Sports Central / Original Sports Fan Commentary Since 1998

1. There was some question in the Atlanta-Chicago game whether the clock was started correctly when there was a second left after a play allowing Atlanta to kick the game winning field goal. SOLUTION…do what they do in the NHL and NBA, display the time in tenths of a second in the last minute of each quarter.

2. Too much time is taken over some challenges that are obvious…it takes a long time for the referee to set himself under the hood….SOLUTION..Keep the challenge system but do as they do in the NHL, let the NFL supervisors in the war room in NY have the final say. Would give us consistancy and take some of the pressure off the game referee who is under an aimmense amount of pressure as it is.

3. Atlanta got screwed when a punt was ruled to have been touched in the last two minutes of a game where they had used their three time outs and the game clock had not wound under 2 minutes…change the rule to go along with the way the game is timed…all calls in the last 5 minutes of the game are subject to replay by the booth upstairs.

I have a minor rule change for overtime which will go a long way to making the overtime more fair. The rule change should be - “Each team must have a minimum of one offensive possession before the team with the most points is declared the winner.” For example, Team A scores but Team B did not have a possession. Team A kicks off to Team B. Team B fumbles - game over. Team B does not score - game over. Team B ties the game - 1st team to score again wins. Team B goes ahead of Team A - Team B wins. In this way, the losing team had at least one chance to win and can blame themselves for losing instead of the flip of the coin.

This isnt directed specifically at the rules committee. Its about helmets. Put a helmet in each hand and swing them together as hard as you can, what happens is a violent rebound because of their hard plastic outer shells. This rapid reversal of direction is directly related to brain injuries (concussions). The helmets need an additional outer layer that actually ABSORBS the force of impacts thereby protecting the brain. Keep the hard shell to protect the head, but it needs to be soft on the outside to protect the brain from whiplash…..

I think that any forward pass that doesn’t reach the line of scrimmage should be a live ball. It totally eliminates the need for questioning whether the quarterbacks hand was moving forward or not.

overtime rule. I think 10 yards, not moving up ball 5 yards on kickoffs is better. Or, give kicking team a possession ONLY if they can do better than tie a receiving team’s first possession score. In this case the receiving team’s opening possession of touchdown and 2 point conversion wins game. If recieving team gets FG kicking team must score touchdown. Etc.

Today’s game between the Titans and Texans would be the opposite if the BASIC rules were followed. That call on the punt reception was COMPLETELT UNFAIR! He gave the receiver room to catch it fairly, which he DID NOT, then, apparently because of a rule FROM YOU, the possession was disallowed. I have been watching and playing football since 2 yrs BEFORE the first superbowl, THAT was the most extreme showing of how zebra’s can CHANGE of a game THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN! No wonder it STARTED A FIGHT. We’re not the Beverly Hillbillies.

Watched the Dallas Green Bay game yesterday.
Totally confused by the following:
Dallas had the ball. Quarterback is hit and he fumbles the ball. an offensive lineman falls on the ball and recovers it. A defensive line man falls on the offensive lineman which should be down by contact. But no. While the defensive player is laying on the offensive lineman he rips the ball out of his hands and another defensive lineman recovers it on the 2 yard line. Play is not reviewable and is awarded to Green Bay.
I thought the idea of plays under review was to get the play right!

I completely disagree with the way the league treats quarterbacks now. Even inadvertent slaps to the head draw a flag. How can the defensive guy control every movement if he has a three hundred plus guys pushing on him? Get the skirts off the quarterbacks and put them back into the real football game!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Offensive Pass interference should carry a loss of down. We have receivers in the Hall of Fame who got there by pushing DBs out of the way, and were not called for offensive pass interference.

I’m tired of too many field goals. I believe a rule change should be made that no field goals will be allowed on or inside the 20 yard line. You must go for a TD when you reach the 20 or inside the 20.

