[Mike Simonds]

I was talking to a fellow official a while back regarding holding calls. He coached high school football for a few years. He said that he used to coach his defensive players to keep separated from the blocker, read the play, and pursue.

In other words, the defensive player needs to keep his arms extended against the blocker and not allow the blocker to get close. If the defensive player allows the blocker to get close in it really doesn't matter if the blockers hands are open or closed. The defensive player is already beat. I guess this is what you mean by the blocker having "superior legs".

Holding will usually occur when the opposite is true: the defender has beaten the blocker and as a last resort the blocker must resort to an illegal technique.

Thanks for helping me develop a sound philosophy regarding holding.