BLOCKING

In 1980, the NFHS Football Rules Committee included in its points of emphasis, "The legal and illegal use of hands in football is clearly covered by the rules. Certain limitations are placed upon the players in order to keep a delicate balance between the offense and defense and to prevent rough play." The 1985 committee began a point of emphasis by stating: "The basic concept of football is that it is a game of contact resulting from legal blocking and tackling." Those same concerns and fundamental tenants to the rules remain today and blocking rules are being emphasized again this year by the NFHS Football Rules Committee. The current committee has several concerns relating to blocking including low blocks by the defense on lead blockers; initial contact with hands on low blocks; holding; Chop Blocking and "Cut" Blocking; inconsistent application of the free blocking zone, particularly when the offense is blocking below the waist in shotgun and/or scrimmage kick formations; and protection for the snapper. Each of these represent and area where the committee believes the need to make certain that the points are clearly illustrated and emphasized.

LOW BLOCKS BY THE DEFENSE

Despite rules to the contrary, it is apparent that officials are allowing the defensive team to simply "cut" the lead blockers on offense. Rules and restrictions concerning blocking below the waist are clear and do not specify that the prohibitions are solely on the offense. To the contrary, these safety-driven rules mandate consistent enforcement by officials. Properly positioned officials, watching the play from a wider perspective than simply following the football, and properly instructed players taught the right techniques by their respective coaches, will ensure that knee and other injuries are minimized, and that the balance between offense and defense in maintained.

INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE HANDS

Officials must carefully observe the location of the hands when the blocker is making initial contact with the opposing team. The committee believes that in certain cases, illegal blocks are being called when contact was legally initiated with the hands to the upper body and the contact then being continued to a lower point. Conversely, it is felt that some officials are being too lenient and allowing low blocks to be initiated with the hands in areas that are clearly illegal. Officials must always be cognizant of seeing the entire play.

HOLDING

It continues to be the committee's belief that holding, or illegal use of hands, gives one player an advantage over another. What is holding to one official may not be viewed as holding to another, but officials must make all efforts to be consistent. With today's stronger, faster players and the legal techniques of open-hand blocking, officials must be aware that the rules call for some leniency "in the clutches," and when the hands of the blocker remain within the framework of the body of the blocker and in particular when the person being blocked is engaged in a direct path to and through the blocker. Little advantage can be gained by a blocker grasping or attempting to grasp a player who is already occupying the same yard line or in a path that takes him through the blocker, unless, of course, that blocker then proceeds to pull the defender to the ground or away from the offensive player pursued. However, when that blocker latches-on to the equipment of the person being blocked, pulls the player toward the blocker or away from the person that player is pursuing, or stretches the jersey of a player who is pulling away or attempting to evade the blocker, then a foul must be called.

Officials must also be very cautious when attempting to isolate their holding calls to the "point of attack." This term, often used at other levels of football, is a good threshold, but commonly misunderstood. It calls for the official to carefully consider the impact of a hold or attempted hold, on the play at the point when the hold occurs. In four- or five-person mechanics, this wide-angle perspective to see the true impact of the action is not as easy to determine as when more officials are present. High school officials don't have the benefit, in many cases, of working games with extremely skilled players who know the fine line between legal and illegal, nor do they have the advantage of extra sets of eyes to help make the determination. Officials are wise to stay away from marginal or "could go either way" holding calls when they are clearly away from the play; bit if there is doubt about whether it affected the play of not, it likely did affect the play.

CHOP BLOCKING AND CUT BLOCKING

A 2003 point of emphasis attempted to clear up and reinforce to officials teh need to call illegal blocks by teammates and even created charts to help officials determine legality. Still, four years later, officials need to continually focus on chop blocking as it is a dangerous technique where there is a delay between the first blocker making contact, and the second blocking making contact at the knees or below. Different than other rules codes, it does not matter where the ball is located of who blocks in making this determination. Officials imply need to know that there was a delay, and the second block was low (regardless of the first block).

Different than a chop, which by definition has two people involved in the block, a cut block generally involves a low block by only a single player. This block can be legal or illegal, depending upon who is blocking, and whether of not the free blocking zone exists. Officials must know the rules regarding the free-blocking zone and must enforce the illegal blocks below the waist.

FREE-BLOCKING ZONE AND ILLEGAL BLOCKING OUTSIDE OF THE ZONE

"Three yards either side of the line of scrimmage, four yards either side of the ball" has been the description and definition of the free-blocking zone for many years. The zone exists until the ball leaves the zone. Within the zone, certain players may legally clip, block in the back as well as block below the waist per Rule 2-17 and its application.

It seems in some areas that officials are simply not enforcing these restrictions, and are not carefully noting who can block, who can be blocked, and where these blocks can occur. This is particularly a noted issue when the free blocking zone disintegrates, such as when a team is in the shotgun formation. When a team has a player receiving the snap more than three yards behind the line, the restrictions on blocking below the waist, blocking in the back and clipping begin the moment that the balls leaves the zone. In most cases, this is on the snap, and therefore the only legal blocs below the waist, blocks in the back or clipping that occur, have to be initiated simultaneously with the snap. Any delay in the block would make it most certainly illegal as the free-blocking zone no longer exists.

In addition, officials are not consistently enforcing the rules on players blocking below the waist who are not on eh line. Up backs are being allowed to "cut" or otherwise block defenders below the waist when the team has a player in scrimmage kick formation, which clearly is not legal. Only those players on the line and in the free-blocking zone at the time of the snap can block below the waist, and only if the free-blocking zone still exists.

SNAPPER PROTECTION

Rules changes in the past few years have emphasized that the officials must protect the snapper, particularly when the team is in a scrimmage kick formation. The snapper must have an opportunity to return to a normal position prior to being contacted, and the umpire, and in some cases, the referee, must ensure the snapper's safety. Many could consider that the snapper is the most vulnerable player on the field, particularly in a scrimmage kick formation where keeping his head down is so critical toward making sire the snap is executed properly. The officials must protect this most vulnerable of players.