The NFl should play by the rules, there should not be any spiking of the ball to stop the clock. The quarterback is not outside the tackles and he throws the ball at (and usually hits) the center who by rule is an ineligible receiver. This rule is why teams can take the clock down to just seconds to try a field goal. Its time to make coaches and QB’s to use real clock management. I agree they should loosen the penalties for phoney pass interference and incidental contact to the quarterback. It should be that once a QB is outside the tackles he is a RB and can be slammed just like anyone else on the team. I do however disagree about the WR rule, I believe both foot should be inbounds.
And lets let the officials be wrong sometimes, its football
and officials have been making mistakes since the birth of football as they do in all sports. Its human and thats where we need to leave it….

I have several comments to make here, 1) When a team punts the football and the ball does not touch the field of play before bouncing out of play the ball should be spotted back at the line of scrimmage. This will eliminate the referees from guessing and penalizing the defense who may have a good punt returner. The object of the game is to allow the opposing team to be able to make a play if they desire to do so. The way we have it now takes this option away. How often does this happen anyhow? Do away with the guessing.
2) The quarterback should not be credit with an interception if his reciever touches the ball and then the defense intercepts. This should be an error on the reciever for not catching the ball and there should be a statistic that covers the dropped passes that a receiver drops, and could increase the quarterback rating. This also could be an advantage or disadvantage during negotiation time.
3) At one point the goal post use to be when you first cross the line, and now they move the goal post back of the end zone. My question is why are we penalizing the filed goal kickers to kick an extra 10 yards? The rule should applied once the ball crosses the line through the goal post that should be counted after all isn’t that how we score for a touchdown.

I think there should be a hair code. It is dusgusting to see long hair hanging out from under a football helmet.
It’s about as disgusting as to see someone playing with their shirttail hanging out.

I think for the NFL overtime rule after 4 quarters there should be a 5 minute quarter. Whoever is ahead after the 5 minute quarter wins the game. If the game is still tied after 5 minutes then perhaps another 5 minute quarter can be played or a sudden death overtime like we have now.

I know most first and second string players get all the action all year and need recovery time. How about a post regular season line-up where we get to see the third and second if they want to strings get to have some field time. Most of these guys play for years and you don’t even hear their names. Why pay them if they rarely get to play? I say keep it going all year. Any suggestions on how we can make this happen?????

The rules suck!! I’m talking about a Johnson (Detroit) who clearly scores a touchdown, 2 feet and his butt hit the ground, and they over rule it. There was even a referee within 10 yards, who called it a touchdown. The rules committee need to have the same rules across the board. A player doesn’t need to cross the goal line and a touchdown can be called, but a player who clearly scores it’s overruled? what gives? There are to many rules in today’s game, just let them play the game….

i have a suggestion for the rules committee regarding penalizing a team in a certain part of the football field. I never could understand when a team is penalize for holding and on their own five yard line and it’s first down, why penalize them half the distance to the goal line? Instead, keep the ball on the five and move the first down markers up ten yards and make it first and fifteen. Like wise, if a team is on the other’s eight yard line and it;s second and goal, and the other team gets flaged with a holding penalty which would have made it first down, instead of moving it half the distance to the goal, keep the ball on the eight yard line and make it first and goal.

The time out rule is such an easy fix when the opposing team is icing the kicker before a field goal attempt. If the opposing team, and the opposing team only, calls a time out and the play is underway and the field goal attempt is made (the ball flies) the new rule applies. If the kicking team makes the field goal it counts and the opposing team has the option of continuing with the time out or not. If they miss the field goal attempt, the time out stands and the kicking team gets another attempt, as currently played. That should help put an end to the BS like we all witnessed this past week. People are sick of everyone in our society trying to “game” the system with the rules instead of using hard work to be successful. Professional sports is no exception and “any rule” which will make the NFL play the game as it was originally intended, fairly on an even playing field is the coveted expression, should be instituted. Gaming the system, by bending the “RULES” to win just means, you weren’t good enough to be begin with.

