2011 Season Week 2 Clips
Blocking Below the Waist and the North-South Line Observe the block which occurs at the intersection of the near hash mark and the B-30. There may be some confusion by some officials over the North-South line. A "restricted blocker " can block low along a North-South line. This line is not always a line that runs North-South through his position at the snap. It can be ANY line parallel with the sidelines (2-12-9). He can go anywhere on the field and throw the low block, as long as it is back towards his adjacent sideline or along a North-South line. Also, why is the L wasting playing time by winding the clock before signaling "stop the clock" on a down that ends at the top of the field numbers? This could be a problematic habit if it happens toward the end of a close game.
Blocking Below the Waist This is an example of a potentially dangerous block that was a foul last year but is legal this year, despite the rule change. The motion back was on the left side of formation at the snap and his low black was also back towards the left so no foul.
Defensive Line Holding Yes Virginia, defensive lineman CAN be flagged for holding. This play is an example of a defensive hold that is sometimes called. It appears the defender is trying to prevent a blocker from moving to block a linebacker. B39 pulls A66's jersey three yards in front of where B53 makes the tackle for a 3-yard loss. It doesn't appear that the "hold" was advantageous for B53's tackle. If it were Team A holding on a running play ending with a loss of yardage, we'd pass on the flag because it had no effect on the play. Can/should we do the same in this situation?
Illegal Shift = False Start Although the penalty signalled and announced on this play was "illegal motion" , it seems to have actually been an illegal shift. And since Team A had never been totally set for second prior to the snap, it would have qualified to be termed a "false start" under this year's rules. As such, it would be a dead-ball foul, blow and throw at the snap (7-1-2-b-5).
10 Second
Subtraction ? Is this a situation that qualifies for the 10
second subtraction? It appears Team B's offside foul was a live-ball foul
that would not qualify for the 10-second subtraction. This play is
very similar to Play 5 in the Rules Editor's Aug 8 bulletin re 10-second
subtraction except it is a foul by Team B instead of Team A.
Had Team B's foul been a dead-ball foul, it would have qualified as it would
have been a foul that prevented the snap. Perhaps the calling
officials (the H ?) thought the Team B player made contact with a Team A player
before the snap. It appears the L would have had a better look at this
action. In this specific
play, Team A would not have had to snap the ball again anyway as there was less
than 40 seconds remaining on the game clock at the end of the play. Some
may argue Team B fouled in this video play with the intent of stopping the clock
although it is more likely they fouled as they were trying to cause a muffed
snap or fumble.