NFL Rule Changes........WTF????

[BigKen]

From the time of the league merger in 1970 until 2001, the NFL Rules pretty much were etched in stone. In 2001 the stone began to crack. During the first round of the AFC playoff, Patriots QB Tom Brady was hit and appeared to fumble the ball. The officials needed to look at the replay because the snow was so bad that they were unsure of what actually happened. After review, it was determined that Brady's arm was coming forward and the "Tuck Rule" became the first "rule" to change a game's outcome. Of course Oakland Raiders' fans thought that the rule had been just created to take away their chance at another Super Bowl and they screamed that it was "Anti-Raider". Immediately after, several of the passing rules were carefully looked at and the discussion of what was a pass and what wasn't became a new subject of a need to clarify. Things calmed down for awhile.

In 2006 Farve, Manning, Brady and Brees were the new line of QBs and the league was starting to pull in millions of new fans. In 2005 the Colts and Peyton Manning were throwing footballs all over creation and fans loved it.................until the Colts faced the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. The rules allowed defensive backs to pretty much do anything they wanted to slow down , hinder or just plain beat up a wide receiver. The Patriots brutalized the Colts wide receivers and the Patriots beat the Colts air force. Immediately following that game, Bill Polian and Bob Irsay screamed like wounded ducks and bitched and whined and moaned about Ty Law beating te hell out of the Colts WRs. The NFL decided to look at other game films and other teams. They found that the Colts weren't the only team that had their WRs being whacked around. Following the 2005 season, the rules about defending WRs were changed and defenders could not longer touch a WR after 5 yards, defenders could not impede a WR beyond the initial line of scrimmage and defenders could no longer hold a wide reciever's arm from extending to catch the ball. The NFL decided that offense meant more money and that defending receivers could imperil income.

Move forward to 2015. 68% of kickoffs were not returned. Kickers were kicking the ball out of the end zone on kickoffs. Concussions were starting to make the headlines and were being discussed on television and radio. The league Competition Committee decided to change the rules and bring the ball out to the 25 yard line instead of the 20 if the ball was not returned or the kicker kicked the ball out of tyhe end zone. Bill Belichick made a decision to instruct his kicker to not lick a kickoff as deep and keep te ball in the field of play and force teams to run the ball back on kickoffs. Other teams saw what the Patriots were doing and decided to follow suit. Special Teams became a much more serious consideration because teams were no forcing opponents to run back the ball and any return that was cut off behind the 25 yard line was considered successful. Fast forward to 2017 and 41% of kickoffs were not returned. Citing safety, the Competition Committee is considering doing away with kickoffs as a "Player Safety" consideration and just putting the ball on the 20 or 25 yard line.

Since 2001, the NFL has changed more rules than it had in had prior in its entire history. At first it was to create parity and even the playing field so that every team had a chance to make the playoffs and win a Super Bowl. Now it's player safety. At least the NFL is saying that. The honest reason is that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have always been one step ahead of what the NFL was trying to do and every time they changed a rule, the Patriots used the rule to their advantage. IN 2018 the league is changing the rules again. And again the Patriots are part of the problem. In the 2018 playoffs Pittsburgh Steeler TE Jessie James caught a pass, twisted and extended across the goal line for an apparent touchdown. By NFL rule, it was reviewed as all TDs are required to be reviewed. The TD was not allowed and the catch was called an incompletion because James struck the ball on the ground and it became loose and he did not control it. The Steelers then threw an interception and the game was over. The Steelers bitched and moaned and screamed about the 'rule' of what a catch is and that rules will be changed going forward.

What the hell is going on?? It's a league problem. The NFL has become a reactionary league when it comes to rules. They change a rule when owners start bitching about a call. All it takes is one call to change the outcome of a game in a playoff, especially if it favors the New England Patriots. If the Jessie James catch/non-catch had happened during the season between the Dolphins and Jets, nothing would have ever been said nor would the league have even thought one second about changing a rule.