Professional conduct on the NFL field is out of control. The NFL instituted a celebration rule because theses Professionals” don’t have the ability to govern themselves and the Governing body knew they had to do something about the conduct. The rule didn’t and doesn’t work as we watch some form of celebration on “EVERY” play, for every hit, every catch, and every score, as if it is some “monumental” achievement in sports history. The behavior has reached the point of being impossible to watch the game without wanting to vomit. These same players are seen by the general public as over paid, over courted, over idolized millionaires who can’t seem to stay out of the news for the wrong reasons. This is an example of a few making it look horrible for the rest. The proverbial killing the golden goose is taking place because of player conduct and the NFL can’t figure out how to control it.

Finally, Professionals know how to hit somebody to injure or possibly seriously injure an opposing player. This business that you go out on every play and attempt to put the opposing player out of the game, is a cancer to the sport which has long been accepted as the norm. You don’t need to spell out how you should be able to hit or tackle an opponent to remove this dirty rotten aspect of the game. Again, certain players are unable to govern themselves and instead of removing them from the system, the governing body attempts to make new rules to correct the atrocious activity. The new rule should be simple and send a clear message. If you hit or tackle an opposing player in a vicious manner that upon review by the officials “in the booth,” could be seen, to cause serious bodily injury, then an additional penalty “shall” apply. The officials upstairs along with the 15 yards for an intentional personal foul “shall” impose a removal from the game. If the player targeted by the hit is physically injured, then upon review by the governing body, a multi-game suspension with loss of pay “shall” be the “norm.” If the affected players see this as unfair, they are always welcome go get a job making 30 thousand a year doing menial labor, like most of the blue collar fans who support them every Sunday. If you can’t bring yourselves to get rid of the bad apples then send a message about conduct on and off the field.

Why is the quarterback given credit for throwing a 5 yard pass when the receiver who runs 90 yard for a touchdown? Is the ball no longer in the air? The quarterback should only be allow to be credit for throwing a 5 yard pass not for 95 yard. This is not a true indication of how good the quarterback is. If the ball travels 50 yards in the air and the receiver catches then the quarterback is credit for 50 yards, after all it’s the receiver who now becomes a ball carrier should the yards count towards the receiver not the quarterback. Or how about when a quarterback throws a quick out to a wide receiver and he runs for yardage how can you give that yardage to the quarterback? I agree with the YAC principle, yards after the catch, but not the yardage access to the quarterback after the catch. Please change the rule to reflect a true quarterback rating.

Players are penalized for celebrations in the end zone after scoring. I think they should be allowed to celebrate there BUT there should be a penalty fpr making a normal play such as a tackle, catch, interception, etc. As a viewer, I find those celebrations to be more immature and taunting than scoring celebrations.

I am sitting here in China fuming over how the refs just decided who would win the DEN/NYJ game. I totally agree with the interference plan and the OT rule. Good work.

The answer to the problem of head-to-head hits and launching at players is simple. Require the players to tackle in the true sense of the word. The players need to wrap their arms when tackling as opposed to just launching their bodies at a player going full speed in an attempt to dislodge the ball. A true tackle should not be penalized because the attempt to use your arms to bring the person down will be a determining factor in the decision. Using the arms to wrap a player up will also eliminate the use of players running full speed into ball carriers while leading with their shoulder. Give instructions, give demonstrations, show examples of correct and incorrect techniques, assign degrees of flagrance, assign penalties for offenses (to include ejections, suspensions, and fines) and enforce the rules vigorously. Then expect to watch tackling improve and concussions to go down.

