- Re: Spearing. We've had multiple warnings against every team over the last few weeks and little appears to have changed. Please make completely sure you are training players to never lead with the helmet or drop the head just before the point of contact. It is illegal and exceedingly dangerous as we are all aware.
- Re: Offensive Pass Interference. We have a number of receivers who are adopting a sort of Aussie Rules hip bump to clear out a defender as the ball is arriving. Rest assured that this is pass interference and the defense of "but I didn't push off" doesn't hold water!
- Re: Mandatory Safety Equipment. Rule 1-4-4 is blindingly clear:
All players shall wear the following mandatory equipment,
Cutting down pads is certainly "altering" and looking me in the eye and continuing arguing that they are not cut down (when they are clearly not evenly cut, or even the same on both sides!) also doesn't wash.
which shall be professionally manufactured and not altered to decrease
protection... - Re: Coach on the field to communicate with QB between plays. Yes, we allow latitude here, but just a couple of yards. Coming in past the numbers is too far and shouldn't be happening.
- Re: missed calls. We had a few on the weekend (mainly mine - not a good week), but all teams seemed to get some going for them and some against (from footage review). Apologies for the errors - we are not perfect and messages are going to coaches today about them. Unfortunately we are also the only group that is put in a position to apologise for errors!
- Hand the ball back. Most players on most teams are completely fine with this, but there are still exceptions. When a run has completed, please don't spin the ball on the ground, don't look at the official then bounce it away, don't wander off with it. Put it on the ground or hand it to the official, nothing else. I know this sounds a little petty, but on the wet surface it really is important to not let it roll around too much if at all possible. Surprisingly enough, we also don't particularly enjoy chasing after the ball that you've just rolled away. We also hold the belief that if a ball carrier wants to roll the ball around on the ground, the team obviously doesn't care if the ball is wet or dry - so requests for a dry ball will be disregarded completely.
Secondly there have been 2 major areas of concern/complaint/argument over the past two weeks, separated into:
Cut Blocking / Chop Blocking / Spearing
The discussions on The Bear have been interesting and at least I didn't have to chime in with my "cut blocking and chop blocking are not the same thing" - a personal bugbear.
Firstly, nowhere in the rules is there a term "cut block". What is defined is Blocking Below the Waist, which is generally referred to as cutting. BBW is legal with some exceptions, and I don't believe that any of the exceptions are being argued about. I'm happy to provide a discussion on that topic if people would find that useful or relevant?
Secondly, I believe that cut blocking is, along with being legal, a completely valid form of blocking (which I used and had used against me frequently while playing I might add).
However, there are two problems with it: players are not taught how to do it correctly and; players are not taught how to defend it correctly. I cringe every time I hear someone yelling "Just hit him in the knees" or "put your helmet in his legs" - these comments are ill-informed, dangerous and incredibly stupid. Funnily enough (another of my hobby horses) it is also against the Football Code ("Deliberately teaching players to violate the rules is indefensible.").
A block below the waist, when executed by leading with the helmet, will be penalised as spearing whenever seen.
By all means block low, but do it correctly and legally. Coaches must teach their players how to do this correctly, and not just leave it to chance. Players, especially OL and RB, make sure you know how to execute this safely and legally. Players, especially DL and LB, make sure you have been taught how to defend against low blocks.
Any coach who promotes putting a helmet to the knee of an opponent should really consider another avocation - that is unacceptable and I really can't be any clearer.
Chop blocking is illegal at all times and will be called even in borderline cases.
Sniping / Head-hunting
This is a term I use to describe blocks made against players who are completely out of the play and/or who have relaxed when the ball becomes dead. These blocks are penalised as unnecessary roughness and are prohibited by rule. Before I hear any screams about this not being called in the US etc. etc. etc., let me assure you that it is - you just very rarely see it.
Most of the NCAA football anyone here ever sees is Div 1 and in Div 1 you rarely have "spectators" on the field, unlike our level where this is remarkably common. The objections are always along the lines of "if they're on the field they should be ready to get hit" and I understand where you are coming from and even agree to a point.
The question our officials mentally ask to clarify is simply "was the block made in aid of the ball carrier / tackler or was it simply taking a shot?" If you are taking a shot at a player who has pulled up as they've realised the ball has become dead even if the whistle hasn't yet gone you will get flagged. In the contentious one from the weekend, the blocking player was almost stationary (no committed momentum to the block) and the player being blocked had clearly been slowing up for 2 or more steps. The block was thrown simultaneous with the whistle, but as the blocked player had clearly relaxed, the penalty was called. Video shows this play well and confirms the call.
Football is a collision sport and we do not want to remove the contact at all. Nowhere in any true football program is there a place for players who only want to fly around the field taking shots at people just because they can.
That is not football, just thuggery.
Simon
No comments:
Post a Comment