"Rule of the Week" - Packers/Ravens & Buck/Aikman

[Bryan]

I am admittedly in a bad mood regarding football officiating after watching a college football bowl game between Northern Illinois & Coastal Carolina and witnessing an offense so egregious that criminal charges need to be brought against the officiating crew...but I digress.

The setting...Packers/Ravens! The announcing team...Buck/Aikman! The previously unknown rule in questions...defensive roll block!

Ravens TE pulls outside to lead a running play. Packers DB runs up to take on the TE. The TE lowers his head and looks to plow over the DB. The DB lowers his body and his shoulder pad smashes into the TE's thigh pad. Both players collapse in a heap as the RB turns the corner. Ref throws flag. After the play, referee calls unnecessary roughness on the Packers DB for "an illegal roll block" and the Ravens are gifted an additional 15 yards. HUH?!

Cut to Buck and Aikman..."Yeah, that's why the NFL added the rule this year...for situations like that. You can't go low on the blocker." After a few replays showing the absurdity of Aikman's initial comment, he finally concedes that it "might" have been a questionable call. In-studio "rules expert" also doesn't offer an explanation of what specifically the rule prohibits; only mimics Aikman's idiocy by saying "Yeah, that's an illegal roll block". At no point does anyone on TV explain the rule. So my question to PFRA is: what is an illegal defensive roll block? I had never heard of such a thing until this game. And what is the actual guidelines? If you can't hit a blocker below the waist, then the refs would be throwing flags on every play. It seems like something completely arbitrary, which I guess is par for the NFL course.

On a side note, Buck and Aikman were pretty brain-dead throughout the entire game when it came to rules/officiating. I don't get how they get things wrong even after seeing the replay. It's actually infuriating if you have a rooting interest. A Ravens defender takes 3 steps after the ball is released and shoves Rodgers from behind to the ground; yeah, it's not a kill shot but that ALWAYS draws a flag when you don't pull up. Even after the replay shows the Ravens defender shoving Rodgers well after the pass was away, Aikman insists it was a "terrible call" and doesn't understand how the refs can call that "in today's NFL". Does Aikman pay attention to any other NFL games? Sheesh. Later in the game, a Ravens defender tackles a Packers WR just before he can catch the ball. In real time I thought it should have been a flag, but it was a close play. But in the replay you can clearly see the defender tackling the WR and pinning his arms down before the ball arrives...yet Aikman maintains that the DB timed it perfectly. Come on.

[rhickok1109]

I am admittedly in a bad mood regarding football officiating after watching a college football bowl game between Northern Illinois & Coastal Carolina and witnessing an offense so egregious that criminal charges need to be brought against the officiating crew...but I digress.

The setting...Packers/Ravens! The announcing team...Buck/Aikman! The previously unknown rule in questions...defensive roll block!

Ravens TE pulls outside to lead a running play. Packers DB runs up to take on the TE. The TE lowers his head and looks to plow over the DB. The DB lowers his body and his shoulder pad smashes into the TE's thigh pad. Both players collapse in a heap as the RB turns the corner. Ref throws flag. After the play, referee calls unnecessary roughness on the Packers DB for "an illegal roll block" and the Ravens are gifted an additional 15 yards. HUH?!

Cut to Buck and Aikman..."Yeah, that's why the NFL added the rule this year...for situations like that. You can't go low on the blocker." After a few replays showing the absurdity of Aikman's initial comment, he finally concedes that it "might" have been a questionable call. In-studio "rules expert" also doesn't offer an explanation of what specifically the rule prohibits; only mimics Aikman's idiocy by saying "Yeah, that's an illegal roll block". At no point does anyone on TV explain the rule. So my question to PFRA is: what is an illegal defensive roll block? I had never heard of such a thing until this game. And what is the actual guidelines? If you can't hit a blocker below the waist, then the refs would be throwing flags on every play. It seems like something completely arbitrary, which I guess is par for the NFL course.

On a side note, Buck and Aikman were pretty brain-dead throughout the entire game when it came to rules/officiating. I don't get how they get things wrong even after seeing the replay. It's actually infuriating if you have a rooting interest. A Ravens defender takes 3 steps after the ball is released and shoves Rodgers from behind to the ground; yeah, it's not a kill shot but that ALWAYS draws a flag when you don't pull up. Even after the replay shows the Ravens defender shoving Rodgers well after the pass was away, Aikman insists it was a "terrible call" and doesn't understand how the refs can call that "in today's NFL". Does Aikman pay attention to any other NFL games? Sheesh. Later in the game, a Ravens defender tackles a Packers WR just before he can catch the ball. In real time I thought it should have been a flag, but it was a close play. But in the replay you can clearly see the defender tackling the WR and pinning his arms down before the ball arrives...yet Aikman maintains that the DB timed it perfectly. Come on.

Yeah, that roll block thing was totally new to me, too. For more than 50 years, DBs have been taught to do exactly that in that situation...if you stand up to the blocker, he's not only going to knock you down, he's going to continue down the field to knock somebody else down, so you sacrifice yourself to take him out of the play.