The cha nges I’d like to see in the NFL:

when a qb crosses the line of scrimmage, he’s just another running back.

when a fair catch is called penalty flags will be picked up, unless it’s a major personal foul that could cause injury, or the ball is fumbled while making a fair catch.

when holding is away from the play or has no impact on the play pick up the flag.

call pass interferance when its interferance. defense of backs are up against fast, big, strong receivers and a pinky finger on the receiver isn’t going to stop him from catching the ball.

on hits out of bounds, paint a 1 yard wide strip on the other side of the out of bounds line if the hit takes place out side of that call it. when a ball carier is running two inches from being out of bounds and a tackler dives through the air to make a tackle, it’s pretty hard to stop in mid air.

on the now hot helmet to helmet issue, make it reviewable, it instant replay shows it was a helmet to helmet contact that could have been avoided, fine and kick the guy out of the game, if it was unavoidable it goes in the category of accidents happen.

The game is changing so fast, that it will son resemble football. Penalty flags are taking ove the game.

one closing shot. the ground cannot cause a fumble? I never seen the ground cause a fumble yet, but I seen linebackers smashing running backs and ends into the groujnd that caused a fumble.

I’d like to put my 2 cents in for 3 rule changes that would speed the game up and make the most watchable game on the planet even more enjoyable.

1. Allow holding by the offensive lineman on pass plays, they do it anyway and allowing it would really help them protect their quarterback.

2. If a player goes down, the trainers comeout and a timeout is required then that player must remain out the rest of the quarter, players need to know the difference between when they are hurt (or just tired) and when they are actually injured. It would keep the flow of the game moving if they instituted this rule.

3. Introduce a new unsportmanlike penalty for players that mimic referees actions, such as throwing a flag, first down signal, holding signal etc. It distracts from the game and is demeaning to the referees. The players act as if the referees don’t know what they are doing.

That’s all I got, thanks for your time.

This “Ball crossing the plane” is still a little confusing to me and I think it needs to be changed. How come a player can dive at the pylon, he is in mid-air, no body parts touch the ground inside the end zone, the ball never touches the ground inside the end zone, when he does touch the ground he is out of bounds but since the ball broke the plane, it is considered a touchdown.

If this is legal, I think that if a receiver catches the ball in mid-air inside the end zone, but lands out of bounds, it should be considered a touchdown. After all, he did have possession of the ball within the end zone lines and the ball broke the plane of the goal line. I don’t see any difference in these two situations. They should not have to have a body part touch the ground inside the end zone as long as they have possession within the legal playing area, even if it is in mid-air.

I hope I explained this clear enough to understand. Thanks for taking the time to read my opinion on this matter.

A proposal for the NFL Rules Committee: if punishment is considered to be too harsh to rate suspension, but the usual $25,000 fine is trivial for a multi-million player, here’s a compromise: fine the player one game’s earnings. This penalizes the player as much as the suspension without penalizing the team or the fans.

For example, if Player A makes $6 million a year, fine him 1/17th of that.

someone please tell me why you can push a player out of bounds by his back and you will never see a penatly but on the field of play its called every time This ruins most great runs back I can,t find any sence in this rule

is football a mans sport or is it a womens sport with panties and a skirt. you guys make the rules then you better put 12 refs in there so they can watch all the players, the refs only see what they want to see and that comes from the top , i think this game is like the wwf and the winner is who the bossman wants to win. tv rights and the whole thing.

The time has come to prevent the players
from offering their calls on plays.
The public displays of players making
calls is of no use to the spectator when
such calls are usually wrong.
I put it to the rules committee that
the opinions of the players do not matter
and interfere with the progress of the
game.
The NFL rules committee should ban
on -field commentary by players with
respect to call just as they have banned
overexuberant celebration after plays.

Why won`t the rules committee adopt a rule that when a fumble occurs, penalties are invoked on players who come piling on the downed players! If the ball is still live, and squirting around, then by all means tyr to recover it. But when there is a pile of players trying to wrestle the ball away from the person who recovered it, then ANYONE who dives on that player, and ANYONE who also comes diving onto the pile-up should be penalized!
As it stands now, it all comes down to who can take the ball away once a pile-up occurs!!! Replay can determine who originally has the ball before everyone comes piling on!!! It`s ridiculous to watch both offensive and defensive players just jumping onto the pile!!! Levy penalties on those players!

