The NFL's Competition Committee will consider banning all blocks below the waist in 2013, according to a report from Peter King of Sports Illustrated. King added that the league, which has allowed blocking below the waist for 93 years (with certain restrictions), is considering the ban due to health concerns and safety issues. It is likely that chop blocks will be eliminated and that downfield low blocks could be nixed as well, as the league has seen players seriously injured as a result of below-the-waist blocks. Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing saw his 2012 season come to an end after New York Jets guard Matt Slauson took him out with a cut block and tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Week 5. Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry tore his ACL on a downfield low block by Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson and missed all but a few plays of the 2011 season. Source: SBNation.com
So if that is the only way to make a stop on a certain play, will this mean the game tilting even further in favor of the offense?
This might even the game a bit because crapty blockers can't throw themselves at a guys knees anymore.
:rofl: actually, i think this is a legit debate. when i coached youth football, 'some' teams coached chop blocking/low blocking because it is much easier for 8-13 year olds to block that way versus a proper block. me and the guys i coached with coached proper technique and we would pull kids out of games for low blocks. too many guys block low in the nfl either because they've lost position with the defender or they just aren't good enough to block a particular player and it is just flat out dangerous and guys get hurt all the time on plays when that happens.
so, will it be illegal for tackling low? taking a running back's legs out from under him? just wondering. And I am not drunk. :(
No this is for offenses or special teams blockers. Blocking defenders below the waist will be illegal. Do people really not know the difference between a block and a tackle? Or do they not know how to handle it when the league makes a role that actually favors the defense?
:scratch: it's been so long since the league has discussed doing anything to protect or favor the defense, this could be it ..............
That is correct. Although I could make a joke about how a fan watching that saints defense wouldn't know what a tackle is anyways, but I like you so I won't do that. Lol.
Okay so this is for blocks below the waist....I get that it makes sense my "career" was cut short by a low tackle though, so I think what people mean by abolishing blocks below the waist is where does the line get drawn because tackling people below the waist can cause catastrophic injury too, it's actually much more common than a low block causing injury. So ideally to protect every player they should get rid of that too. I'm indifferent on this subject, I see the benefits, I also see the NFL going more and more into a downward spiral that will soon be called the NFFL. National Flag Football League. Posted via Mobile Device
