NFL Owners Meeting: Rules Changes

[Amnorix]

So as I understand it, so far the NFL owners have decided the following:

1. rejected the "everything is reviewable" on replay suggestion.

2. adopted a rule change (suggested by Miami) eliminating peel back blocks. Such a block (then legal) resulted in the Texans' Cushing getting his ACL torn. Now it's a 15 yard penalty.

3. adopted a rule allowing an NFL official in a booth to stop action on the field and communicate with an official to remove a player who is exhibiting a medical concern such as concussion symptoms.

4. tabled for review/analysis a proposal to install cameras along sidelines and the goal line to improve angles for replay reviews. The NFL has cited cost as a major concern to adopting this proposal. As Belichick said last year "maybe we could have a car wash. Or a bake sale."

5. Made a slight tweak to the rules regarding completing a catch.

Ever since an apparent Calvin Johnson touchdown was ruled an incomplete pass in 2010, there has been confusion about what constitutes a catch. At the time, the NFL upheld its interpretation that a receiver must not only complete the catch, but he must also make a football move afterward while still in possession of the football. On Monday, the competition committee changed the language to say a pass-catcher needs establish himself as a runner after gaining possession of the ball. Dean Blandino, the NFL's supervisor of officials, believes this language change will clear up the confusion.

6. Players are now prohibited from pushing teammates in connection with trying to block a punt.

7. Defenseless receivers are now protected as such immediately following an interception. My assumption on this is that under the old rule, if the ball was intercepted, someone else could "block" receivers into oblivion. No more.

[TribalElder]

Do they still allow teams that deflate balls and cheat to win the league championship?

Or did they address that

[KC_Lee]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

Do they still allow teams that deflate balls and cheat to win the league championship?

Or did they address that

That rule does not apply to beating teams that tanked an entire season to ensure picking the best QB coming out of the draft number one overall.

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

Do they still allow teams that deflate balls and cheat to win the league championship?

Or did they address that

Of course not. Once again Pats bullshit has to be swept under the rug to save the league from doing serious punishment.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Tuckdaddy

Of course not. Once again Pats bullshit has to be swept under the rug to save the league from doing serious punishment.

The Wells Report isn't out yet. Presumably sometime between now and the draft.

The entire situation is a complete joke. The only reason you think the Patriots did something wrong is because you hate them. There is no evidence of anything at all, and the multiple leaks that were then walked-back makes it impossible to rely on anything until the report comes out, which hopefully will clear up what really did happen.

The real bottom line here is that if the NFL wants to ensure that balls are at 12.5-13.5 PSI at all times, they need to do a much better job of managing how that is done. Testing them 2 hours before game-time and then ignoring atmospheric effects is ridiculous.

[MIAdragon]

4. Cost, seriously?!

[notorious]

Originally Posted by MIAdragon

4. Cost, seriously?!

Exactly.


Everybody rolls their eyes at that one.

[The Franchise]

#3 is going to be interesting. That's not going to be abused at all......nah.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by Dicky McElephant

#3 is going to be interesting. That's not going to be abused at all......nah.

If you are out of timeouts, just have one of your players stagger around a little, especially if you are New England or Denver. Instant clock stoppage!

[PizzaDoughz]

Originally Posted by Frosty

If you are out of timeouts, just have one of your players stagger around a little, especially if you are New England or Denver. Instant clock stoppage!

If the rules can be bent or manipulated in any way, you can be sure the Pats will find a way to do it

[suzzer99]

I was really hoping they'd look at the idiotic "Guy can have complete possession of the ball, stumble for 8 steps, roll on the ground, then bobble it a little getting up off the ground and it's not a catch. Or maybe it is. Sometimes. But not in the playoffs." rule.

[PizzaDoughz]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I was really hoping they'd look at the idiotic "Guy can have complete possession of the ball, stumble for 8 steps, roll on the ground, then bobble it a little getting up off the ground and it's not a catch. Or maybe it is. Sometimes. But not in the playoffs." rule.

Yeah because NFL offenses need even more help

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

I was really hoping they'd look at the idiotic "Guy can have complete possession of the ball, stumble for 8 steps, roll on the ground, then bobble it a little getting up off the ground and it's not a catch. Or maybe it is. Sometimes. But not in the playoffs." rule.

They looked at it and made a very minor change, but it doesn't really affect anything. Instead of "a football move", nwo they say "established himself as a runner".

The problem with changing the rule is that if you make it too "easy" to complete a catch, then defenders will kill shot receivers half a second after their feet hit the ground, and then it's a FUMBLE.

Unless you want to see a dramatic spike in fumbles that weren't fumbles before, there is no way to "fix" the catch rule.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

They looked at it and made a very minor change, but it doesn't really affect anything. Instead of "a football move", nwo they say "established himself as a runner".

The problem with changing the rule is that if you make it too "easy" to complete a catch, then defenders will kill shot receivers half a second after their feet hit the ground, and then it's a FUMBLE.

Unless you want to see a dramatic spike in fumbles that weren't fumbles before, there is no way to "fix" the catch rule.

it's really not that hard to understand

Having the refs determine when a player actually possess a ball was just too difficult to determine, even with replay. Did the ball stop? Did the ball stop long enough? Did the ball start moving again?

So they switched the parameters of a catch to something that is more concrete to judge.

A receiver must maintain possession of the ball through ground contact unless he has clearly become a runner, then it's a fumble.

2 hands on the ball ... toe-tapping ... ball moving, none of that means a dam thing anymore.

If the player clearly a ball carrier? Yes, fumble. No, must maintain possession through ground contact.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

They looked at it and made a very minor change, but it doesn't really affect anything. Instead of "a football move", nwo they say "established himself as a runner".

The problem with changing the rule is that if you make it too "easy" to complete a catch, then defenders will kill shot receivers half a second after their feet hit the ground, and then it's a FUMBLE.

Unless you want to see a dramatic spike in fumbles that weren't fumbles before, there is no way to "fix" the catch rule.

I'd love them to be fumbles!

Their fix still isn't much of one. Is tapping your feet on the sideline enough to establish yourself as a runner, I would say no. The whole thing about catches being defined differently by where they are on the field bothers me.