2016 Rule Change Proposals

[oochymp 2,393]

2016 playing rules proposals - NFL.com

Full explanation: Link

PLAYING RULES CHANGE PROPOSALS

1. By Competition Committee; Permanently moves the line of scrimmage for Try kicks to the defensive team's 15-yard line, and allows the defense to return any missed Try.

2. By Competition Committee; Permits the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth.

3. By Competition Committee; Makes all chop blocks illegal.

4. By Competition Committee; Disqualifies a player who is penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.

5. By Competition Committee; Changes the spot of the next snap after a touchback resulting from a free kick to the 25-yard line.

6. By Baltimore; to amend Rule 5, Sections 3, Articles 1 and 2 (Changes in Position) to require players to wear jersey vests with numbers appropriate for their positions.

7. By Baltimore; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5 (Instant Replay) to provide each team with three challenges and expand reviewable plays.

8. By Buffalo; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5 (Instant Replay) to permit a coach to challenge any official's decision except scoring plays and turnovers.

9. By Carolina; to amend Rule 8, Section 2, Article 1 (Intentional Grounding) to expand the definition of intentional grounding.

10. By Kansas City; to amend Rule 14, Section 2, Article 1 (Half-distance Penalty) to add penalty yards to the distance needed to gain a First Down.

11. By Kansas City; to amend Rule 8, Section 1, Article 2 (Legal Forward Pass) to prohibit quarterbacks from falling to the ground, getting up, and throwing a forward pass.

12. By Minnesota; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 1 (Coaches' Challenge) to eliminate the requirement that a team be successful on each of its first two Instant Replay challenges in order to be awarded a third challenge.

13. By Washington; to amend Rule 16, Section 1, Articles 1, 4, 6 and 7 (Overtime procedures) to eliminate overtime periods in preseason games.

14. By Washington; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 4 (Reviewable Plays) to subject personal foul penalties to Instant Replay review.

15. By Washington; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 1 (Coaches' Challenge) to eliminate the requirement that a team be successful on each of its first two Instant Replay challenges in order to be awarded a third challenge.

16. By Competition Committee; Expands the horse collar rule to include when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground.

17. By Competition Committee; Makes it a foul for delay of game when a team attempts to call a timeout when it is not permitted to do so.

18. By Competition Committee; Eliminates the five-yard penalty for an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds, and makes it a loss of down.

19. By Competition Committee; Eliminates multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.

BYLAW CHANGE PROPOSALS

[many of these involve shit we as fans don't need to care about but there are a few interesting ones]

1. By Arizona; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.3 to increase the Active List to 48 players.

2. By Washington; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.3 to increase the number of Active

List players for regular season games played on a day other than Sunday or Monday and

for games played in another country.

3. By Washington; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.1 (F) to eliminate the cutdown to 75

players on the Active List.

4. By Washington; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.14 to permit a player who has

suffered a concussion and has not been cleared for participation to be placed on the clubs’

Exemption List and replaced by a player on the club’s practice squad on a gamy-by-game

basis until the player is cleared.

5. By Minnesota; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.16 (K) to shorten the period of time in

which clubs are prohibited from resigning players with whom it has executed Injury

Settlements.

6. By Buffalo; to amend Article XVIII, Section 18.7 (A) to allow teams playing a Monday

night game the same minimum amount of time to make roster and salary adjustments as

others teams that played the same weekend.

7. By Buffalo; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.16 © to expand the time period for a

club to designate a player for return from Reserve/Injured. [would move the designation point from "the time the player is placed on Reserve" to "the first day that he returns to practice"]

8. By Competition Committee; Permits a non-FBS conference to hold a Pro Day for all the

schools in its conference.

9. By Competition Committee; Requires clubs to terminate or request waivers for players

who are placed on Reserve with minor injuries.

10. By Competition Committee; Permits coaches to review video displayed on club-issued

tablets on the sidelines and in the coaches’ booth.

Edited March 17, 2016 by oochymp

[RazorStar 4,025]

Baltimore sucks. So does Kansas City.

