[Robert Goodman]

Big John, if you believe blocking (no-hands technique) a potential pass receiver on team B's side of the neutral zone, under conditions when a forward pass would be legal, became illegal at some time in Fed rules, could you say when that change was made?

In the NFL it is possible to pinpoint that change, when the restriction on defenders against potential receivers was changed from "illegal use of the hands or arms" to "illegal use of hands, arms, or body", roughly 30 yrs. ago. I saw no corresponding change in Federation rules.

There was a perpetual POE (I don't know what else to call it, maybe labeled a "note") that the NFL kept from the time they used the same rule book as NCAA, which cautioned officials to watch out for "the promiscuous use of the hands or arms" which was said to often be used by defenders against potential receivers, "in lieu of a legal block". In other words, they acknowledged that one could legally block a potential pass receiver to disadvantage him should a pass subsequently be thrown, or to discourage a pass entirely. That was above & beyond the general permission defenders had to use hands & arms against opponents who were trying to block them. A legal block at that time required the arms to be kept close to the body. That note or POE became superfluous in NFL after "illegal use of...body" was introduced, and the foul changed from "illegal use of hands" or "holding" to "illegal contact".