2021 Rule Change Proposals

[nighttrain]

almost everything has problems, only rule that counts, if it aint broke, leave it the hell alone
train

 

[12intheBox]

Yeah - but the overtime rule is broke

 

[CGI_Ram]

Spot and Choose: The overtime idea the NFL must implement

The Baltimore Ravens are reportedly planning to propose a new overtime strategy called "Spot and Choose." It's a great idea.

www.yahoo.com

@Riverumbbq

I do kind of like the spot and choose idea.

could make for interesting strategy choices.

That is interesting.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

That is interesting.

I don’t like it.
Go to regular OT. Each team gets a shot to score. Start on the 50 yard line to save time. No sudden death. A coin toss shouldn’t give either team an advantage. If no winner after 15 minutes then game is a tie. No rewarding offenses for poor play and penalizing defenses for good play.

 

[Raptorman]

I think we need a new rule requiring the TV cameras to spend more time showing the Cheerleaders. In Green Bay, they can show the drunks in the stands.

 

[Mackeyser]

The NFL's got 99 problems, but a kick ain't one...

 

[RhodyRams]

Put the ball on the 50 yard line.

Each team lines up at their 25.

Blow the whistle

First team with clear possession makes the choice offense or defense

 

[Riverumbbq]

Put the ball on the 50 yard line.

Each team lines up at their 25.

Blow the whistle

First team with clear possession makes the choice offense or defense

It will take 10 minutes just to unravel the pile.

 

[dieterbrock]

Put the ball on the 50 yard line.

Each team lines up at their 25.

Blow the whistle

First team with clear possession makes the choice offense or defense

Only after each player spins 10x in a big dizzy bat race of course

 

[CGI_Ram]

KRYK: NFL moves closer to ‘sky judge’ with new rule

Replay official in press box can now buzz down to fix ‘objective’ gaffes

canoe.com

KRYK: NFL moves closer to ‘sky judge’ with new rule​

One of seven new NFL playing rules for 2021 — approved Wednesday by owners — might not create a so-called “sky judge” or “booth umpire,” as coaches have been lobbying now for years.

But it does empower the replay official to radio down and stop play, at any time, to fix gaffes and oversights — if only for calls or matters of an objective nature, not subjective.

In particular, the replay official may now either be consulted by the referee, or proactively stop the game and call down to the referee, to “advise the game officials on specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious video evidence is present, and/or to address game administration issues, including but not limited to” penalty enforcement, proper down, the spot of a foul, the game clock, possession, a completed or intercepted pass, either the touching by a player or location of the ball in relation to out-of-bounds or goal lines, and whether a player is down by contact.

Excluded from that list: Offensive or defensive holding, and offensive or defensive pass interference.

Yeah, the biggies. They’re often the most controversial, impactful and disputed calls in a game.

Just ask New Orleans Saints fans. Their team probably was denied a Super Bowl berth in January 2019 when officials did not throw a flag for blatant defensive pass-interference by a Los Angeles Rams defender, which prevented the Saints from running out the clock before attempting a short game-winning field goal in the NFC championship game — which wound up leaving the Rams enough time to come back and win in overtime.

A fully empowered replay official (or whatever you want to call him or her) surely would have corrected that gaffe. The new NFL rule stops short of permitting that fix, alas.

But we’re much closer to that outcome.

One must understand that the NFL’s designated keeper-of-the-rules — the competition committee — permits the game to evolve only at glacial speed with regard to both replay and better officiating. So, gotta be patient and just accept this is a step in the right direction.

It did appear to many of us — fans, media, even people around the league I’ve talked to — that these newly approved replay-official-to-referee consultations already were taking place this past season. The replay official is situated in the press box and is in direct communication with the league’s replay command centre in New York, as well as with the referee.

The number of times a referee paused this past season while huddling with the rest of his crew seemed to occur at a much higher rate.

“There’s no question that was happening,” a league source said. “You’d see one of the officials press his (wireless communication) button.

