Rule Question?

[Legacy Zebra]

Is this the same as the "clip zone"?

Kind of. The blocking zone is defined in 2-3-6 as five yards on either side of the middle lineman of the offensive formation as opposed to the tackle box which is centered on the snapper. Also the blocking zone extends three yards to either side of the line of scrimmage whereas the tackle box goes from the line of scrimmage all the way to the offense's end line.

And can a spread center trail a mlb across the line of scrimmage then block him low behind the knees?

Like most things in life, there are exceptions to the exception for clipping. Linemen who are in the zone at the snap may legally clip with these restrictions: (1) the force of the initial contact is not at or below the knee, (2) he can't leave the zone and then come back and clip, and (3) once the ball has left the zone, the zone disintegrates when the ball leaves the zone, that means no clipping once the ball leaves the zone. So if the QB is in the gun (I'm guessing that's what you're thinking if you say a spread formation) he is probably more than three yards behind the line, so the ball leaves the zone almost immediately, which means the block is most likely illegal.

One thing that hasn't been addressed in this thread: Is there film? This discussion could have been much shorter with film to watch.

 

[Blue Bird]

Being "too fast" is what sixman is all about. There is really aggresive play too. Crowell is all about aggressive play. Sometimes you will get flagged for that aggressive play. You need to learn live with an occasional flag if that is your style of play.

 

[JasonTX]

If the "punter" carries the ball from inside of the tackle box to outside of the tackle box a roughing or running into the kicker foul is not possible by rule. We refer to this as a rugby style kicker. Now, if the snap is muffed and the ball rolls out of the tackle box and then the ball is picked up, the player picking up the ball must establish himself as a kicker in order to get the roughing or running into protection. I don't want to use the term "fair game", because some other type of personal foul could be called, but his protection that point is the same as any of the or 11 players would be receiving.