Hines Ward Rule?

[Munboy]

The NFL is trying to eliminate the kind of blocks that have become Ward signatures and made him a YouTube sensation. In March, the league adopted a rule change that makes it illegal for a blocker to use his helmet, forearm or shoulder to hit a defender from behind or from the side.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 23795.html

The league's always trying to hold back players from playing. Just like the Mel Blount rule in the 70s. Ward has a point. When a D player lies out a WR or RB, it makes highlight reels. When Ward lays somebody out, they change the rules.

[mrblitz]

Yeah this rule is terrible. The NFL is obviously extremely popular and successful. But with some of the rule changes of late, the talk of SuperBowls being played in London, and possibly extending the season to 18 games. They are taking the risk of losing some fanatisism from both the viewng audiences, to the spectator. Imo

[steelerfan513]

A lot of the rules designed for player safety are really inconsistently enforced and flat out ridiculous, but I don't have as big an issue with this one as long as it doesn't interfere with the players' ability to do what those punishing hits are meant to do: take a defensive player completely out of the play. We'll just have to wait and see if this rule does that or not.

[dupree]

Ok maybe I am going to show my ignorance here...but wouldn't this fall under the "Clip/Block in the Back" rule?

a rule change that makes it illegal for a blocker to use his helmet, forearm or shoulder to hit a defender from behind or from the side.

[joejlitz]

This is ludicrous.
Hines Ward is not a dirty player. He has simply mastered the art of blocking down field. All of his blocks on that video are legal.

Also - this is crazy:

"...it illegal for a blocker to use his helmet, forearm or shoulder to hit a defender...from the side."

In the NFL there is no such thing as a block from the side. the block is either from the front or from the back. The placement of the helmet determines whether or not it was from the front or back. When a receiver takes out a defender from "the side" and his helmet is on the chest-side of the defender, that is a legal block.

As the previous poster stated, all blocks from the back are illegal, so no issue there.

Finally, I am way confused about this ruling, too as almost all previous rule changes are done to promote the offense. This goes against the offense. That's interesting.