Every time a call or a game has involved the Patriots and specific rules has been cited and tyhe call favors the Patriots, millions of fans think the rule was pulled out a hat to screw on team and favior the Patriots. Over the past 18 years, the Patriots have been involved in more controversial calls than most other teams and because they are the most hated franchise, the league feels compelled to change those rules that benefited the Patriots.

Biggest problem?? The rule changes effect every team, not just the Patriots and the Patriots seem to study the changes and make those changes work for them. Sort of like the formation change against the Ravens, when the Patriots knew and understood the rules, and Raven's coach Harbaugh didn't. The Ravens and Harbaugh screeched like hell, but no rules were broken. The league changed the formation rules..............................Patriots have been in three Super Bowls since, how many have the Ravens participated in??

 

[Davis_Mike]

Condense that down to a one paragraph paraphrase or very few will read that wall of text.

#CliffNotesVersion

 

[jarntt]

Even the first paragraph was too long to read. I didn't even attempt the next 13

 

[cwerph]

1. By Competition Committee: Makes permanent the playing rule that changes the spot of the next snap after a touchback resulting from a free kick to the 25-yard line.

2. By Competition Committee: Changes standard for a catch.

3. By Competition Committee: Makes the penalties for Illegal Batting & Kicking the same.

4. By Los Angeles Chargers: Amends Rule 15, Section 2, Article 5 to add fouls for roughing the passer and fouls against players in a defenseless posture as reviewable plays in the instant replay system.

5. By Washington: Amends Rule 15, Section 2, Article 5 to add review of personal fouls as reviewable plays in the instant replay system.

6. By New York Jets: Amends Rule 8, Section 5, Articles 1-4 to change the enforcement for defensive pass interference.

7. By Competition Committee: Authorizes the designated member of the Officiating department to instruct on-field game officials to disqualify a player for a flagrant nonfootball act when a foul for that act is called on the field.

8. By Competition Committee: Conforms the amount of time in which a team must challenge a play if there is a television commercial break following the play in question.

9. By Competition Committee: Eliminates the requirement that a team who scores a winning touchdown at the end of regulation of a game to kick the extra point or go for two-point conversion.

10. By Competition Committee: If there is a turnover, a team may win an overtime game, even though it scores on its second possession.

 

[SteelersPride]

is anyone reading that mess

 

[Fountain City Blues]

is anyone reading that mess

Looks like a lot of whining and a myopic Pats-centric view of said rule changes.

 

[Southieinnc]

I didn't read to see if it was there but,

The new Pass interference rule should be called either
" the Brandon Cooks rule" or the "Pats hater rule" (latest edition)

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I didn't read to see if it was there but,

The new Pass interference rule should be called either
" the Brandon Cooks rule" or the "Pats hater rule" (latest edition)

Looks like a lot of whining and a myopic Pats-centric view of said rule changes.

 

[BottleWalk]

I looked at a little bit and gave up because it wasn't worth the time. The author was whining about stuff involving the pats and frankly any pats fan who wants sympathy from anyone else in the league is a bit dense.

Unless there is some specific reason to give the author the benefit of the doubt (or long paragraph posts are the norm, which they aren't), anyone who makes a post that long OR reads a post that long in a place like this is a bit strange imo...

Forums like this are fun ways for people who don't know anything to give their short but often emotional takes on sports. Trying to get this far into things, especially if you're kind of a doofus yourself, is not what places like this are for and won't gain you anything.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Not sure I get your point.

Changes like challenges just make sense... and nobody really objects these, in fact most people are asking to use the computer strike zone in baseball which I 100% agree with. That said, a lot of the rule changes have been implemented as a result of player safety which is really for 2 reasons these days:

1) Ratings/Money

• Losing star players to injury hurts ratings.
• Players given increasingly large contracts.
• Medical costs, etc. are becoming more expensive.

