BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) – The chop block has been entirely outlawed from NFL games, and extra-point kicks snapped from the 15-yard line are now permanent.
NFL owners voted Tuesday to approve both those proposals by the competition committee. They also passed a resolution to expand what is a horse-collar tackle to cover the nameplate on the back of jerseys.
In all, seven rule proposals were approved. The others involved coach-to-player communications from the sideline as well as the press box; adding a delay-of-game penalty to a team that calls a timeout when it has none remaining; removing a 5-yard penalty for a receiver illegally touching a pass after being out of bounds; and eliminating multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.
The chop block, in which a player blocks an opponent low while the opponent is engaged high with another player, had become more limited in the league because of various rule changes. Now, all forms of it have been banned, with violators drawing a 15-yard penalty.
The competition committee felt it was a dangerous play. Some NFL coaches believe eliminating the chop block will affect the ground game.