Too many flags!

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Rich

I'm confused by a block in the back against B.

If it's bad enough to call a personal foul for a UNR, fine, do that. Otherwise, how does the block take something away from A?

If a potential Team A blocker is disadvantage'd such that he can no longer block an opponent. This should be a foul. And shouldn't need to rise to a UNR before being called.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

If a potential Team A blocker is disadvantage'd such that he can no longer block an opponent. This should be a foul. And shouldn't need to rise to a UNR before being called.

How often does that happen? Not often. My point was that a block in the back on a defender is viewed through a different lens than one on the offense. I've had crew members in lower level games call one when the defender was trying to get at a ball carrier and the official couldn't understand why that just wasn't a foul.

[Welpe]

I've seen one case of an illegal block in the back by a defender that I thought was absolutely a correct call.

It was during a college game and I was watching a B I knew work. His key went out on a short route and cut in front of the defender. The defender gave him a two handed shove in the back which knocked him down. Just as he went down the QB was releasing the pass to him which went incomplete.

The B flagged it and the R announced an illegal block in the back. It wasn't DPI nor was it illegal use of the hands because the receiver was still in front of the defender. I thought it was absolutely the right call.

I asked the B after the game if he would have called that if the pass hadn't gone to him just after. "Not in a million years."