I would propose a more equitable penalty for a team in a situtation of “half the distance to the goal.” ie: Team A has the ball on their own 10 yard line, first and ten. Team A player commits a holding infraction and instead of the penalty being 10 yards, it is only “half the distance to the goal,” making it effectively only a five yard penalty, I propose that the penalty be “half the distance to the goal” WITH the “other” portion of the penalty being added to the distance necessary to obatin a first down. Thus, Team A would have to make it to the 25 yard line in order to make a first down.

If this becomes problematic due to “half yards” (ie; same penalty as above only committed when Team A has the all on its own 5 yard line) it could be changed so that the penalty is “half the distance, but add back in the half yard at the other end. Thus, a 10 yard penalty on one’s own 5 yard line would result in the ball being placed at the 3 yard line and the team would need to reach the 23 yard line for a first down. This would result in a TRUE 10 yard penalty and discourage teams from committing penalties when “they don’t have a lot to lose.”
Thanks

Add additional games to the season but divide the season into at least 3 or 4 sections.Each team would have additional time off in order to for the players to heal. Players health and careers could be extended plus a longer season.
i.e. 20 Games played with 5 games on and 1 week off, or, 20 Games played with 6 to 7 games played with 1 week off after each 6 or 7 games.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea to replace the hard shell and perhaps create a hockey style helmet and suround it with a soft helmet shaped covering. A hockey helmet can absorb the impact of ice and the NFL shaped soft covering will absorb the spearing that is prevalent in the NFL. It would discourage the use of the helmet as a weapon.

THE NFL NEEDS TO IMPLEMENT A NEW RULE ON EXTRA POINTS.

IF THE DEFENSE GETS A VIOLATION ON THE EXTRA POINT, THEY ARE PENALIZED ON THE ENSUING KICKOFF.

THE CURRENT PENALTY IS EITHER 10 OR 15 YDS MARKED OFF FROM THE NORMAL KICKOFF SPOT.THIS IS CRAZY. IT ALWAYS RESULTS IN A TOUCHBACK AND THE BALL COMES OUT TO THE 20 YARD LINE.

I PROPOSE THAT THE PENALTY BE ENFORCED AFTER THE RETURN.
I.E. IF THE BALL IS RETURNED TO THE 40, THEN PENALIZE BACK TO THE 30 OR 25, WHICH EVER IS CORRECT. IF THE RETURN IS RETURNED FOR A TOUCHDOWN, THEN PUT IT ON THE 10 OR 15 YARD LINE, WHICH EVER IS CORRECT.

I FEEL THIS WOULD STOP SOME OF THE STUPID FOULS THE PLAYERS CREATE IF THEY KNOW THEY ARE CAUSING A PROBLEM FOR THE OFFENSE.

YOU MIGHT SAY BRINGING BACK A TOUCHDOWN IS PRETTY HARSH, BUT IT’S DONE ALL THE TIME ON ILLEGAL BLOCKS IN THE BACK . I REALLY THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD RULE TO ENFORCE.

PLEASE ADVISE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS.

ROGER SHARSHEL

what would it hert to have a dropkick for a p a t 2pts and 4pts for a dropkicked field goal. same as pro indoor.this would promote the old fashion kicking style that was a part of the n f l from the beginng.bring some excitment back to the kicking game.

I would favor a rule to prohibit players from celebrating plays in the opponent’d backfield. I consider such actions to be tantamount to taunting and it should be penalized as such. Such celebrations should include the player running into the opponent’s backfield to signal “first down” or celebrating a sack or a defensive play with some swinging or chopping motion. I find such activity offensive regardless of the team that comitts the offense.

