Unrestricted lineman blocking (a little) downfield

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

Still nobody's explained what "unrestricted" means.

It's a colloquial term referring to the following (9-1-6-a-1):

1. The following Team A players may legally block below the waist inside this zone until the ball has left the zone: (a) players on the line of scrimmage completely within this zone and (b) stationary backs who are at least partially inside the tackle box and at least partially inside the frame of the body of the second lineman from the snapper.

A low blocking zone is defined as:

[S]even yards on each side of the snapper extending five yards beyond the
neutral zone and back to Team A’s end line

"Unrestricted" players can block below the waist of an opponent in any direction as long as the block is to the side or front, is within the low blocking zone and the ball is within the low blocking zone.

A "restricted" player is a Team A player not meeting the definition above and can only block an opponent low if the block is to the opponent's front (define as between their 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock) and cannot block low back towards the original position of the ball at the snap.

This is not an exhaustive list but it's a start.

I recommend reading the entirety of 9-1-6 to get a complete understanding of the blocking below the waist rule.