I have noticed in the NFL playoff games that's it's very clear that the offensive linemen clearly know where the U is. If the U being in team A's backfield becomes the standard NCAA 7-man mechanic I'm thinking that the 3 deep officials will require some revised keys for running plays. IMO in the NFL some of the team A holding is getting pretty flagrant on the interior line play without the U in the middle. It's really obvious with the HD camera angle looking from the angle that the U would "normally" be. Interesting how quickly many NFL O-linemen have adopted different "blocking" techniques based on where the U is located at the snap.
Why am I not surprised? You know the old saying... for every action, there is a reaction.
It would be a great theory, if it were true. But it's not. There were 67 MORE holding calls in the 2010 NFL season than there was a year ago, a 10.4% INCREASE. In fact, it was the most holding calls made in the past 4 seasons (I didn't go back further than that, because it takes me about 30 minutes per year to pull this info).
Offenisive Holding calls by year in the NFL Regular Season
2007: 602
2008: 588
2009: 645
2010: 712
Just FYI: The Steelers are BY FAR the most penalized team for holding (121 in 4 years), leading the league for 2 straight years. Over the past 4 years, the Colts have held (or been caught) the least, with 55, less than half of the Steelers total.
When the NFL first tried moving the U to the backfield, I thought linemen would get caught far less. But I have talked with a number of the NFL umpires, and to a man, they feel they can see holding BETTER from their new spot. Most holding calls come when the lineman gets his hands outside the frame (a hooking type of hold when the lineman has been beaten), and that is easier to see from behind the offense. Sure, the inside the frame stuff may get called less, but that's the stuff that doesn't get called in the NFL anyway.