Not to miss your point because I read your posts and respect your rules knowledge. Many don't realize both players mentioned however can become defenseless. A ball carrier who is clearly out of bounds, begins feet first slide, clearly has progress stopped, or clearly on ground becomes defenseless. Also a defensive player immediately becomes defenseless if he's the recipient of a blindside block. In both cases replay can put 9-1-4 on if it's there.
I stand corrected on the defensive player being the victim of a blindside block. Yes, he is defenseless in those cases.
I would like to argue that a "ball carrier" is never defenseless, because, by definition, he is a player carrying a
live ball. In the cases you listed, the ball is dead. Those players are, indeed, defenseless, and would, certainly, qualify for 9-1-4 targeting fouls (as well as 9-1-3). But, the rules contradict themselves. 2-27-7-b requires a "ball carrier" to be in possession of a
live ball. But, then in the listing of defenseless players (2-27-14 & 9-1-4 Note 2), they include a 'ball carrier' whose forward progress has been stopped, and a 'ball carrier' who is sliding feet-first. In those cases, the ball is already dead, so they aren't "ball carriers," as defined, which is what makes them defenseless. Yeah, I know. Semantics. But semantics matter. Yeah, more words, but, more accurately (2-27-14):
j: " A player, having been the ball carrier, in the immediate continuing action after the ball has become dead when an opponent has contacted or tackled the player, and whose forward progress has been stopped."
And they should edit item "f":
"f. Any player obviously out of the play during a live ball, or any player after the ball has clearly become dead."
I miss John Adams.