2021 NFHS BBW/FBZ rule change/modification

[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".

It further suggests, "This change lets game officials observe the blocks and make a call without having to determine where the ball is and what formation the offense lined up in."

It simplifies and standardizes the requirements for "Blocking below the waist in the FBZ".

[Robert Goodman]

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".

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.

[ajmc]

We all have the right to parse any word we like as far as we choose, but my Funk & Wagnall's describes "immediate" to mean : 1. Without delay, instant. 2. Separated by no appreciable delay. 3. Without the intervention of anything.

Even really, really "Dead Horses" deserve rest.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by ajmc

We all have the right to parse any word we like as far as we choose, but my Funk & Wagnall's describes "immediate" to mean : 1. Without delay, instant. 2. Separated by no appreciable delay. 3. Without the intervention of anything.

And those 3 definitions would imply different rulings on the cases I posed.

I sure hope we get to have that meeting in June. Fortunately if present trends continue, this pandemic will end this month in the USA.

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

And those 3 definitions would imply different rulings on the cases I posed.

I sure hope we get to have that meeting in June. Fortunately if present trends continue, this pandemic will end this month in the USA.

As often considered, common sense, rational judgment and a thorough understanding, of not only the letter of a rule, but the objective of what the particular rule is intended to accomplish, or prohibit are important factors in guiding an official's determination as to whether what is specifically being observed, satisfies or conflicts with a rule's purpose.