Any Thoughts on New Rule Changes?

Other than the stupid hair thing. They seem OK. Not sure I like the change in the force out rule.

[FONT=arial, helvetica][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Potential NFL rule changes mostly good[/FONT] [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Cheating, a new wild-card playoff format, long hair and forceouts are among the items NFL owners will ponder at meetings Monday through Wednesday in Palm Beach, Fla.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]How come they never have their meetings in Buffalo? They'd probably get more work done.

Here are some of the proposed rule changes they'll be discussing and my reactions:[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Each team would be required to make a senior executive (owner, general manager or head coach) responsible for certifying an annual audit of rules compliance.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]This development, in response to New England's Spygate scandal, would include "whistle-blower" confidentiality protection.

Reaction: This is a joke. What owner, GM or coach would turn in his own team for a violation? And if one did, who wouldn't be able to conclude who did it?[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]In the wild-card round, a wild-card team would host the game if it had a better record than the division winner it plays.

Reaction: Good move. It should've been like that from the start. Fans of division-winning teams with worse records than the wild card should be happy simply to have their team in the playoffs.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]A defensive player would be allowed to have a communication device in his helmet to receive signals from the sidelines. Currently, only the quarterback has such a device.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Reaction: I wish no players had such devices, but if the QB has one, a member of the opposing defensive unit should, too.

A player would not be allowed to wear his hair so long that it covers up his name or numbers on the back of his jersey.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Reaction: Good move. No one is asking the players to get haircuts. They'd simply stuff their hair inside their helmets. Players would look more "uniform" and it would be safer.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]The 5-yard penalty for grasping a facemask and immediately letting go would be eliminated. The 15-yard major penalty for holding, twisting or turning the facemask would remain 15 yards.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Reaction: Get rid of the 5-yard penalty and make the flagrant facemask violation a 10-yard penalty and automatic first down.

The "force-out" penalty would be loosened for defensive players. They'd be allowed to push a receiver out of bounds before the receiver could land with both feet inbounds. The defender could not pick up a receiver and carry him out of bounds.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Reaction: Good idea. It takes the guesswork out of the call and takes some pressure off the zebras.[/FONT]

 

Other than the hair thing I like all the proposed changes. I personally don't care how long they wear their hair. I really like the "force out rule" tho. That should have been changed a long time ago.

 

here's two that weren't mentioned


1. Placekickers would be required to assume a three-point stance before booting extra points and field goals.

2. Fair catch. Kicking teams should be able to tackle kick receivers making a fair catch. The receiving team would retain the ball whether or not the receiving player fumbled.

 

Sounds like they're trying to remove "judgement" from the role of the officials. Not sure I agree with that.

I always thought, like facemasking, that Pass Interference should have a major and minor version. Nothing frustrates me more than a little bumping between a cb and wr result in a 50 yard penalty and first down at the 1.