http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...the-chop-block-to-go-away-completely/#content
It’s time for the chop block to go away, completely
Posted by Mike Florio on March 2, 2016
The NFL prides itself on developing changes to the game that trickle down to the lower levels of the sport. There’s a looming adjustment to pro football that, if it occurs, will be the result of change trickling up.
The league is indeed considering getting rid of the chop block, but that’s not a new development. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Competition Committee discusses getting rid of the chop block every year. While the Committee keeps coming closer to dumping it entirely, it hasn’t happened yet. This year, there’s a chance it will — primarily because the voices opposed to it are getting louder.
A chop block, as defined by Rule 12, Section 2, Article 3 of the NFL official rule book, occurs when one offensive player blocks a player in the thigh or lower when another offensive player has engaged the defender above the waist.
Currently, chop blocks are permitted in two situations, on running plays only. First, two offensive players who were lined up next to each other on the line of scrimmage at the snap may chop a defensive player on a running play. Second, two offensive players who were lined up more than one position away from each other on the line of scrimmage at the snap may chop a defensive player if the flow of the player is toward the block. All other chop blocks are illegal.
The technique already has been banned from all lower levels of the sport, and for good reason. Unlike a standard cut block, which the defender sees coming and has a chance to avoid, the chop block occurs when the defender already is engaged high with another blocker.
“It’s a career-ending technique that needs to be removed from the game,” one source told PFT.
Since its inception, football has allowed blocks below the waist, because that’s the only way a small guy can take a bigger player down. For decades, the NFL has been scaling back the situations in which blocks can be delivered below the waist.
The attempt to reduce concussions by extending protections for offensive players in defenseless positions has prompted plenty of defensive players to argue that they should be protected against torn ACLs, which can have a much greater impact on a player’s ability to play than a concussion does. Getting rid of the chop block, which currently is permitted only in certain narrow situations, would be the next step in an evolutionary process that could, eventually, lead to a strike zone for all players between the knees and the neck.
While no one knows quite where the process ends, it needs to continue with the chop block being wiped from the books.