2) Social Media/Media Backlash (since basically early 2000s as you state the changes started happening)

• Media is highly scrutinizing the NFL for injuries players sustain.
• Soccer moms and hippies are screaming for something be done since we embraced women in football
• More penalties surrounding 15 yard personal foul/unsportsman and ejections to again, appease snowflakes watching
• "What about the children!" "We need ROLE MODELS!" since nobody wants to parent these days and raise their kids through what's on a screen. What happened to parents being the role model? Whatever.

As to your other points:

• What specific rules have been implemented to give 'every team a chance'? I have no idea what you're talking about. If it's a touchback, teams that were < .500 the year prior don't get to start with the ball on the 35 yard line... ?
• If a coaching staff utilizes the rules to their advantage, good? I guess that's just a better coaching staff then. It's not like the NFL is saying, "ONLY THE PATS can build a team that favors the rules! If anyone else wants to acquire a free agent/draft pick, we will study first to understand what team you are building and either approve or reject that move." If they change the shotgun hunting rules to allow for 5 shells as opposed to 3, and a bunch of dorks want to go out there with 3 while I'm rocking 5, then fuck those idiots... Nobody is stopping any other team from doing what Bill does.

 

[SteelersPride]

Not sure I get your point.

Changes like challenges just make sense... and nobody really objects these, in fact most people are asking to use the computer strike zone in baseball which I 100% agree with. That said, a lot of the rule changes have been implemented as a result of player safety which is really for 2 reasons these days:

1) Ratings/Money

• Losing star players to injury hurts ratings.
• Players given increasingly large contracts.
• Medical costs, etc. are becoming more expensive.

2) Social Media/Media Backlash (since basically early 2000s as you state the changes started happening)

• Media is highly scrutinizing the NFL for injuries players sustain.
• Soccer moms and hippies are screaming for something be done since we embraced women in football
• More penalties surrounding 15 yard personal foul/unsportsman and ejections to again, appease snowflakes watching
• "What about the children!" "We need ROLE MODELS!" since nobody wants to parent these days and raise their kids through what's on a screen. What happened to parents being the role model? Whatever.

As to your other points:

• What specific rules have been implemented to give 'every team a chance'? I have no idea what you're talking about. If it's a touchback, teams that were < .500 the year prior don't get to start with the ball on the 35 yard line... ?
• If a coaching staff utilizes the rules to their advantage, good? I guess that's just a better coaching staff then. It's not like the NFL is saying, "ONLY THE PATS can build a team that favors the rules! If anyone else wants to acquire a free agent/draft pick, we will study first to understand what team you are building and either approve or reject that move." If they change the shotgun hunting rules to allow for 5 shells as opposed to 3, and a bunch of dorks want to go out there with 3 while I'm rocking 5, then fuck those idiots... Nobody is stopping any other team from doing what Bill does.

you read all that

 

[Ricky Roma]

The biggest rule/league changes since the merger came for the 1978 season. 14 games to 16 games, and the game completely revised the pass rules to which the game has probably never seen in a stretch over one year. Yeah, the game has continuously altered and mostly for the offensive benefits...(which also has been beneficial to the Pats)

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

I hate all the tinkering with this great game, it's not what it used to be ... Other than the concussion issue which I understand making changes there, but everything else has turned into a pussy league that does everything to make it harder to play defense... Nothing like great NFL defenses that are hard as #@W# to move the ball on.. BEST football to watch ...

 

[bksballer89]

is anyone reading that mess

No

 

[Groo]

NFL adds 15-yard penalty for grounds crew clearing snow for a field goal

 

[Southieinnc]

NFL adds 15-yard penalty for grounds crew clearing snow for a field goal

Nice bump. Thank you....

 

[SteelersPride]

Im still not reading this

 

[eaglesnut]

That was a great read. But you forgot how it all culminated in the Eagles defeating your protagonist.

 

[Southieinnc]

That was a great read. But you forgot how it all culminated in the Eagles defeating your protagonist.

good one!

 

[SteelersPride]

good one!

+sigh+