[Bob Gill]

Yeah, that roll block thing was totally new to me, too. For more than 50 years, DBs have been taught to do exactly that in that situation...if you stand up to the blocker, he's not only going to knock you down, he's going to continue down the field to knock somebody else down, so you sacrifice yourself to take him out of the play.

It wasn't new to me yesterday, only because I saw the same call in a Redskins game -- oops! Sorry, a Football Team game -- a couple of weeks ago. I'd never heard of the rule before that, and the announcers for that game (don't remember who they were) did point out that it leaves a defensive back with virtually no options if he comes up and tries to stop a sweep. They both agreed that if he can't go low, his only other choices are to get steamrolled or politely step aside.

[Jay Z]

It has been called a few times on defensive backs, illegal block. I think you can't start with a low block, you can't initiate blocking contact that way. Ironically I don't think Savage actually blocked him low, because the Raven kind of pulled up and doubled over, so Savage hit him in the chest.

[JuggernautJ]

This just happened in the Bears/Vikes game, negating an incredible defensive play by the Bears on 3rd down.
It may be the worst call I have ever seen in my life...

I've played football for 20 years and watched it my whole life... I can't understand today's game.
I'm done for the evening... even though I have a vested interest in this game I am turning it off and going to go read a book.

I don't know what game the NFL is fielding but it ain't football.

[vikingsfan1963]

I know the rule has been in high school football for years. Not sure about college.

[65 toss power trap]

Basically this is the illegal low block that is frequently called on changes of possession plays. It is now extended to scrimmage downs as well, but there is an exception within the tight end box. The new rule is for "low blocks," which includes roll blocks as well.

We spilled a bit of digital ink on the topic here:
https://www.footballzebras.com/2021/04/ ... penalties/

https://www.footballzebras.com/2021/07/ ... ter-spots/

https://www.footballzebras.com/2021/08/ ... preseason/

I was surprised that this wasn't a big deal this year. Players adapted rather quickly to the rule. Taunting, not so much, initially.

[Bryan]

This just happened in the Bears/Vikes game, negating an incredible defensive play by the Bears on 3rd down.
It may be the worst call I have ever seen in my life...

I've played football for 20 years and watched it my whole life... I can't understand today's game.
I'm done for the evening... even though I have a vested interest in this game I am turning it off and going to go read a book.

I don't know what game the NFL is fielding but it ain't football.

I was going to update the "roll block tally" from last night's game, but I see you have already done so. The game last night was unwatchable; every play involved a Law & Order type arraignment hearing afterwards. I think my frustration with NFL games now is that you can't believe your own eyes...you watch a play and see a RB tackled after a 2 yard gain...but then the refs move the ball 15 yards downfield. Pass plays are even worse...a 10 yard completion to a diving WR can have a multitude of options...roughing the passer, defensive holding, maintaining the catch through the ground, ball hitting the ground. It's like you watch an NFL play, see what happens, but then you have to wait another 30 seconds for the refs to confirm to you that what you saw is what actually happened.

My favorite "rules" play from last night was the Justin Fields "kneel down" to avoid a safety. Bears backed up on their own goal line, Fields fumbles the snap, picks the ball up, and right before he is about to be thrown back for a safety he kneels down and then stands back up! The Vikings DL tackles Fields and the refs award the Bears 15 yards in "unnecessary roughness" yardage. Aside from the absolute absurdity of Fields not simply diving to the ground and the refs calling a penalty, I do have a 'rules' question...can a QB have 'kneel down protection' after he fumbles the snap? It wasn't the normal end-of-game situation of the QB taking the snap in victory formation. Also, at what point does the refs whistle come into play? The refs didn't whistle the play dead when Fields did his kneel down because it was unexpected and because Fields immediately stood up...would that absolve the Vikings DL from being charged with unnecessary roughness?

Anyway, this could usher in a new era of gamesmanship. QB is trapped behind the LOS, two big DEs are closing in on him...right before he is about to get creamed, Justin Fields quickly kneels down and earns a 15-yard penalty and automatic 1st down! Next play, Fields rolls out, the OLB runs up to sack him...Fields pretends to kneel down, but doesn't actually touch the turf with his knee, the OLB stops, and Fields continues to run past him for 10 yards and a first down.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

Announcers and commentators don't always know the rules. Especially newer rules. Mike Pereira didn't know an additional replay rule added this year that allowed a facemask penalty to be added after review during a Cowboys game this year. I'm learning new rules all the time -- they change every year and it's difficult to keep up. The league posts the rule book online. It's worth checking out every now and then. You can probably find the low block rule in there somewhere.

https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/20 ... nsultation

[JuggernautJ]

It's not that we don't know what the rules are (although at this point I'm not sure anyone does) it's that that rules don't make any damn sense.
And that the game they define isn't football (as we know it).

I know I only played sandlot but I couldn't tell you how many times I took out a lead blocker on a sweep or screen by cutting them... and never hurt anyone.

My incredulousness is compounded by the fact that, on the play in question, the player penalized made the tackle!
When I saw that I thought "What a great play! He took out the blocker AND made the tackle with one move." Probably the only person more confused by the flag was the defender who made the play.

I'll say it again (and probably not for the last time): When the rules become so convoluted that the game can no longer be played the rules need to change.
This is just silly.