PHOENIX – NFL owners approved a proposal to ban defensive players from leaping over the line of scrimmage to attempt to block field goals or extra points.
The ratification came Tuesday as owners met at the annual league meeting.
The proposal was made by the Philadelphia Eagles and was endorsed by the NFL’s rulemaking competition committee. The NFL Players Association urged the competition committee when the two sides met last month at the scouting combine in Indianapolis to enact such a ban.
The proposal was made because the play is regarded as dangerous, both to the player doing the leaping and to any offensive player on which he might land.
It previously was illegal to make such a leap only if the defensive player landed on an offensive player. A successful leap previously was allowed.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Mark Maske