“The majority of time it was coming from the replay official at the stadium. I don’t know how often New York was getting involved. But the replay official was helping. You know, in picking up a flag, or doing something.”

On a Wednesday afternoon NFL conference call with reporters, I asked both Troy Vincent (executive VP of football operations) and Rich McKay (chair of the competition committee) if, in fact, such consultations were occurring last season.

“We didn’t insert ourselves from New York a year ago,” Vincent said. “We appreciate, at times, when officials huddle up to get the call right. We think there’s an appreciation for that. But there was a feeling, at times, they were huddling up unnecessarily.

“But that’s the referee and his crew’s call, as to when they think that’s appropriate. Now, with what we’re implementing, with the change of communication and how we’re communicating, we hope that we can avoid some of those unnecessary times.”

McKay added, as a reminder, that on-field officials last season did not get one off-season or pre-season practice rep because of the pandemic.

“Their first rep for the year was the first play of their first game, which is a very challenging thing,” McKay said. “They did a really good job, under really challenging circumstances.”

Other new rules passed Wednesday by owners:

— Overtime is eliminated in pre-season games. Thank goodness. One quarter down, four to go.

— In a one-year experiment, to limit the number of receiving-team players to nine permitted to line up in the “setup zone” — which is the sideline-to-sideline area within 15 yards of the restraining line (10 yards from the kickoff spot). Previously, all 11 players could and typically would line up in this area whenever an onside kick was expected. The hope is the new nine-man limit will permit a slightly greater number of onside kicks to be recovered.

— Eliminating the rare circumstance whereby a team that chose to try a one-point conversion kick commits a foul that backs up the kick, but then — after an accepted defensive penalty — gets the choice of going for two with the defensive penalty’s walk-off taking the ball from the two-yard line to the one. Effectively negating the offensive foul on the previous snap, which was unfair.

— Another rare-circumstance rulebook cleanup: Adding a loss of down when a second forward pass on a play is thrown after the ball had been advanced beyond the line, but then returned behind it.

— Expanding jersey-number options: For running backs, fullbacks, tight ends, H-backs and wide receivers, from 1-49 and 80-89; for all offensive linemen (not just centres), from 50-79; and for linebackers, 1-59 and 90-99.

Six other rules proposals either were withdrawn, tabled or voted down by owners, including a creative idea submitted by the Baltimore Ravens for determining who gets the ball to start overtime, and retaining possession after you score not by recovering an on-side kick but by converting a fourth-and-15 from your own 25-yard line.

McKay added that a number of officiating “points of emphasis” for 2021 will include a more precise interpretation of what constitutes offensive holding, as flags thrown for that infraction plummeted last season.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?

In LA Rams News: The NFL is again emphasizing their anti-taunting stance. It appears that it's back to the No Fun League once more folks.

ramblinfan.com

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?​

Look out, LA Rams. It seems that the NFL will once more take a harder stance towards the enforcement of the anti-taunting rules in the 2021 NFL season. So while that sounds great on paper, we know full well how that ramping up of enforcement seems to take place when the theory is put into practice on the football field.

At least, that is the latest report from Michael David Smith from ProFootballTalk of NBC Sports. In his article, Smith cites comments from Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL Competition Committee.

“The NFL has become too lax in taunting. The face to face, the pointing of fingers, the standing over players on the ground, will be penalized.” Rich McKay said per ProFootballTalk Michael David Smith

Will be penalized? Sure. But will they be penalized objectively and uniformly? Well, we’ll see.

Subjective enforcement​

Rules seem to applied subjectively and to alter the outcomes of games sometimes. Perhaps it’s just that the quality of NFL officiating has taken a tumble with so many options of review and coach’s challenges. Perhaps the controversial officiating is all part of a marketing strategy to sell more tickets and views? But it detracts from the value of a game’s outcome.

