Quote:
Originally Posted by ajmc
THE NFHS 2/5/21 release explaining the revision to 2-17-2c (Blocking below the waist in the FBZ) clearly indicates, "that the block must be an immediate action following the snap" (removing any reference to the block being delayed as long as, "the ball must be in the zone".
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The question is going to be whether in any of the cases I outlined the contact is "immediate". The words "immediate" and "immediately" come up several times in the rule book, and in each context it signifies a different degree of immediacy.
At one extreme, "immediate" could encompass only actions by line players that take them just a step or two, with no intervening movement, and would preclude such tactics as having a player target an opponent who was farther away than that.
At the other extreme, "immediate" could mean everything that puts a player into position for contact, as long as it's his first move after the snap, and would encompass contact that occurs after one or both players wait for the other to make contact after the snap.
Why Fed didn't just adopt the solution many state associations did that applied only when the ball was snapped to a point beyond the FBZ is beyond me.