Edited March 17, 2016 by RazorStar

[Thanatos 2,847]

 

6. By Baltimore; to amend Rule 5, Sections 3, Articles 1 and 2 (Changes in Position) to require players to wear jersey vests with numbers appropriate for their positions.

 

LMAO. The Ravens are STILL upset about that New England game two years ago. That is fucking fantastic. What exactly do the Panthers want to do with intentional grounding? Just make it more clear what is and what isn't?

Edited March 17, 2016 by Thanatos

[oochymp 2,393]

I thought the Baltimore suggestion was hilarious too, I really hope that one doesn't pass (not that I expect it to)

 

The specific change for the intentional grounding rule is to remove the following sentence: "A realistic chance of completion is defined as a pass that lands in the direction and the vicinity of an originally eligible receiver." This would leave the definition of intentional ground as throwing "a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion" and I guess it would leave "realistic chance of completion" up to the ref to determine. I'm generally not a fan of giving refs more judgment calls, so I'm not a fan of that proposal, maybe they'll end up just tweaking the definition of "realistic chance of completion" rather than getting rid of it.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Kansas City had quite the odd suggestion. If QBs go down to the ground untouched, they can't get up and throw the ball... Hmmm, Peyton Manning has retired. We shouldn't really have to worry about that very much.

[BwareDWare94 723]

Kansas City had quite the odd suggestion. If QBs go down to the ground untouched, they can't get up and throw the ball... Hmmm, Peyton Manning has retired. We shouldn't really have to worry about that very much.

I think it'd be a fantastic rule change. The quarterback protection rules have defensive players trained to not hit the QB if they are down, so naturally defensive players stop when a QB hits the ground.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I think it'd be a fantastic rule change. The quarterback protection rules have defensive players trained to not hit the QB if they are down, so naturally defensive players stop when a QB hits the ground.

I don't think it's a problem at all. When you have a guy go down on his own accord like Peyton Manning does, the refs should just call it as him giving himself up... call it a sack and be done with it.

[BwareDWare94 723]

I don't think it's a problem at all. When you have a guy go down on his own accord like Peyton Manning does, the refs should just call it as him giving himself up... call it a sack and be done with it.

Even better. Either way, there needs to be a rule.

[oochymp 2,393]

5. By Competition Committee; Changes the spot of the next snap after a touchback resulting from a free kick to the 25-yard line.

I'm really interested to see what impact this ends up having. It sounds like it's going to pass in the interest of player safety as the league continues to try to get rid of kickoffs. The theory is that it'll lead to more returners downing the ball in the endzone, but I do have to wonder if it'll lead to more "mortar" kicks, where the kicker sends a high kick off aimed to land inside the five, forcing a return, with the goal of stopping that return before the 25. There was some thought that might happen based on moving the kicking spot up, which makes those kicks easier, but it didn't happen, will adding five yards to the touchback be enough to tip the balance in favor of it? I don't think it'll be widespread, you need a good coverage team to make sure the gamble pays off, but I won't be surprised to see the strategy used by some teams.

[Vin+ 3,121]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000646551/article/nfl-eliminates-all-chop-style-blocks-for-2016-season

 

In a move that will cause sweeping changes to NFL offensive strategy for the 2016 season and beyond, owners decided Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting to abolish any and all "chop" style blocks.

 

It was a move met with immediate and resounding praise from defensive players tired of getting their legs cut out from underneath them. Offensive lineman, however, were less than enthused as the block was still legal in certain situations.

 

Over the last few years, various changes to the rules have limited the scope om how players could use the technique. It was a valuable tool for offensive linemen coming from the weak side and could even out some speed discrepancies.

 

However, the speed and target area of the blocks could lead to serious injury.

 

The NFL also decided to permanently leave extra points at the 15-yard line.

 

Discussion on other proposed changes, such as a rule that would eject players automatically following two unsportsmanlike foul penalties in one game, will remain on the table for Wednesday's meeting.

 

Tuesday's developments show that the league's decision-makers were pleased with the jolt provided by a slightly more difficult extra point. Kickers missed the most extra points in a season since 1977. They also had their lowest conversion rate since 1982. The adjusted extra point worked its way into some of the most consequential games of the season, including Stephen Gostkowski's miss in the AFC title game.