So whenever the NFL talks about emphasizing certain aspects of the rule book to get better adherence, I’m left a little bewildered. After all, that same NFL rulebook should penalize offensive linemen who grab the facemask of Aaron Donald, put him in a chokehold, tackle him, or reach around and pull him down from behind by his shoulder pads. But the officials on the field always seem to miss those plays.

And yet, when it’s an offensive lineman called for holding when the Rams are blocking, they seldom seem to miss those infractions.

NFL = No Fun League​

Maybe it’s that way for all teams. Maybe the enforcement of rules registers less when the opponent does it but becomes more of a factor when the penalty is against the team the fan or fans are rooting for. That may be the case. But the truth is that penalties in the NFL have become lax, and only seem to be enforced when the outcome of the game is in question.

So I can definitely see this type of penalty becoming problematic for wide receiver DeSean Jackson after making a big catch in a closely contested game. I can see the Rams defensive stopping the offense on 3rd down and long, but a flag flying for taunting after a Jalen Ramsey spontaneous celebration gives the opposing offense a new set of downs. And I can even see the Rams Aaron Donald getting penalized after a vicious quarterback sack.

It seems that celebrating touchdowns remains AOK. But for the rest of the game, it’s back to the NFL that we’ve come to know and love. The No Fun League is back.

 

[Loyal]

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?

In LA Rams News: The NFL is again emphasizing their anti-taunting stance. It appears that it's back to the No Fun League once more folks.

ramblinfan.com

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?​

Look out, LA Rams. It seems that the NFL will once more take a harder stance towards the enforcement of the anti-taunting rules in the 2021 NFL season. So while that sounds great on paper, we know full well how that ramping up of enforcement seems to take place when the theory is put into practice on the football field.

At least, that is the latest report from Michael David Smith from ProFootballTalk of NBC Sports. In his article, Smith cites comments from Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL Competition Committee.



Will be penalized? Sure. But will they be penalized objectively and uniformly? Well, we’ll see.

Subjective enforcement​

Rules seem to applied subjectively and to alter the outcomes of games sometimes. Perhaps it’s just that the quality of NFL officiating has taken a tumble with so many options of review and coach’s challenges. Perhaps the controversial officiating is all part of a marketing strategy to sell more tickets and views? But it detracts from the value of a game’s outcome.

So whenever the NFL talks about emphasizing certain aspects of the rule book to get better adherence, I’m left a little bewildered. After all, that same NFL rulebook should penalize offensive linemen who grab the facemask of Aaron Donald, put him in a chokehold, tackle him, or reach around and pull him down from behind by his shoulder pads. But the officials on the field always seem to miss those plays.

And yet, when it’s an offensive lineman called for holding when the Rams are blocking, they seldom seem to miss those infractions.

NFL = No Fun League​

Maybe it’s that way for all teams. Maybe the enforcement of rules registers less when the opponent does it but becomes more of a factor when the penalty is against the team the fan or fans are rooting for. That may be the case. But the truth is that penalties in the NFL have become lax, and only seem to be enforced when the outcome of the game is in question.

So I can definitely see this type of penalty becoming problematic for wide receiver DeSean Jackson after making a big catch in a closely contested game. I can see the Rams defensive stopping the offense on 3rd down and long, but a flag flying for taunting after a Jalen Ramsey spontaneous celebration gives the opposing offense a new set of downs. And I can even see the Rams Aaron Donald getting penalized after a vicious quarterback sack.

It seems that celebrating touchdowns remains AOK. But for the rest of the game, it’s back to the NFL that we’ve come to know and love. The No Fun League is back.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

remember when they enforced taunting on tre johnson against the eagles in 2017. turned the game on it's head, led to wentz tearing his acl, changed the course of the season for both teams.

i have no doubt the rams would have won the game if that ridiculous call wasn't made. the rams were already in the lead and would have scored again as the offense was on fire against the eagles. everybody relaxed when foles entered the game and the rams paid the price.

i can see ramsey getting flagged multiple times this season if they actually crack down on it for the whole season.

