Dead ball or live ball, that is the question.
I had a play like that last year. Runner is crossing the goal line and his teammate raises his hands overhead, then turns around and blocks one of the defenders trailing the runner. I flagged him for a dead ball personal foul for unneccessary contact. 15 yards from the succeeding spot so they attempted the try from the 18 yard line.
Lets say the runner was at the 10 yard line and the blocker was way back at the 40 yard line when he blocks a defender who is slowing down because he knows he can't reach the runner. In this case I would call a live ball personal foul for unnecessary contact. This would be enforced under the all but one rule. The defense would accept the foul, negate the touchdown and enforce the penalty from the spot of the foul.
Of course, I would be more prone to penalize this the further away from the ball the contact occurs. Most of the time I give the benefit of the doubt to the blocker if both teams are playing full speed.
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Mike Simonds
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