Football Rules and Interpretations

[WarTiger 3,449]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:30 PM, bigbird said:

The wr clearly used his hand/arm to push off and create separation. That's what was flagged, I believe.

He extended his arm for sure but how much contact there was there is debatable, IMO.  Also the guy fell down after that, so no advantage there either.   Really need to be on the field (IMO) for this one to see if there was an actual push or just an extended arm.   That's why I believe something else happened earlier in the route that drew the flag.   It absolutely could have been that extended arm and maybe he did push off, but I'm inclined to believe there was something more.   Again, this is just my opinion and just a good way to explain some of the finer points of the rules some may not know.  

[Grumps 2,903]

Many players wear hoodies now under their shoulder pads. Is there a rule about putting the ball in the hoodie? I assume that putting the ball under your jersey or inside of a hoodie would both be against the rules.

[WarTiger 3,449]

The National Federation has released (a while back) their rule changes for 2022.  There are a lot of (what I would consider minor changes) and one significant change.   Some of them are:  

1.  They redefined Chop Block.  A chop block (if you didn't know) is a combination block by 2 teammates against a single opponent where one block is low and the other is high.  In previous years the knee was the determining spot the low block had to be below to make it a chop block.  Now, they have redone this and now the low block only needs to start below the waist instead of the knee.   A Chop Block has ALWAYS been an illegal block, and they are hoping this definition change will make it an easier call to make.  

2. In the final 2 minutes of either half any foul committed will automatically result in the offended team's option to start the game clock on the snap instead of the ready for play.  Prior to this change, the offended team could not gain control of the game clock unless they accepted the penalty. 

THE BIG ONE:

Rule 7-5-2 EXCEPTION 2 now permits a player to purposefully throw an incomplete forward pass without warranting an intentional grounding penalty provided the passer is outside of the free blocking zone (defined in college as the tackle box) and the pass reaches the neutral zone or the estension of the neutral zone beyond the sideline.

One significant thing to note here.  There's a difference in the rule at the Federation (high school) level and the college level.  In the college game the player controlling the snap MUST maintain posession throughout the down to legally throw the ball away.  He cannot give the ball to another player and get it back (like a flee flicker or reverse) and then throw it away.   This restriction does not exist under Federation rules (based on what I've read so far)