One of the rule changes in the NFL this season completely eliminated blindside blocks, which the league defined as, “if a player initiates a block when he is moving toward or parallel to his own end line and makes contact to his opponent with his helmet, forearm or shoulder.”
You make the call as to whether this counts as one of those. The fans in Cleveland certainly did – you can hear them boo mercilessly in this clip.
As CBS’ Tony Romo explains, “The play’s designed for him to go block.” While it may serve to eliminate concussions – according to the league, blindside blocks were responsible for a third of concussions on punts last year – the “no blindside blocks” rule may make it next to impossible for linemen to do their jobs.
Expect the interpretation of this rule to be ironed out in the following weeks.
