rest - http://www.footballzebras.com/2019/0...e-2019-season/Beginning this season, as part of a continued emphasis on player safety, all blindside blocks will be illegal. The new rules — proposed and voted on this spring — define a blindside block as when a player initiates a block when he is moving toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact to his opponent with his helmet, forearm or shoulder. Under previous rules, blindside blocks would have drawn a flag only if it was targeted to the head or neck area of the player receiving the block. According to NFL Football Operations, a third of all concussions suffered by players on punts last season were caused by blindside blocks.
The only time such a block can technically be made is when the block takes place in the tackle box, the area between the offensive tackles, and three yards in front of or behind the line of scrimmage, until the ball leaves that area. Once the ball leaves the tackle box, the box disappears, and any blindside block in that area becomes illegal. The tackle box provision is not actually an exception, but rather an interpretation that there can’t be forcible contact in the confines of the “mixing bowl” that exists around the location of the snap. Additionally, incidental contact (defined as an absence of forcible contact) is also not a foul for a blindside block, even though the other provisions may be present, although it may still be an illegal crackback or peel-back block.