Football rule changes for 2011

[Hampton Roads 6]

Are there any major rules changes for 2011 ?

 

[White hat]

Major? No, not really.

I was very excited to see the NFHS redefined a chop block, but then I read the new rule and I don't think they corrected the right part.

First of all, a lot of people call a block below the waist a chop block. It is not. That's a cut block. In H.S. football it's illegal most places, legal only in the free blocking zone and with restrictions.

A chop block is ALWAYS illegal, anywhere and anytime. It is a block by TWO OR MORE teammates against one defender where one block is at or below the knee and one is above the knee.

The change here is that prior to this year the low block had to be delayed. Now, if the low block is done at the same time, it's still illegal.

I was disappointed that the definition still reads at or below the knee. In NCAA and NFL, it's illegal for a second block to be below the waist. I think a defender being blocked has a lot of torque on his thighs if he's pushing against a high block and a block to the thigh could break a leg. The one rule I want to see changed every year is to redefine this but it hasn't happened yet.

In other news, no one is allowed to write on their eye black. You've seen the black adhesive strips now used in lieu of real eye black -- often someone writes a name or a Bible verse on there. No more. Not legal. Also illegal is the use of eyeblack as face paint. Players get one stroke. That's it. the rule book says it's to be used to cut glare on the eyes and not to draw attention to oneself or deliver a message.

One rule that was tweaked is something that I'm sure never arose on a field, but was teh buzz of internet sites where officials gather to talk rules and philosophy. From now on, all horse-collar fouls are treated as live ball.

What does that have to do with anyhting? Well, by definistion, a horse collar tackle can only be committed against a runner. But there was the curious case where a runner, while being drug down by the back of his collar, could 1. cross the goal line; 2. cross out of bounds, or 3. fumble. In the first two cases the play is over and he's not the runner anymore, so technically the tackle was not a HC. In the last one, when he loses the ball, he's no longer the runner, so the HC is not a foul. Obviously that was not the intent of the rule and by saying all HC fouls are live ball, that little loophole is now closed. I doubt it was ever called that way, anyway.
This post was edited on 6/16 5:08 AM by White hat

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

getting HC'd and fumbles, then no flag is thrown, doesn't seem like a good rule. I think HC should be governed the same as face mask penaltys. I have always thought HC was a cheap and dirty way to stop a ball carrier.

 

[White hat]

It wasn't a good rule -- hence the change.

There are a couple of HUGE changes in college football. Among them, unsportsmanlike conduct is considered a live ball foul. This means, among other things, that if a guy taunts someone, high steps, points to the sky or dives for no reason when going into the endzone, the flag will negate the TD and 15 yards enforced from the spot of the foul.

Also, there is now a 10-second run-off in the case of certain penalties in the last minute of a half -- penalties where a team gained a major advantage only because they fouled. It was said last year that Tennessee was 6-2 in games that it won. I'll debate the LSU one, but there is no question that losing to UNC in the bowl game was a travesty. UNC totally bungled the last bit of that game and tried a game tying field goal as players ran all over the field. It was correctly flagged for illegal substitutuion, but the enforcement allowed UNC time to get the right people in, line up, and kick the field goal. The NCAA saw how unjust that was and instituted the time subtraction. That bowl game would have ended with Tennessee winning.