The owners will do what they believe is best for their investment in the long run. If they feel keeping it allowed is in their best financial interests it stays. I doubt they’ll start rejecting innovation.
I think they didn't want to regulate it. They would have to distinguish between a block and a push and sometimes there is a gray area there. If I come up and block you while you are trying to tackle an RB and also happen to knock the RB forward in the process, is that a push? If two of us are blocking on either side of the RB trying to fight for yards and we nudge the whole pile forward, is that a push? I think the push has to be clearly defined as someone putting his hands or body directly on the ball carrier. If he is blocking another player, even if that causes incidental contact with the ball carrier and helps him move forward, it's not a push.
I don't think it's even necessary for them to have been engaged or stay engaged. If the back is fighting for yardage and a lineman runs up and smacks a linebacker to knock him off the back, then that should be OK because he made a block while the play was still alive. If he comes up and essentially tries to carry the back for yards, that should be illegal.
Pushing the ball carrier is also part of the game since the 2006 season. The NCAA followed suit seven years later.
Since 2006. I don't think it should have ever been part of the game. You should get the yardage you can get, not the yardage you can get with half the team pushing you.
So the basic concept for removing the no pushing rule was that when a running back is down field, if he’s stalled it’s because he’s got 2+ guys dragging on him.
You're totally wrong on this. I remember well when you weren't allowed to push -- it's not like this was ancient history -- and it wasn't even a thing. It definitely wasn't some controversy that "no one was happy with" as you claim.
When the rule was changed in 2006, it was a near-unanimous vote. That is not common in rule proposals, everyone was tired of the issue:
Difficulty enforcing the rule is the reason the NFL owners claimed why they decided to change the rule. It isn’t “ancient history”, but it was over two decades ago.
Every sport evolves. In football it was the forward pass, various motions, not being allowed to touch the QB, the QB slide, moving the PAT back, dynamic kickoffs, etc. In basketball it was adding the 3 point line, moving it back, etc. In soccer it was getting rid of the back pass to the goalie (and the goalie being allowed to pick it up), changing the offsides rule, numbers of subs, etc. If you're complaining about this rule, then just say you want to go back to the original American football, which was basically modified rugby.
Sorry, but that's dumb logic. If I disagree with a relatively recent rule change that means I want leather helmets and no facemasks? No sale.
Like it or not NFL football is what the 32 NFL ownership groups collectively say it is. They are motivated by finances. So are the players. Each ownership group is loyal to themselves and the other 31, just as players are loyal themselves and the other players.
K... So 32 billionaires can't make bad decisions?
The rule was changed in 2006! That's nearly 20 years ago. Just because teams have adapted to the new rule doesn't mean it needs to be changed.
Perhaps in their personal lives. Their financial success and the popularity of the NFL indicates they apparently can’t.
The fact that it was illegal for decades is enough reason to ban it ..
People can't be afraid to play football.
So was the forward pass.
That's why I think the language would need to be specific. It would have to do completely with putting your hands or your body on the back and pushing him forward. If the player is blocking a defender and the RB is incidentally pushed forward, then it's not a penalty.
