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FORCE OUT, FACEMASK RULES CHANGED
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 2, 2008, 11:40 a.m.
NFL teams approved several rules changes at the league meeting today, most of which were an effort to make the rules easier to understand and enforce.
The biggest change is that the force out rule no longer exists. In the past, if a receiver jumped to catch a ball and was pushed out of bounds while he was in the air, officials had to make a judgment call to determine whether he would have come down in bounds. That rule, which many observers felt was enforced inconsistently, has been eliminated, and now it’s simple: If the receiver didn’t touch two feet or one of any other body part in bounds, it’s an incomplete pass.
Five-yard facemask penalties have also been eliminated. Serious face masks involving grabbing or twisting the player’s helmet will remain 15-yard penalties, and minor face masks involving a player accidentally grabbing the mask and immediately letting go will not be flagged at all.
Another rules change involves the opening coin toss, where the NFL will now adopt the college rule that allows the coach to defer his choice of kicking or receiving until the second half.
The league also made field goals on which the ball bounces off the goal post reviewable by instant replay. Last year Browns kicker Phil Dawson made a field goal that passed over the crossbar, bounced off the support post and went back into the field of play. The officials initially ruled the kick no good before correctly ruling it good. Last year they were not permitted to use replay to determine whether the kick was good; in the future they will be able to use it on such field goals.
The league also has changed two rules regarding fumbles: A legal forward handoff that is dropped is now a fumble, as is a direct snap from center that hits the ground before it is touched by the quarterback. In the past, the forward handoff would have been an incomplete pass and the botched snap would have been a false start.
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NO VOTE ON PLAYOFF RESEEDING
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 2, 2008, 10:33 a.m.
No changes appear to be coming in the way NFL teams are seeded in the playoffs.
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that owners today tabled the proposal for re-seeding the playoffs, deciding not to bother taking a formal vote on the issue because the clear consensus of the NFL executives in the room was that it had no chance to pass.
The NFL’s Competition Committee had proposed a change in the way the six playoff teams from each conference are seeded. Instead of guaranteeing all four division winners of at least one playoff home game, the proposal would have allowed a wild card team to host a first-round game if it finished the regular season with a better record than a division winner.
The thinking in some corners was that such a rule change would have created a greater incentive for teams to play hard in Week 17, when many of the best teams rest their best players, and games begin to look like exhibitions. But the proposal would have needed a three-fourths majority to be adopted, and well over one-fourth of the owners were skeptical about any rule change that would have made a division title less important.
Permalink | 4 Comments Back to Top
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 2, 2008, 11:40 a.m.
NFL teams approved several rules changes at the league meeting today, most of which were an effort to make the rules easier to understand and enforce.
The biggest change is that the force out rule no longer exists. In the past, if a receiver jumped to catch a ball and was pushed out of bounds while he was in the air, officials had to make a judgment call to determine whether he would have come down in bounds. That rule, which many observers felt was enforced inconsistently, has been eliminated, and now it’s simple: If the receiver didn’t touch two feet or one of any other body part in bounds, it’s an incomplete pass.
Five-yard facemask penalties have also been eliminated. Serious face masks involving grabbing or twisting the player’s helmet will remain 15-yard penalties, and minor face masks involving a player accidentally grabbing the mask and immediately letting go will not be flagged at all.
Another rules change involves the opening coin toss, where the NFL will now adopt the college rule that allows the coach to defer his choice of kicking or receiving until the second half.
The league also made field goals on which the ball bounces off the goal post reviewable by instant replay. Last year Browns kicker Phil Dawson made a field goal that passed over the crossbar, bounced off the support post and went back into the field of play. The officials initially ruled the kick no good before correctly ruling it good. Last year they were not permitted to use replay to determine whether the kick was good; in the future they will be able to use it on such field goals.
The league also has changed two rules regarding fumbles: A legal forward handoff that is dropped is now a fumble, as is a direct snap from center that hits the ground before it is touched by the quarterback. In the past, the forward handoff would have been an incomplete pass and the botched snap would have been a false start.
Permalink | 1 Comment Back to Top
NO VOTE ON PLAYOFF RESEEDING
Posted by Michael David Smith on April 2, 2008, 10:33 a.m.
No changes appear to be coming in the way NFL teams are seeded in the playoffs.
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that owners today tabled the proposal for re-seeding the playoffs, deciding not to bother taking a formal vote on the issue because the clear consensus of the NFL executives in the room was that it had no chance to pass.
The NFL’s Competition Committee had proposed a change in the way the six playoff teams from each conference are seeded. Instead of guaranteeing all four division winners of at least one playoff home game, the proposal would have allowed a wild card team to host a first-round game if it finished the regular season with a better record than a division winner.
The thinking in some corners was that such a rule change would have created a greater incentive for teams to play hard in Week 17, when many of the best teams rest their best players, and games begin to look like exhibitions. But the proposal would have needed a three-fourths majority to be adopted, and well over one-fourth of the owners were skeptical about any rule change that would have made a division title less important.
Permalink | 4 Comments Back to Top
