BBW on free kicks

[Bob M.]

Something to watch out for on free kick plays--watch for the kicking team possibly blocking below the wasit to break up the wedge. It's a foul that's too often missed. I had it this weekend in a game and the kickers' coach was...shall we say, perplexed. He argued that since they were now the defense, they were allowed to block below the waist.

[golfdesigner]

2-17-1
The free-blocking [FBZ] is a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage. A player is in the free-blocking zone [FBZ] when any part of his body is in the zone at the snap.

2-17-2
Blocking below the waist is permitted in the free-blocking zone [FBZ] when the following conditions are met:
a. All players involved in the blocking are on the line of scrimmage [LOS] and in the zone [FBZ] at the snap
b. The contact is in the zone.


I would guess since there is no "snap" and there is no FBZ on a Free-kick, that BBW would not be permitted whether they were on defense or not.

[Bob M.]

REPLY: golfdesigner...while your references tell when a player can block below the waist, what you're really looking for is NF 9-3-2 which specifies when a player can't block below the waist:
NF 9-3-2 "A player shall not block an opponent below the waist except:
a. In the free-blocking zone when the contact meets the requirements of 2-17.
b. To tackle a runner or player pretending to be a runner."

[Texoma_LJ]

We had nearly the same experience this past week in a junior high game, but it was BBW on an on-sides kick attempt to cut members of R from controlling the ball.

I also get the fun experience of calling my first varsity game between teams from Oklahoma and Texas. NFHS rules will apply and at our weekly crew meeting the white hat made it very clear that BBW will be one area we will need to pay special attention to in the pregame meeting with the coaches and during the game. Really looking forward to the game this weekend, should be a good learning experience all the way around.

[Forksref]

That's like the coach who was "perplexed" because I called a block from behind on a defensive player. A little refresher on the major penalties might be in order for some of these coaches.