Safty first, ubderstand. You have taken away one of the most exciting plays of the game, the kick off

How about moving the ball back the 5 yards and also make the remaining players move back 5 yards from the original position. This might give the receiver a better running start

How about moving the ball back the 5 yards and also make the remaining players move back 5 yards from the original position. This might give the receiver a better running start

Gentlemen:
I have no favorite football team, I simply enjoy the competition. The more even the teams the better. Last year I watched the Patriots defeat the Dolphins by a score of 70+ to 7. I had to turn off the game at 45 to 7 because I find no joy in watching a BULLY beat the life out of an opponent that is incapable of defending himself!

In a professional boxing match, when the weaker opponent is incapable of defending himself, the referee stops the fight! I realize that you will never be able to rationalize this point with a Coach or team that goes for the kill when they smell blood; so it has to be legislated by your committee.

Prehaps the game should be called at 50 to 0 [or] 50 to 7 but doesn’t it make more sense to legislate that at some point, the first string must be pulled when the opponent cannot defend itself and the Coach be forced to play only his second and third string players at that point.

I believe this change will make Pro football appear less brutish; make the match up more even and will help rally the fans! I also believe it will help reduce injuries too.

Thank you for your consideration.
Judge Dale Keenhold, retired

Regarding “fake” injuries to stop the clock: How about requiring the “injured” player to sit out the remainder of the possession, at least?

Rules committee,
My son and I would like to bring your attention to a rule that seems to be one way in regards to receivers and another way when it applies to a runner. We are unbiased observers, Green Bay is our team. Situation 1. As we understand it, if an offencive player is running toward the endzone, and gets hit before crossing the plane of the endzone, but he holds the ball out and the ball “breaks the plane” of the goal line before he touches the ground, in or out of bounds, even if he loses control of the ball after it crosses the plane of the goal line, or the ball touches the ground out of bounds first after crossing the plane of the goal line, it is a touchdown. As long as the ball is possessed and in control of the runner when “the ball” crosses the plane of the goal line it is a touchdown regardless of the runners body position. Situation 2. Today (10/2/11) We saw a play in the Seattle game where a Seattle receiver caught the ball while in mid air, his momentum carried him and the ball across the plane of the goal line with possession and control. After crossing the plane of the goal line in mid air, he hit a defensive player and lost control of the ball. The ball bounced off of the defensive player, was caught by a teammate in mid air and was run out of the endzone as an intercepted ball. We feel the rule should be applied equally in both situations. If the only requirement is that a player has control of the ball when “the ball” as it crosses the plane of the goal line regardless of body position, then it shouldn’t matter if the ball has been run to the goal line or is caught in mid air, before crossing the goal line. We understand the requirement for a receiver who has already entered the endzone catching the ball with both feet and control in the end zone before going out of bounds, but this is different. This rule applies to entering the endzone/crossing the plane of the goal line before ever having entered the endzone with possession of the ball regardless of where your body is. Make it the same regardless of how the ball got to the plane. If it crosses the plane from outside of the endzone in control and possession of an offensive player, it is a touchdown………… Or, make it the same, that both feet have to be inbounds, in the endzone with possession and control of the ball regardless of before entering or before exiting the endzone to be a touchdown.
Thanks
Russ and Riley Gerberick

I think that the game would be more interesting and fewer ties if the if the field goal rule were changed: Inside the 10 yard line 3 points, between 10 and 20 yard line 2 points and outside the 20 1 point. The object of the game is to get to the Goal Line, not kick 50 yard field goals.

After watching the first half of week 17 Lions and Packers game..on field officiating and the replay booth should issue an apology to the fans..any fans. The officiating team on the field made a career load of bad and non calls and the booth did very little to correct the inept officiating. To top it off the rules prohibit the booth from turning a non call into the right result. To add insult to injury, the coach who successfully challenges bad calls gets rewarded by losing the ability to challenge further. The rules committee needs to review this game and then fix the officiating of the game or risk losing fans like me who feel the officials and the rules have ruined the game I love.