BLOCKING BELOW THE WAIST
From talking to many of our members, including emails from several of you,there seems to be some confusion about the Blocking Below The Waist rule.
Let me try and clear up any confusion among us.
Blocking below the waist isbasically illegal. However any lineman that is 7 yards or less from thecenter lineman (not necessarily the snapper) AND any back that is stationary
and completely inside the tackle box can block below the waist in anydirection anywhere on the field at any time; the disintegration of thetackle box does not affect their status. Linemen that are more than 7 yardsfrom the center lineman AND backs partially or completely outside the tacklebox can block below the waist only along a north/south line or toward the
sideline to which they were adjacent when the ball was snapped. Any player's adjacent sideline is the one on the same side of the formation that he is on when the ball is snapped. In other words, when the ball is snapped, if a player is on the left side of the formation, his adjacent sideline is the one on the left side; conversely, if the player is on the
right side of the formation at the snap, his adjacent sideline is the sideline on the right. If a player is in motion and is on the left side at
the snap (for instance behind the left guard), then his adjacent sideline is the left sideline and if he is on the right side (behind the right guard) of
the formation at the snap, then his adjacent sideline is the one on the right. If the man in motion is directly behind the snapper when the ball is
snapped, then his adjacent sideline is the one toward which he is moving at the snap. Every offensive player on the field has a north/south line and it
moves with him wherever he goes; however the only players to which it applies are the ones that were limited at the snap. The easiest way to
remember this is that if a player is limited, then he can only block toward his adjacent sideline or parallel to the sideline. It is really no more
complicated than that.
As for Team B, they can block Team A players below the waist until the ball has been advanced 5 yards or more. However, even if the ball has not been
advanced 5 yards, this does not allow Team B to block eligible receivers below the waist beyond the neutral zone, nor does it allow Team B to block
below the waist Team A players in position to receive a backward pass.
Clarification
Several of you have contacted me regarding my Blocking Below The Waist post of last week. What I stated about the restrictions on Team B clearly doesn’t comply with the rulebook. It seems many of you are not aware that Rogers Redding edited 9-1-6-Exception 2-(c). Please correct your rulebook so that rule 9-1-6-Exception 2-(c) at the top of page FR-85 reads as follows:
Players of the defensive team may block below the waist until the ball has gone more than 5 yards beyond the neutral zone (Rule 2-3-6-b) except against a Team A player in position to receive a backward pass or an eligible Team A receiver beyond the neutral zone unless attempting to get to the ball or ball carrier.
Rule 7-3-8-c-1 allows contact by a defender on an eligible receiver within one yard of the neutral zone, but that contact cannot be below the waist, so do not get those two rules confused or think there is a conflict.
Cooper
| 
