FLOWERY BRANCH – New Falcons center Alex Mack doesn't believe the rule change eliminating chop blocking will hurt the team's outside-zone blocking system.
The league passed a measure at the owners meetings on Tuesday to outlaw “all chop blocks, no matter the circumstances.”
The Falcons used the outside zone blocking system last season and sometimes chop blocked on the back side of running plays.
A chop block occurs when an offensive player will block a defensive player, and a second offensive player will attempt to cut down the defensive player by blocking him down around the knees.
“Our cutting style is still going to be allowed,” Mack said. “It’s just whether or not, if you can have an adjacent lineman chop down. It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to be a part of the game that we’ll have to adjust. I think there is a way to do it safely. I’m sure we can do that.”
In the new system, the Falcons rushed for 100.4 yards per game (19th in the league) and 13 rushing touchdowns (13th).
Mack, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, signed a five-year, $45 million contact with the Falcons on March 9.
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