Every offseason, the NFL Rules Committee gets together to discuss potential rule changes designed to allow the AFC South to better compete with the rest of the league.
Or something like that.
This season, I'd like to make a few suggestions.
The Overtime Rule
The NFL's overtime rule has outlived its usefulness.
Back when the NFL tried to create an environment where offenses and defenses were on equal footing, a sudden-death overtime made sense. But in today's NFL, where every offseason they push through rules in an attempt to neuter aggressive defensive players, it just doesn't make sense anymore.
There seems to be some momentum building for an overtime rule change, but that momentum doesn't seem to exist in the competition committee.
Jeff Fisher is on record saying that we need to take some time to analyze statistical data to figure out whether 60% of the NFL's overtime games ending on the first possession is a fluke or a trend.
I'm not sure it matters either way.
Sudden-death works in hockey because both teams get to touch the puck. In baseball, the home team gets a chance to bat even if the away team scores in the top of the tenth.
The thing is, fixing the overtime rule is simple. Just make a rule that says both teams must have an offensive possession in overtime.
If the first time to have the ball scores, make them kick off. Give the other team a chance to match them.
Think back to the Jets/Patriots game back in November. The Patriots made a miraculous comeback in the second half. The Jets won the overtime coin toss and drove for the game winning field goal.
Wouldn't it have been exciting to give Matt Cassel and company a shot to either tie the game with a field goal, or win it with a touchdown?
It's a no-brainer.
Quarterbacks Are Football Players, Too
Okay, I get it.
Quarterbacks are important. They make the most money. They bring in the most money. You can't win without a good quarterback.
You can't allow defensive players to purposely attempt to kill the opposing quarterback. Completely understood.
On the other hand, if Justin Tuck is blitzing and his arm brushes up against the quarterback's helmet, you simply can't give him a 15-yard penalty. You can't.
There needs to be some common sense here.
When Jared Allen dives at Matt Schaub's knee, it's a 15-yard penalty. When Dwight Freeney's pinky taps Matt Cassel on the helmet, let's not pretend that's the same thing.
I understand why the NFL wants to take judgment calls away from their officials. I've seen their officials in action. They're terrible. But you have to give them at least a little wiggle room.
You can't allow an NFL playoff game to be lost because a defensive lineman's fingernail brushed the facemask of the opposing quarterback.
When it Comes to Sideline Catches, Let's Go With the College Rule
As the Super Bowl proved, it's damn near impossible to tell during live action whether a player got one or two feet in bounds on a sideline catch.
Sometimes it's impossible to tell on replay.
But you can pretty much always tell whether or not they get one foot in bounds.
This rule goes hand-in-hand with the force-out rule they did away with last year. If you're going to allow defenders to knock receivers out of bounds, let's give the receivers a break and allow them to play by the same rule they learned playing in college.
If you're able to get one foot in bounds, it's a catch.
Pass Interference Should Be a 10-Yard Penalty
Peyton Manning drops back to pass. He throws a completely uncatchable ball to a well covered Reggie Wayne. Wayne, seeing the ball is under-thrown, stops dead in his tracks. The defender, who thought he had a beat on the ball, runs into a suddenly stationary Wayne.
Pass interference, Colts gain 40 yards on a play that probably should have been a harmless incomplete pass.
The NFL isn't going to do away with their insane pass interference rules. They're terrible at calling it. It's inconsistent not only from game to game, but from quarter to quarter and play to play.
It's the biggest turn-around play in the NFL. It's brought back many an offense from the dead. It's cost many, many teams many, many points.
Since we're not going to do away with the penalty, let's make it a little less painful and unfair.
If Manning throws that same pass from his own 30-yard line, and the interference happens in the end zone, make it a 10-yard penalty.
Instead of handing the Colts a touchdown by giving them the ball on the one, you reward them with 10 yards and a first down, but make them earn their points.
To me, this is as much of a no-brainer as the overtime rule.
Do you have any ideas for NFL rule changes? Or do you like the NFL just the way it is? Either way, e-mail me at scrowe@gmail.com or post a comment below and let me know. I'd love to hear your suggestions.
Sean Crowe is the New England Patriots Examiner at Examiner.com. He writes a column every other Thursday for Sports Central. You can e-mail him at scrowe@gmail.com.
February 19, 2009
Jeff S:
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.
February 25, 2009
Eric Beaverstock:
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.
March 22, 2009
jim:
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…..
September 9, 2009
Jeff:
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.
September 17, 2009
garyr:
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.
September 20, 2009
james york:
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.
November 16, 2009
larry sywyk:
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!
November 29, 2009
Keith Cornish:
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 29, 2009
Alfred McFarland:
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.
December 20, 2009
Bob Locher:
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.
January 3, 2010
Joe:
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….
January 5, 2010
Aaron:
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.
January 9, 2010
Henry Wright:
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.
January 25, 2010
Andrew Platt:
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.
February 9, 2010
Dean Wiggins:
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?????