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Football Officiating => NCAA Discussion => Topic started by: kid50 on September 11, 2013, 08:39:51 PM
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Situation A
Team A ball 1-10 at B45. A63 blocks B70. During the initial block, A63 helmet comes completely off. A63 continues his engagement with B70 without separation as A22 runs downfield for touchdown.
Situation B
Team A ball 1-10 at B3. A 63 blocks B70. During the initial block, A63 helmet comes completely off. A63 continues his engagement with B70 as A22 scores from 3.
Any difference? In A, block is seconds long after loss of helmet. In B, block continues but score is almost immediate. I have heard discussion that A63 can continue action indefinitely as long as he does not disengage; basically interpreting "immediate action" as lasting until new/secondary action begins (comes off bock and then block again). Thoughts?
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No difference, IMO. And I don't believe your "immediate action" interpretation is the intent of the rule.
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I agree. The immediate action part of this was intended to not penalize the guy who loses his helmet as he's tackling the runner. If he continues to sustain a block or continues to get blocked after his helmet comes off, it's a foul. It's very likely the short run would occur within this immediate action, but the long run would probably result in a flag.
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Then to clarify:
A flag would be dependent on a new action such as leaving a block (after loss of helmet) to engage in another block or, if on defense, to chase down the ball carrier after being blocked;
or,
If engaged with a loss of a helmet during the engagement, the deciding factor would be the length of the engagement (time) after the loss - a short time would be no foul; an extended time, even if engaged with the same player, would be a foul.