NFL Rules Changes 2008
 |
| Wednesday, April 2, 2008 |
The owner’s meetings have resulted in various minor tweaks to the rules but the two most controversial, requiring players with long hair to keep it tucked under their helmets and allowing wild-card teams with superior records to have home field advantage over a division winner, were not passed.
Competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons, was not surprised about the lack of support for reseeding, in which a wild-card team with a better record than a division winner would play at home in the first playoff round. “This idea we wanted to push this year to get the discussion going,” McKay said. “There were not a lot of hands up, so we withdrew the proposal for now. There is the historical idea that a division champion should have a home game.”
That was exactly why Patriots owner Robert Kraft opposed reseeding. “I do believe if you win a division, it’s good for your fans to know you will have a home game,” Kraft said. “To win a division, there is a reward and we wanted to keep that.”
There also remains concern about late-season games becoming meaningless when teams already have secured their playoff positions. Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated discussions of reseeding are not dead. “The focus I said to the competition committee is what are the alternatives we have to make sure every game is as competitive as possible,” Goodell said. “I think the debate was good.”
While I can see wanting teams to play hard in the closing weeks, giving wild card teams superior seeding just flies in the face of tradition. If you’re going to do that, why not just eliminate divisions — and conferences — altogether and simply pick the teams with the twelve best records?
Among the proposals that were passed:
• A recommendation to eliminate force-out decisions on pass completions near the sidelines. Now, officials will only have to decide whether a receiver landed in bounds or not. The intended result is more consistency.
• The “Phil Dawson field goal rule.”. Now, certain field goals can be reviewed by instant replay, including kicks that bounce off the uprights. Under the previous system, no field goals could be replayed.
• Deferring the opening coin toss. This is similar to the college rule. Previously, the winner of the coin toss could only choose to receive or kick off.
• A direct snap from center that goes backward will now be treated as a fumble. Previously, it was ruled a false start.
• Eliminating the 5-yard face mask penalty. Now, only the serious face mask will be called (and will be assessed as a 15-yard penalty). The major foul will involve twisting or grabbing the face mask.
Those all make sense. The 5-yard face mask is just too much of a judgment call and we wind up with too many ticky-tack calls on it. Frankly, I’d like to eliminate most of the incidental contact and “illegal motion” type penalties, which slow down the game and take it away from the players.
- Tony Romo Rule
- NFL owners pass change to playoff Overtime rules
- NFL to Consider Several Rules Changes for 2006
- Coach Joe Gibbs blunder wins game for Buffalo Bills
- Are we ready for some Florida Panthers hockey?
- NHL: No changes to schedule, playoffs
- Colts Go Back to Baltimore, Beat Ravens 15-6
- Vanderjagt Kicks 50-Yarder in Cowboys Debut
- Stronger Kickers Changing Game Strategy
- Vikings Kicker Throws TD Pass, Kicks Winning Field Goal
- Eight is Enough- Edmonton beats Chicago 8-4
- Lydia Ko wins New South Wales Open
- The Comeback I- Pittsburgh Penguins beat NY Islanders 5-0
- Seattle Mariners Outfielder Greg Halman stabbed to death at age 24
- Hee Young Park wins CME Titleholders Championship
- Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball Coach Kurt Budke dead at 50
- Costly mistake- Blackhawks waive Rostislav Olesz
- Manager Tony La Russa announces retirement
- Puck Drop- Florida Panthers start the 2011-12 NHL season
- 13-time PGA Tour winner Dave Hill dead at 74
|
Permalink
| Send TrackBack
- Right Truth linked with Real Life Experiences...
- Wolf Pangloss linked with Pity Party: AngryJournalist.com...
- Leaning Straight Up linked with Checking Hell’s temperature, as the 9th Circuit Court Upholds Ten Commandments display...
- third world county linked with You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up…...
- D=S linked with WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME?
- Things Aren’t Always What They Seem
- Democrat Senator Calls For Tighter Border Security
- Stageleft:. Life on the left side : Yeah, That’s Appropriate
- Pirate's Cove linked with Global Warming Today: Germany Says “Do As I Say, Not As I Do”...
- Conservative Cat linked with Out Cold Without a Comment Script...
Comments are Closed
