Two days after the game and the Miami Dolphins are not holding back about their victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions.
The most recent shot taken towards the New England Patriots came in the form of defensive tackle Jordan Phillips who released a tweet labeling center David Andrews a “dirty player” and even called his blocking skills into question with a not so subtle hashtag.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcnRVtKHW81/?taken-by=bigj9797
Despite the claims that this play was another example of how the Patriots attempt to get ahead and Phillips did have to sit out one play due to injury timeout, no flag was thrown.
Let’s take a look at the play after the fact. If Phillips wanted a penalty on the play he would most likely be looking for a “chop block” or an illegal “peel back” block penalty.
According to the National Football League Rulebook.
ARTICLE 3. CHOP BLOCK
A Chop Block is a block by the offense in which one offensive player (designated as A1 for purposes of this rule) blocks a defensive player in the area of the thigh or lower while another offensive player (A2) engages that same defensive player above the waist.
ARTICLE 4. ILLEGAL “PEEL BACK” BLOCK
An offensive player cannot initiate contact on the side and below the waist against an opponent if:
- the blocker is moving toward his own end line; and
- he approaches the opponent from behind or from the side.
Note: If the near shoulder of the blocker contacts the front of his opponent’s body, the “peel back” block is legal.
Based on the way the rules are stated and the way Andrews was still in the line of sight of Phillips when blocking, it was indeed a clean play.
