Ian Allan
If you watch the replay of the 100-yard interception return by James Harrison in the Super Bowl, you'll see Steelers linebacker Lamarr Woodley shove Tim Hightower in the back at the 30-yard line. Without the shove, Hightower definitely would have stopped Harrison.
My initial thought was that this was a missed call -- a crucial miss.
But check the NFL rulebook, which defines clipping as the following:
Throwing the body across the back of an opponent's leg or hitting him from the back below the waist while moving up from behind unless the opponent is a runner or the contact is above the knee in close line play.
Harrison definitely engaged Hightower above the waist, so no clip.
—Ian Allan
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Posted by Gregory Oswell | Feb. 04 at 08:22 AM
May not have been a clip but why wasn't it an illegal block in the back?
IAN: OK. That's a good point. I wasn't thinking of that. If you watch the replay on YouTube or at NFL.com you'll see that Woodley definitely puts both hands on Hightower's back at the 32-yard line. Hightower and Woodley definitely see each other as the play unfolds (Woodley didn't sneak up behind him, and Hightower kind of turns his back to him at the last minute), but I believe it should have been flagged as an illegal block in the back. From the NFL Rulebook, it reads as follows ... "Blocker cannot use his hands or arms to push from behind ..."