Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob M.
REPLY: I agree with JRut here. I couldn't see very well the hit on the kicker. Needless to say, it was an illegal block. But is it a personal foul? Is it flagrant? Just because it offends our sensibilities doesn't necessarily make it deserving of a DQ.
I've seen blocks on the wall of a kick return that are absolutely "severe and extreme" and almost lift the defender out of his shoes. You know the kind where the defender turns to pursue the runner around the corner and a blocker is peeling back and lights him up. Is he in danger of being hurt by this type of block? Most definitely. Am I calling it flagrant? Absolutely not.
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I don't consider this flagrant because of the severity of the hit. I'm concerned because this guy did something unusual that is not normally seen in a football game only with the intent to injure this player. The blocks you describe are in the normal course of action blocking a player that is attempting to tackle a runner.
Severity of the hit comes into play somewhat. If he ran up and just got in the guys way, then I've definitely only got the illegal block (assuming it was within 5 yards or the ball had not hit the ground). But the way this guy took a running start directly at the kicker to hit him as soon as possible and as hard as he did could definitely justify a flagrant foul and ejection.
If this happened in a real game and I saw it though, I would probably be so stunned I might initially forget to throw my flag.