penalty called in a few years, until this past Saturday.
Midway through the 4th quarter, my college team was driving for a game-clinching score. On 3rd and 6, a normal football play occurred. From the I formation, the FB motioned to the right and lined up on the wing next to the RT. At the snap, the RT pulled and the FB blocked the DE. The TB ran right, got the pitchout, and cut inside the RT's block for a 1st down. But wait! Flag on the play!
After a lengthy ref discussion, the FB was called for a personal foul with the penalty being "illegal blindside block". So instead of 1st and 10, it was 3rd and 21. My team had to punt and eventually lost the game, and I thought this call was totally out of nowhere. The announcers were equally perplexed. I went to the rulebook:
It is a foul if a player initiates a block when his path is toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact to his opponent with his helmet, forearm, or shoulder.
Note: It is not a foul for a blindside block if the forcible contact occurs in “close-line play” prior to the ball leaving that area. The ball is not considered to have left that area if the player who takes the snap, either from a shotgun position or from under center, retreats in the pocket immediately or with a slight delay, and hands the ball to another player, or runs with the ball himself. This exception does not apply to any action other than a designed play. Any forcible contact in “close-line play” is still subject to the restrictions for crackback and peel back blocks.
So I don't get it. The rule actually allows for a blindside block in "close-line play" (the FB blocked a DE), and the play in question was obviously a designed play...block down on the DE while the RT pulls to the outside. I think football would be better served with less rules...decrease the probability that the refs will misapply a rule to a situation that isn't called for. Since the intent is to keep offensive players from taking gratuitous kill shots on unsuspecting defenders, just leave it as 'unnecessary roughness' and leave it up the refs' discretion. I think both the NFL and NCAA are creating a paradox whereby having more specific rules just increases the subjectivity of the referee's calls.
Dumb Rule: Illegal Blindside Block
Re: Dumb Rule: Illegal Blindside Block
Opposite of your experience, I see this called frequently and 9/10 times it's laughable. Such as week 2 of preseason this year when "Illegal Blindside Block" was called on a Quarterback.
Made me think of the scene in "Remember the Titans" when the coach is yelling for unnecessary roughness and the official responded with: "on the Quarterback, you kidding me, coach?"
Made me think of the scene in "Remember the Titans" when the coach is yelling for unnecessary roughness and the official responded with: "on the Quarterback, you kidding me, coach?"
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Re: Dumb Rule: Illegal Blindside Block
This dumb rule was actually pushed to the Competition Committee from the players. It is another rule to legislate out hits that would have a decade-plus ago been featured on a Jacked Up segment.
What the rule aims to address is an intentional collision against the flow of the play that a player would not anticipate so that he could brace for or evade contact. So the rule has to be worded in a way that can capture that, and rules tend to read a little wonky. For the players' benefit, the officiating department sends video compilations to teams on rules such as the blindside block.
If the blocker is traveling in the direction toward his end line or parallel to the line, essentially negative yardage, that's typically against the flow of the play. The exception on close-line play exists because a play has not gotten up to speed yet. There are other rules that address a collection of head/neck contact and low blocks in close-line play, such as illegal crackback and illegal peelback blocks. Same situation, the flow of the defensive players is toward the location of the snap (instead of to an open-field runner or a loose ball) and some of the more serious cross-grain attacks are illegal.
Blindside blocks are still legal, but a blocker cannot use the helmet, forearm, or shoulder in a forcible block. Players are being coached to use their hands or their bodies to create the block. Think of the kicker after a field goal block who in the scramble to get to the ball is flattened by an opponent that he could not brace for or avoid contact. Now the punter has to kick field goals, and the g.m. is making calls to pick up an itinerant kicker by Tuesday right from the owner's box. Instead, they are coaching defenders to push the kicker, screen him, or make contact with the rest of the body.
The likely reason why it seems illegal blindside blocks weren't being called is because it was being heavily coached when it was a new rule, including the officiating department videos. Since time has passed, old habits sometimes creep back in.
And this all leads to arguments that the game is getting softer. In reality, the game is getting harder. Players are faster, heavier, and stronger than whatever-bygone-era's players were. The injuries are getting worse, and players want to play football and not be unnecessarily ending their season or their career prematurely.
What the rule aims to address is an intentional collision against the flow of the play that a player would not anticipate so that he could brace for or evade contact. So the rule has to be worded in a way that can capture that, and rules tend to read a little wonky. For the players' benefit, the officiating department sends video compilations to teams on rules such as the blindside block.
If the blocker is traveling in the direction toward his end line or parallel to the line, essentially negative yardage, that's typically against the flow of the play. The exception on close-line play exists because a play has not gotten up to speed yet. There are other rules that address a collection of head/neck contact and low blocks in close-line play, such as illegal crackback and illegal peelback blocks. Same situation, the flow of the defensive players is toward the location of the snap (instead of to an open-field runner or a loose ball) and some of the more serious cross-grain attacks are illegal.
Blindside blocks are still legal, but a blocker cannot use the helmet, forearm, or shoulder in a forcible block. Players are being coached to use their hands or their bodies to create the block. Think of the kicker after a field goal block who in the scramble to get to the ball is flattened by an opponent that he could not brace for or avoid contact. Now the punter has to kick field goals, and the g.m. is making calls to pick up an itinerant kicker by Tuesday right from the owner's box. Instead, they are coaching defenders to push the kicker, screen him, or make contact with the rest of the body.
The likely reason why it seems illegal blindside blocks weren't being called is because it was being heavily coached when it was a new rule, including the officiating department videos. Since time has passed, old habits sometimes creep back in.
And this all leads to arguments that the game is getting softer. In reality, the game is getting harder. Players are faster, heavier, and stronger than whatever-bygone-era's players were. The injuries are getting worse, and players want to play football and not be unnecessarily ending their season or their career prematurely.