SibannacRex
Active Member
- Messages
- 564
- Reaction score
- 116
8 Total, only T.O. wasn't a Cowboy at the time.
From Wikipedia:
Rules named after players
Throughout the league's history, a number of rules have been enacted largely because of a single player's exploits on the field. The following is a partial list of such rule changes:
From Wikipedia:
Rules named after players
Throughout the league's history, a number of rules have been enacted largely because of a single player's exploits on the field. The following is a partial list of such rule changes:
- Adam Vinatieri rule[citation needed] -- On successful field goals, five seconds will elapse on the game clock. Enacted in 2002 after the Patriots' kicker won Super Bowl XXXVI on the last play of the game. The clock ticked down from seven seconds to zero even though Vinatieri's kick appeared to sail between the uprights while time still remained.
- Bronko Nagurski rule[10] -- forward passing made legal from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage. Enacted in 1933. Prior to this rule change a player had to be five yards behind the line of scrimmage to throw a forward pass.
- Chad Johnson rule[citation needed] -- players may no longer use a prop or do any act while on the ground during a touchdown celebration. Enacted in 2006.
- Deacon Jones rule[10] -- no head-slapping. Enacted in 1977.
- Deion Sanders rule[11] -- Player salary rule which correlates a contract's signing bonus with its yearly salary. Enacted after Deion Sanders signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 1995 for a minimum salary and a $13 million signing bonus. (There is also a college football rule with this nickname.)
- Emmitt Smith rule[10] -- A player cannot remove his helmet while on the field of play, except in the case of obvious medical difficulty. Enacted in 1997.
- Erik Williams rule[citation needed] -- no hands to the facemask by offensive linemen.
- Fran Tarkenton rule[10] -- a line judge was added as the sixth official to ensure that a back was indeed behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass. Enacted in 1965.
- Jerome Bettis rule[citation needed] -- the coin toss must be called before the coin is tossed. Enacted immediately after an incident during the 1998 Thanksgiving Day game between the Steelers and Lions.
- Ken Stabler rule[10] -- on fourth down at any time in the game, or any down in the final two minutes of play, if a player fumbles, only the fumbling player can recover and/or advance the ball. If that player's teammate recovers the ball, it is placed back at the spot of the fumble. A defensive player can recover and advance at any time of play. Enacted in 1979 in response to the 1978 "Holy Roller" play.
- Lester Hayes rule[10] -- no Stickum allowed. Enacted in 1981.
- Mel Blount rule[12] -- Officially known as illegal use of hands, defensive backs can only make contact with receivers within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Enacted in current form in 1978.
- Mel Renfro rule[10] -- allows a second player on the offense to catch a tipped ball, without a defender subsequently touching it. Enacted in 1978.
- Michael Irvin rule[citation needed] -- no taunting. Another rule, resulting in offensive pass interference, prohibiting WRs to push off CBs, is also often called "the Michael Irvin rule."
- Neil Smith rule[13][14] -- prevents a defensive lineman from flinching to induce a false start penalty on the offense. Enacted in 1998.
- Bert Emanuel rule[15] -- the ball can touch the ground during a completed pass as long as the receiver maintains control of the ball. Enacted due to a play in the 1999 NFC championship game, where Emanuel, playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, had a catch ruled incomplete since the ball touched the ground.
- Terrell Owens rule[citation needed] -- no "foreign objects" on a player's uniform (enacted in response to the 2002 "Sharpie™ incident"), though existing rules already forbade this.
- Ty Law rule[16] -- basically more emphasis on the Mel Blount rule after the New England Patriots committed several uncalled pass interference penalties in the 2003 AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
- Roy Williams rule[17] -- no horse-collar tackles. Enacted in 2005 when Williams broke Terrell Owens's ankle and Musa Smith's leg on horse-collar tackles during the previous season.
- Shawne Merriman rule[18] -- Bans any player from playing in the Pro Bowl if they test positive for using a performance-enhancing drug during that season. Enacted in 2007 after Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman played at the 2007 Pro Bowl after testing positive and serving a four-game suspension during the preceding season.
- Tony Romo rule[19] -- teams will now be given 45 minutes - 25 extra minutes than in years past - to prepare the balls for the game; and 12 sequentially numbered "K" balls will be used in the game, monitored by an official, instead of the ball boys.
- Greg Pruitt rule[20] -- tear-away jerseys are now illegal. Pruitt purposely wore flimsy jerseys that ripped apart in the hands of would-be tacklers.
Lucky jerks!