 

The rest of the approved changes from Tuesday are as follows:

 

» Offensive and defensive play-callers are able to use the headset communication system whether they are on the field or in the booth.

 

» A horse-collar tackle has been expanded to include the area "at the nameplate and above."

 

» A team will be flagged for delay of game if they attempt to call a timeout when they are not able to.

 

» The NFL has eliminated the 5-yard penalty for "an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds, and makes it a loss of down."

 

» The NFL has eliminated "multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession."

 

[SteVo+ 3,702]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/712638040993370112

[oochymp 2,393]

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/712638040993370112

to clarify: the new rule only applies to kickoffs, touchbacks on punts will still be placed at the 20 (though I wouldn't mind seeing that move to the 25 as well if only to encourage better short punts)

 

also, apparently Washington's proposal to get rid of overtime in the preseason was withdrawn, which is a shame

Edited March 23, 2016 by oochymp

[RazorStar 4,025]

NFL can't make up their mind on whether they want to incentivize touchbacks or not...

[Vin+ 3,121]

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/story.asp?i=20160323103716217482208&ref=hea&tm=&src=

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) The NFL is putting some bite in its on-field discipline.

NFL owners on Wednesday approved as a one-year trial ejecting a player who draws two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from specific categories. Those categories include throwing a punch at or kicking an opponent; taunting; and using abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures.

It's not quite as strong as what Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested during Super Bowl week when asked about players committing flagrant fouls. But it's a step in trying to curb unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which hit a high of 75 in 2015.

"Sportsmanship is important to the membership," Goodell said as the owners' meetings concluded. "We all have standards. They have two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before they're ejected. The message from the membership, our clubs and the coaches is they're going to be held to those high standards."

Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee that proposed the change, said the rule was amended from permanent to one season after feedback from coaches.

"We have made it a point of emphasis every time we felt like it's beginning to cross the line," McKay said of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. "We have not been able to affect sportsmanship in the way we think we need to, so this year we have another section on sportsmanship. We have specific points we are emphasizing on sportsmanship.

"But we felt like we needed a rule to make sure that the players are held accountable to what we expect them to do and how we expect them to conduct themselves."

Also approved Wednesday as a one-year trial was placing the ball at the 25-yard line after touchbacks on kickoffs instead of at the 20. The league is seeking ways to reduce injuries on kickoff returns, which it says statistically are the most dangerous plays in the game.

Most proposals on expanding video replay in officiating were dismissed. A suggestion by Baltimore that would simplify the language in replay rules to make clearer what is reviewable has been tabled.

Expanding the use of video on sideline tablets, which many expected to pass easily, also was tabled until the May meetings in Charlotte.

"There was really good discussion from the coaches and some concerns on the technology side and the ramifications of using video," McKay said. "We will use the Microsoft Surface (tablets) with photos on the sideline and will continue to discuss this."

Also:

- Teams no longer will be required to designate the one player allowed to return from injured reserve as soon as he is placed on that list. Instead, they will have until the day before the player returns to practice during the season to designate him. That player must have sat out at least six weeks in the regular season.

- Goodell said reports of substantial progress in talks with the players' union about reducing his role in player discipline were inaccurate.

"We are not close to an agreement by any stretch of the imagination on making changes on that," he said. "But we are open to it and keeping an open dialogue with the union."

- After Cardinals coach Bruce Arians called for full-time officials - "They need to all be professionals," he said - Goodell noted that it's been discussed for several years.

"We believe that at least in a limited form that it's a positive step, so we agree with Coach on that front," he said. "In fact, that's something we fought for in our last labor negotiations with the officials is to be able to hire a limited number of officials, I think it was 16 or so, so that we would have the ability to have them in the office during the week. We could develop greater consistency, and consistency is really the core of what we've talked about all week here in officiating."

- Goodell said the owners agreed this week to invest in additional research into concussions and the brain disease CTE.

 

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

Touchbacks to the 25 is lame as hell, imo.