.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

The 4th and fifteen rule on the insides kick is bad. It completely changes the play from special teams to offense and defense. Special teams have already been minimalized enough. Why take it any further?

 

[dieterbrock]

— Another rare-circumstance rulebook cleanup: Adding a loss of down when a second forward pass on a play is thrown after the ball had been advanced beyond the line, but then returned behind it.

"Just ask New Orleans Saints fans. Their team probably was denied a Super Bowl berth in January 2019"

 

[dieterbrock]

I think this would be good for everybody but it makes too much sense so it might not be approved.


View: https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/1367183992739536898

Im still hoping this one goes thru, though like you said it makes too much sense, so......

 

[fearsomefour]

Just bring back original onside kicks. It's football, gotta let em smack each other up a bit.

This, of course, is common sense and obvious.
That means there is almost no chance this will happen.
A bunch of smart people paying other smart people a ton of money to make horrible decisions.

 

[fearsomefour]

Amen. Isn't this down and distance the Russell Wilson special?? Donald gets a hand on him, he spins out of another tackle, and then he underthrows a receiver who comes back to make a catch just past the first down marker.

Also gives the shitty officials another chance to throw or not throw PI flags.

 

[fearsomefour]

The NFL rule book and the IRS tax code need the same treatment....they both need to be reduced by 50%.
Way too many rules with way too many judgement calls by officials.

 

[Psycho_X]

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?

In LA Rams News: The NFL is again emphasizing their anti-taunting stance. It appears that it's back to the No Fun League once more folks.

ramblinfan.com

Will the NFL’s new anti-taunting stance hurt the LA Rams?​

Look out, LA Rams. It seems that the NFL will once more take a harder stance towards the enforcement of the anti-taunting rules in the 2021 NFL season. So while that sounds great on paper, we know full well how that ramping up of enforcement seems to take place when the theory is put into practice on the football field.

At least, that is the latest report from Michael David Smith from ProFootballTalk of NBC Sports. In his article, Smith cites comments from Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL Competition Committee.



Will be penalized? Sure. But will they be penalized objectively and uniformly? Well, we’ll see.

Subjective enforcement​

Rules seem to applied subjectively and to alter the outcomes of games sometimes. Perhaps it’s just that the quality of NFL officiating has taken a tumble with so many options of review and coach’s challenges. Perhaps the controversial officiating is all part of a marketing strategy to sell more tickets and views? But it detracts from the value of a game’s outcome.

So whenever the NFL talks about emphasizing certain aspects of the rule book to get better adherence, I’m left a little bewildered. After all, that same NFL rulebook should penalize offensive linemen who grab the facemask of Aaron Donald, put him in a chokehold, tackle him, or reach around and pull him down from behind by his shoulder pads. But the officials on the field always seem to miss those plays.

And yet, when it’s an offensive lineman called for holding when the Rams are blocking, they seldom seem to miss those infractions.

NFL = No Fun League​

Maybe it’s that way for all teams. Maybe the enforcement of rules registers less when the opponent does it but becomes more of a factor when the penalty is against the team the fan or fans are rooting for. That may be the case. But the truth is that penalties in the NFL have become lax, and only seem to be enforced when the outcome of the game is in question.

So I can definitely see this type of penalty becoming problematic for wide receiver DeSean Jackson after making a big catch in a closely contested game. I can see the Rams defensive stopping the offense on 3rd down and long, but a flag flying for taunting after a Jalen Ramsey spontaneous celebration gives the opposing offense a new set of downs. And I can even see the Rams Aaron Donald getting penalized after a vicious quarterback sack.

It seems that celebrating touchdowns remains AOK. But for the rest of the game, it’s back to the NFL that we’ve come to know and love. The No Fun League is back.

Yeah, that's a bit too subjective. Pointing fingers or jawing at someone's face is a subjective penalty that a ref will have to make. This is stupid and not that big of a deal.