Took 7 months for me to ask??

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

A chop block is a safety issue. It has nothing to do with advantage/disadvantage.

I think it does. It's like the insanity defense. Sure, the act was committed, but punishing it wouldn't deter anyone in a similar position from doing it.

The penalty doesn't make anyone more safe after the fact, only as a deterrent to doing it, either deliberately or negligently. In the case of the player face planting on the ground, possibly getting up, and participating unintentionally in what fits the definition of a chop block, it would do no good to the game to penalize it if the team derived no advantage from it and it was accidental -- not only accidental in the sense of unintentional, but accidental in the sense that it couldn't've been avoided by a reasonable modification of anyone's playing style or assignment.

In the original case, where a slip resulted in a low block, you might judge that the positioning and blocking assignments of team A could be chosen to produce a lesser or greater chance of an accidental chop block by such means, which would give a reason to penalize if one occurred. In the face plant case where the engaged players stumbled over him, no way.

Robert in the Bronx