What would you do?

[ElvisLives]

1/10, 50. A11 throws a legal forward pass toward spread end A88. A88 is moving upright and under full control of his body. As the ball reaches A88, B44 lowers himself, and begins to throw his body at A88. The ball deflects off of A88’s hands, almost directly down to the ground.  Just as the ball is landing on the ground, B44, committed in his block, contacts A88 below the thighs at the B-47.

Provide reference for your ruling (foul or no foul).

[Kalle]

Going by the book, this is an illegal block below the waist as none of the exceptions in 9-1-6-b apply. On the field or with my supervisor hat on, unless instructed otherwise by a higher authority, this is legal contact according to the spirit of the rules.

[ElvisLives]

Kalle,

You and I are on the same page. A foul, by strict reading of the rules (perhaps?). But, if the receiver makes the catch an instant before, then the contact is legal, since he is now a ball carrier. Is a defender expected to wait until he is sure the opponent has become a ball carrier to make this low block? We see this type of contact frequently, and no one has suggested that this should be a foul.
We MAY be able to hang our hat on the last line of 9-1-6-b-3: "This prohibition ends when a legal forward pass is no longer possible by rule." So, if all aspects of the pass are legal, and the ball is first touched beyond the spot of the pass, then a subsequent legal forward pass is no longer possible. That being the case, the prohibition against an otherwise legal low block against an eligible receiver beyond the NZ no longer exists, after that moment. There is some very close timing, in these events, but they would follow the language of the rule.

[dammitbobby]

May I ask why you framed B44's actions as a block, instead of an attempted tackle?

[ElvisLives]

May I ask why you framed B44's actions as a block, instead of an attempted tackle?

As defined, a 'tackle' is grasping or encircling an opponent with hands or arms. He wasn't tackling the opponent. He was blocking the opponent.

[dammitbobby]

Should have known it as a definition err (on my part.) 

I can tell you though, I'm not mature enough as an official to have been able to make that distinction on the field, as that play occurred.

[JDM]

Should have known it as a definition err (on my part.) 

I can tell you though, I'm not mature enough as an official to have been able to make that distinction on the field, as that play occurred.

Rule 2 is the most important rule in the book, IMO.

[dammitbobby]

Agreed for sure.