This Year's Rule Change Proposals

[blstoker]

Notable/interesting rule proposals:

• Any penalty to be challenged.
• Personal fouls to be challenged.
• All fouls resulting in automatic first downs to be reviewable.
• Increase coaches’ challenges from two to three.
• Add time to the game clock to the list of things that can be reviewed at the end of the half and the end of the game.
• Give teams an extra point attempt after after a two-point conversions.
• Both teams would get a possession in overtime.
• Force eligible players that report as an ineligible receiver to align within the tackle box.

Proposed Bylaw changes:

• Eliminate the 75-player cutdown date
• Changes rules to give NFL teams the ability to contract for draft prospects.
• Allow players on PUP list to being practicing earlier.
• Teams playing on Thursdays would be allowed to designate one player as eligible to return to the active list from injured reserve.

 

[dude82]

I like a lot of those changes, actually. I don't think the league will institute all of them right away, but I think most of them will happen at some point.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Like most of those proposed changes. Interesting list at the least.

 

[TxHeat]

What would rule changes be without having one driven by the Pats.

Glad to see personal fouls able to be challenged. That's huge. Why give a team 15 yards for a non-infraction?

 

[SonnyCID]

I'm not a fan of everything being reviewable and challengable. But I'm in the minority of that and I'm fine with going with the consensus if they choose. But the OT change proposal pisses me off, just more marginalization of defense.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

The 2 point + 1 point thing is just dumb, I don't like that. If a team leads by 8 they deserve to go into OT with a tie (at worst), not automatically lose if the other team converts a 2 point conversion. That's crap.

The NFL must've read my 1,000+ posts across various message boards stating that penalties should've been challenge-able years ago.

 

[JMR]

Throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks is not necessarily a bad thing, but a 9 point possession? C'mon, let's not turn this into the XFL.

Totally fine with "everything" being reviewable if the league comes up with a clean system to make it work, and as long as we're not giving unlimited challenges to coaches. I think allowing refs to review "everything" at their discretion is probably not where we want this to, however.

 

[blstoker]

Alright, found complete list of changes.

Rules:

1) Move kick off from 35 to 40 yard line.

Hate it, Carolina had nearly 75% of their kick offs as touchbacks. In 2010, before moving the kick off from the 30, the league lead for a team was 46%. 20 teams in 2014 would have lead the league in 2010, and all but two would have finished second. This is just another way to remove the kick off from the game, and I hate it - in fact, move it back to the 30.

2) Expand instant replay to include personal foul penalties.

I would be happy if they just expanded it to include PIs.

3) Eliminate OT in the pre-season.

Agreed, no reason to play extra time in a game that means nothing.

4) Extend the goal posts an additional five feet above the cross bar.

WTF! Wasn't it just last year that they wanted to reduce the size of the goal posts to make field goals harder, and this year they're wanting to make them larger to make FGs easier? Just leave them alone.

5) Move the line of scrimmage for extra point attempts to the 25-yard line. Two-point conversion attempts still would be snapped from the 2-yard line.

Why fix something that isn't broken. Who cares that 99.3% of PATs are converted. I hate that they feel that because there aren't enough missed or blocks that it has to be changed for more excitement. If your fans can't sit through a PAT without losing interest, then they weren't interested in the first place.

6) Put six cameras on all boundary lines -- sideline, goal line, end line, to guarantee coverage for replay reviews.

I guess if you're going to make something reviewable, then give it the best chance of being seen correctly.

7) Permit a coach to challenge any official’s decision, except scoring plays, which are automatically reviewed.

Don't like it. I understand everyone hates that the refs can become part of the game, but that happens much less than people want to believe it does. It'll just get in the way, and if the rule isn't written correctly, even getting a player's number wrong could overturn a legitimate call (just an example, not sure that would be the case).

8) Protect players from getting the sides of their legs rolled up on — the rule already says a blocker can’t hit an opponent in the back of the legs, this proposal will add "or side" to the rule.

No. Tackling is already a major pain in the ass, and now it'll be just that much more difficult to block. This will completely eliminate the chop block, and that would be unfortunate.

9) Allow the referee to consult with members of the NFL officiating department during replay reviews. The referee would be able to speak with the command center in New York to help in reviewing a play.

No. Leave officiating the game to the refs, otherwise why not just have NY ref the game remotely and eliminate the live crew completely.

10) Re-organize the rules about what can be reviewed and what cannot be reviewed, including making the recovery of a loose ball in the field of play reviewable. This is referred to as the NaVorro Bowman rule, after a controversial call in this past season's NFC Championship Game.

Depending on what they put in it, I don't mind this rule. It truly sucks that the 9ers lost Bowman and still didn't get the ball on that play.

11) Don’t stop the clock on a sack. Currently, the clock stops on a sack and then restarts when the ball is placed at the new line of scrimmage.

Agreed. No reason to stop the clock on a sack. It's just like a RB getting stopped for a loss, so shouldn't be allowed to stop clock.

12) Modify pass interference so that it can be called within 1 yard of the line of scrimmage.

I don't like expanding the rule, but to be honest I didn't know that it couldn't be called within 1 yard. This should go both ways, WRs shouldn't be allowed to block on screens early, just a DBs shouldn't be allowed to run through the WR either.

13) Enforce defensive fouls behind the line of scrimmage from the previous spot, rather than from the end of the run or from the spot of the foul.

No problem with this rule.

Bylaws:

1) Raise the number of active players on game day from 46 to 49 for regular season games played on a day other than Sunday or Monday, excluding Week One.

I like it, it shouldn't really change how Thursday games are played, but would allow for deeper bench in case of fatigue. I would still prefer then to just go ahead and do it for all games, but if any game would need it, it would be the Thursday games.

2) Raise the practice squad limit from eight players to 10 players.

Like it. The more the merrier.

3) Permit clubs to trade players prior to the start of the league year.

Again, I like it. I understand making free agents wait til their contract is up, but once the Super Bowl is completed, trades should be ok.

4) Eliminate the cut-down to 75 players during Training Camp and instead just have one cut-down from 90 players to 53 players.

Nothing to complain about with this one. Allow players to get more experience that could help those cut catch on somewhere.

5) Permit more than one player to return to the active list from Injured Reserve so that any player on Injured Reserve could return after six weeks.

I'm sure there's abuse in there somewhere, but I actually like it. A team is hurt enough to have players injured, allowing them a chance to bring players back would allow them to use the IR similarly to how baseball uses the 60 day DL.

6) Permit each club to time and test up to 10 draft-eligible players at its facility, and allow any club that wishes to attend timing and testing at another team’s facility.

No. If you want a prospect, give him your time. Don't send someone to every other teams' workouts so that you can see as many as you want (that's what the combine is for).

7) Adjust the time of the roster reduction after the fourth preseason game from 6 p.m. EST to 4 p.m. EST. All teams would have to have their list of final cuts in by 4 p.m.

Just a formality, and not sure what reducing the time 2 hours really does.

Resolution:

1) Permit a home team with a retractable roof to open or close its roof at halftime, instead of having to determine at the start of the game whether it is open or closed.

No problems. It doesn't change the flow of the game.

 

[Screamin12th]

Blstoker you miss read or miss understood

4) Extend the goal posts an additional five feet above the cross bar.

they mean make them TALLER not wider to try and eliminate some of the over the top was it in or not kicks.

 

[blstoker]

Blstoker you miss read or miss understood


they mean make them TALLER not wider to try and eliminate some of the over the top was it in or not kicks.

Yeah, misread. Thought they were extending the cross bar. Not an issue, then.