In the wake of the ACL-shredding hit by Jets guard Matt Slauson on Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, we reported that the Competition Committee will be taking a closer look in the offseason at blocks below the waist.
Peter King of SI.com and NBC’s Football Night in America reports that the Competition Committee currently plans to consider eliminating all blocks below the waist. King believes the league office is “solidly behind” a comprehensive ban, but that resistance from coaches likely will prevent a full prohibition.
Instead, King believes that the chop block, which is legal in some situations, will be eliminated, and that downfield cut blocks (like the one that tore Chiefs safety Eric Berry’s ACL last year) will be banned.
As we explained last month, the cut block is as old as the game of football. It’s all physics. Small players can’t block larger players without taking out the legs of the bigger players. If the ban is passed, there will be no way to stop the biggest, strongest defensive players without double-teaming them, which will impact offensive output and, for one of the only times in the last 40 years, push the pendulum back to the defense.