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Monday, August 22, 2005
Blocking scheme under fire again
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The cut-blocking techniques used by the Falcons have come under fire again. Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher said some of the Falcons’ blocking in the Titan’s 24-21 preseason victory Friday came close to crossing the line in regards to player safety and that he would alert the NFL about it.
Falcons’ players refuted Fisher’s claim by saying they do cut block defenders legs, but they do so within the rules. Officials rarely, if ever, have called penalties for illegal blocks, they argue, so opposing teams are going to have to deal with what they do and how they do it.
Consultant and former offensive line coach Alex Gibbs brought the blocking scheme to Atlanta from Denver, where teams occasionally complained about the cut blocks lineman used, as well. Defenders said the frequent blocks at their knees put them in danger of injury, especially when the offensive linemen were coming at odd angles.
Both the Broncos and the Falcons had successful running games behind the blocking scheme, which is unusual compared to most schemes used in the NFL.
Do you feel the Falcons’ linemen are playing dirty or that they’re are just using a system that is unusually and effective and bothers teams because they aren’t used to it?
