The NFL Now Has James Jones, Joey Porter, and Aaron Rodgers Rules

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http://deadspin.com/the-nfl-now-has-james-jones-and-joey-porter-rules-1781512782

The NFL Now Has James Jones And Joey Porter Rules
Barry Petchesky

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As pointed out by Mike Pereira, the NFL makes a bunch of rule changes each year that aren’t technically rule changes—the rulebook wording can be adjusted under existing rules without having to send something to the Competition Committee. We’ve got some new ones for 2016, and they’re all direct responses to things that happened last season.

1. Packers WR James Jones took the field wearing a hoodie under his jersey, and it actually managed not to violate the league’s draconian uniform policy. (But only because it was an approved team color, the sleeves were the right length, and it was made by an NFL apparel partner.)

No more. Jones is an unsigned free agent, but if he finds work he’ll have to go without the hoodie. The updated uniform policy specifically forbids them, because the hood can block a player’s nameplate.

2. Another new rule expressly forbids assistant coaches from entering the field of play for any reason other than to attend to an injured player. This had to be clarified after the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh wild card game, when Steelers assistant Joey Porter came out ostensibly to check on a concussed Antonio Brown, but ended up getting into a shoving match with Bengals players.

Porter was fined $10,000 for his involvement, but going forward officials will know it should be a flag as well. Too late for the Bengals, who lost on a field goal and really could have used an offsetting penalty.

3. A third rule covers something that may never ever happen again—but it happened once, so why not put it in writing? In the Cardinals-Packers playoff game, referee Clete Blakeman flipped the coin...and it didn’t flip.

The rulebook now mandates that a coin must turn over at least once in the air, and if it doesn’t, the ref must re-flip it, with the captain’s original call standing. That’s exactly what Blakeman did, but at the time the rulebook left it up to his judgment. Now it’s codified.

As always, the NFL realized that what it needed more than anything was more rules.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ron-rodgers-rules-clarifications-not-changes/

NFL calls James Jones, Joey Porter and Aaron Rodgers rules “clarifications,” not changes
Posted by Michael David Smith on June 10, 2016

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AP

In the last few days, we’ve learned that the NFL passed what we’ll call the James Jones Rule, the Joey Porter Rule and the Aaron Rodgers Rule. But the NFL says these were technically rules “clarifications,” not rules changes.

To review, the James Jones Rule says that players can’t wear exposed hoodies under their uniforms, as Jones did last season. The Joey Porter Rule says that assistant coaches can’t go on the field during games, as Porter did in the playoffs against the Bengals. And the Aaron Rodgers Rule says that if the coin doesn’t flip on the coin flip, the referee has to flip it again, but the team captain doesn’t get to change his call — which Rodgers wanted to do when the coin didn’t flip during the Packers’ overtime loss to the Cardinals.

Ordinarily, rules changes are debated and approved in March. So why are we just learning of these rules changes in June? Because they’re technically rules “clarifications,” not rules changes.

“Rules changes were voted on by the clubs at the March or May owners meetings,” NFL spokesman Mike Signora told PFT. “Rules clarifications happen every year and are approved by the Competition Committee and then included as part of the official playing rules. The 2016 Rule Book will be finalized later this month and we will make it publicly available as always.”

Here’s hoping these clarifications don’t make the NFL’s already complex rules even more complicated.