Robot Defensive Strategies

[R.Irick]

Defense this year will be a 'tight squeeze' to avoid penalties.

See rule..

[G20]
Robots in contact with the carpet on their Alliance Station end of the Court are limited to 60 in tall. Otherwise,
Robots are limited to 84 in tall.
Violation: Foul; or Technical-Foul for repeated or continuous violation.

When you are on the side of the field with your opponents goals(aka the closest side to your alliance wall), you are still limited to the 60in height.

...along with the key, alley, and bridge no touch penalties.

And..

[R08]
Robot parts shall not be made from hazardous materials, be unsafe, cause an unsafe condition, or interfere with the operation of other Robots.

*underlined part*

Also, personally I feel that a defensive robot that is solely for the purpose of blocking points is against the message of FIRST. They want teams to be able to score as much as possible. Along with that, it is more if a challenge to create a shooting robot, compared to one the drives around with a big wall. FIRST is all about a challenge and learning from it.