Rule Question
 

A coach last week was telling me that a Linebacker was pushing the DT into the center and the center could not block him. He said "that's a penalty", I thought about it and did not think it was. Is there something in the Rule book I missed? I re-read some sections after the game and could not find anything like this. Just curious.

Sounds like the same thing as a running back pushing his blocker in the back to one way or another. I don't believe there is a rule against this.

Bresquire

NF: 9.2.3.b (Illegal use of Hands & Holding) "A defensive player shall not (b) use his hands to add momentum to the charge of a teammate who is on the line of scrimmage."

I bet no one on this board has ever called that!
:)

I'll PM you my address so you can send me the check. ;)

Ok, thanks, for some reason, I would never have looked at that particular rule to find this...

Thanks!!!

I called it last year. A coach was complaining about it and I checked my book at halftime and found it. The only time I've ever seen it.

It's still in the book. :D

you ever called this one?


ART. 3 . . . The blocker’s hand(s) may not be locked nor may he swing, throw
or flip the elbow or forearm so that it is moving faster than the blocker’s shoulders
at the time the elbow, forearm or shoulder contacts the opponent. The
blocker may not initiate contact with his arm or hand against an opponent above
the opponent’s shoulder, but he may use his hand or arm to break a fall or
maintain his balance.

I thought this could have been called against an umpire in a college game last week. :D

He did throw a flipper!

The contact above the shoulder - couple of times a year. The "flipper" as it was called when I played - maybe once every three or four years.

I've called contact above the shoulders a couple of times. I don't think I've ever seen a flipper.

At what point would we consider calling one of these a PF for for striking instead of illegal use of the hands?

Also, why is the foul for a defensive player slapping the head of an offensive player specifically enumerated as a PF and not covered under the general "striking" PF?

The head slap was a common defensive technique back in the day. We were taught to slap the blocker in the ear hole.

Most coaches AFAIK who use the term refer to the "flipper" as the arm held that way, with the hand close to the chest, so that the ulnar surface of the forearm can be used to make contact, regardless of where it lands, not specifically to refer to a blow to the chops. Before the rules on use of the hands were liberalized, the rules really encouraged flipper contact. A player who blocks with the shoulder can use the "flipper" of the same arm to increase the area of contact, or have it free to protect the gap.

If the ulnar surface of the forearm was used on the neck or chin as a deliberate point of initial contact or if it looked as though it was deliberately slid upward after the intial contact and wound up delivering an intentional or unintentional uppercut -- in other words, more of the time than illegal use of hands would be the only justified call. I could see it being merely illegal use of hands & arms if a rushing defender were using his hand to try to turn the far shoulder of a blocker and in reaching across made inadvertent forearm contact with the neck.

Robert