Okay, so today I wanted to really understand what this “leverage penalty” thing in the NFL is all about. I’ve heard announcers mention it, seen it called a few times, but I never really knew the specifics. So, I decided to dig in.
My Deep Dive into the Leverage Penalty
First, I started by watching some games. I just turned on the TV and kept an eye out, specifically during field goal and extra point attempts. That’s where this penalty usually happens.
It didn’t take long before I saw it! One of the defensive players, trying to block a kick, jumped over the offensive line. He actually used one of his own teammates to get extra height. Bingo! That’s leverage.
Then I went online and looked up the actual rule in the NFL rulebook. It’s pretty clear: you can’t jump, stand on, or pull on a teammate or opponent to try and gain an advantage blocking a kick. It’s all about player safety, which makes total sense.
I realized that this one must be easy to avoid!
I spent some time just browsing through some NFL forums and fan pages. It’s always interesting to see what other fans think. Turns out, there’s a lot of debate about how consistently this penalty is called. Some people think refs miss it all the time, others think they’re too quick to throw the flag.
My next step was to watch some of the NFL’s highlight videos and try to identify potential ways people get this penalty. I figured there must be a few different ways to get flagged for leverage, so I wanted to see some examples.
I found a few clips where a player clearly used a teammate’s back as a springboard. There were also a couple where a guy grabbed onto a teammate’s shoulder pads and pulled himself up. All clear violations.
So, after my little research project, I feel like I’ve got a much better handle on the leverage penalty. It’s not just about jumping; it’s about any action where you use another player to gain an unfair height advantage when trying to block a kick.
