Good Block or penalty?

[bigjohn]

MB, do you have a 2009-2010 NFHS Football Handbook?


The committee recognizes that occasionally a player’s helmet makes inadvertent
contact with an opponent without significant risk of injury to either player.
The committee also recognizes that there are degrees of severity in illegal helmet
contact, and that all types of such contact should be penalized uniformly. The
penalty for spearing, butt blocking and face tackling is 15 yards. If any of these
illegal helmet-contact fouls is judged to be flagrant, the offender must also be
disqualified. Coaches must not teach the use of the helmet in blocking and
tackling and officials must penalize the act. There can be no compromise on this
issue. Coaches must do everything possible to discourage any use of the helmet
except as a protective piece of equipment for each player’s head.
The helmet is designed to protect the player from head injuries,

Read pages 69-73



and before someone posts it I know I am guilty too.

All groups concerned with football, including the rules makers, coaches and
officials are involved in a cooperative campaign to eliminate these unnecessary
injury hazards. There is no excuse for these techniques to be employed as part of
the game. Players who are aware of the extreme danger of injury and who
continue to practice these techniques, use poor judgment and take unnecessary
chances. Coaches must not tolerate such techniques to be used or developed.


I am not the head coach and I did not make the call on the kid I had that did this. I advised the head coach more than once that I would not be held accountable for his injury. he (HC) would.

[bigjohn]

As players continue to get physically larger, stronger and faster and as the
forces generated at contact continue to increase, proper head position and the
use of the shoulders and arms in blocking and tackling become even more
important. The NFHS Football Rules Committee urges everyone connected with
the game to continue their sincere, diligent efforts to enforce strict rules opposing
the use of the helmet as the primary point of contact or to abuse an opponent.

[bigjohn]

Driving the head, encased in a hard and unyielding helmet, into an opponent is
Part Five Officiating Page 71
probably the most dangerous tactic used in football today. The hazards of
spearing, butt blocking or face tackling are not limited to the hardness of the
helmet. The player initiating the contact is in more danger than his opponent.
When the head, in an improper position, is driven into a player, it may result in a
weak position for the neck. A blow to the head when the neck is in a vulnerable
position can cause injury to the spinal cord possibly resulting in paralysis from
the neck down.
All groups concerned with football, including the rules makers, coaches and
officials are involved in a cooperative campaign to eliminate these unnecessary
injury hazards. There is no excuse for these techniques to be employed as part of
the game. Players who are aware of the extreme danger of injury and who
continue to practice these techniques, use poor judgment and take unnecessary
chances. Coaches must not tolerate such techniques to be used or developed

[bigjohn]

Face Tackling
The danger in face tackling is greater to the tackler than his opponent because
the tackler’s head is often not in a protective, stable position when contact is made.
In these positions the cervical spine area is most vulnerable to injury. A blow to
the top of the head when the neck is in flexion may result in permanent injury. Face
tackling is defined as an act by a defensive player who initiates contact with a ball
carrier with the front of his helmet. Players must refrain from using this technique,
not only because it is costly to the team through a penalty of 15 yards, but also
because it is dangerous to the individual using the technique.

[waltjp]

John, want a radical idea? You can help prevent head and neck injuries by getting rid of the face mask. Hell, get rid of the helmet all together. If the players didn't feel so safe they wouldn't be so willing to stick their heads in places where it shouldn't be.

[bigjohn]

or you could just call all IHC and reduce the use of the helmet.

[Canned Heat]

I have some pretty high end video software and equipment here and by slowing down and cleaning up Vid #1 you can see helmet leading to helmet and the blocker readying himself and then leading with the head....when I slow it wayyyy down and pause and rewind to just the right millisecond. Should it have been called?..probably. Is it called even close to enough? No..and I think must of us would agree with that. Review clip 1 and pause it and try it a few times...even on the grainy clip you can see the initial contact of H to H. Vid #2 I was able to clearly see shoulder contact prior to any head contact prior to the player getting knocked on his arse. The argument that the player getting knocked and spun to his hind end could only mean a shot to the head is a little much. I've seen tons of hard blocks and shots on receivers across the middle who have ended up in the same condition and few, if any, have been IHC, face tackling, or any similar form.
Vid #3 of the Pop Warner/Youth kids is just a product of the game at that age. A bigger, taller tackler versus ball carrier (or vice versa) makes things look more vicious than they are and it's the unfortunate nature of the game at that age level.

I see John's point and argument, but I'm in the same boat as the rest of the majority. It wasn't completely clear cut from the angle I saw (in #1) and I don't have the luxury of slow-mo replays in a split second on the field. The game of football has progressed to the point at almost any level that pancake blocks and hits are a big energizing part of the game and would say that even if most of us thought we may have seen something bordering on an illegal hit on a play like this....would rarely ever call it. Unless it was incredibly blatant and judging by the overall vote here....it's nothing of the sort. Good day.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by bigjohn

or you could just call all IHC and reduce the use of the helmet.

How do you propose we start calling fouls we don't see?

Do you really think there are any officials (on this forum at least) that see a clear IHC foul and pass on it?