I think the picked up flag was correct for the reasons mentioned in the thread. You should not be called for blocking a back that has been turned to you.
But …
Why on earth was Saffold putting his hands out there? The original call was block in the back, but the contact was made with the hands. If Saffold keeps his hands in, no flag is even thrown.
Now, I must say that OL put their hands out all the time these days. For a guy who played OL in HS and small college 68-76, this is always hard to get used to. Apparently, the current rules and guidelines permit the OL to use their hands vastly more than we did. We were taught to grab our own jerseys to keep our hands out of the play. If a ref saw hands at all, it was a flag.
Today, OL use their hands on virtually every play. They are taught to make initial contact with their hands--the so-called "punch." Some sort of hazy distinction separates that from holding, but it all seems pretty arbitrary to me.
Now, I get the need for using the hands in pass blocking and against the DL. But these guys get in what seems to me a bad habit of reaching out even when blocking downfield against smaller LBs and DBs. Often, it seems completely unnecessary. I mean, why would Saffold feel a need to reach with his hands? The smaller defender was retreating with his back turned. All Saffold has to do is screen him off. But his habit of punching out with his hands leads to contact in the back, forcing refs to make a call.
It also affects other blockers. Remember that hold by Woods last week with Gurley going by for a bigger gain than what the flag permitted? Again, that was completely unnecessary. Woods looked back, saw a defender, and awkwardly, off balance, reached back with hands only to make contact. The DB went down as if he had been shot, leading the commentators to rightly offer him an Oscar. But the point is that football fundamentals would tell Woods never to reach back with hands only. Get into position for a legit hit or screen or let the guy go.
OK, I'm a sour old coot whose sense of the fundamentals has fallen way, way behind the times. But, it just seems to me that some discipline in using the hands would make us even better.
