NFL Owners Approve Some Rule Change Proposals

Today, the NFL owners met to vote on the various proposed rules changes proposed by the Competition Committee last week. Last week we examined the proposed changes. Here are the results of the owners votes. The owners approved some proposals, while rejecting others.

1) Instant Replay Decisions Made by Booth: Rejected
Ultimately, the owners decided this was a radical change to the replay system and they did not want to take the power of decision-making off the field.

2) Automatic Booth Reviews Expanded for All Turnover Plays: Approved
Owners apparently were satisfied last season with the automatic review of all scoring plays enough to approve the expansion to all turnover plays. This will mean the most critical plays in a game will all be subjected to automatic review. This will allow coaches to keep their challenge flags in their pockets and socks more often and using it for plays that do not involved a score or a turnover more effectively.

3) Uniform Overtime Rule: Expanded Postseason Overtime to Regular Season: Approved
The longing for uniformity in rules won out in a 30 to 2 vote for the NFL. Owners did not want a difference in postseason and regular season rules (besides the allowance of ties). Now, for all regular season and postseason games, a field goal on the first possession of overtime cannot end the game.

4) Too Many Men on the Field Changed from a Live Ball to a Dead Ball Penalty: Approved
The NFL will now mimic the NCAA rule that will kill a play when a too many men on the field foul occurs. There will be no opportunity for the offense to run a 'free play' against the defense with too many men on the field. The play is killed immediately, just as if there were 12 men in the huddle. The clock will also be stopped when such a foul occurs.

5) Horse Collar Tackle of Quarterback in Pocket Exemption Abolished: Rejected
In the end there were reservations about ridding the exemption for the horse collar tackle when it is made against the quarterback in the pocket. The safety concerns for the quarterback were not too worrisome for owners. When such a tackle occurs, the quarterback is not on the run, but rather sitting in the pocket, so the dangers of the horse collar tackle are significantly reduced. Defensive players will not be further handcuffed.

Additional rules changes were made that were not previously discussed. These two changes were approved by the owners:

6) Loss of Down for Illegally Kicking a Loose Ball: Approved
In what had previously not included a loss of down penalty, owners finally have added a stricter penalty for the offense when they illegally kick the ball. Just as in an illegal forward pass, the offense will be penalized both yards and with the loss of down.

7) Receiving End of Crackback Block Added to Defenseless Posture Position: Approved
This ends any use of the crackback block because those on the receiving end are considered to be in a defenseless posture, just as a quarterback receiving a blow to the head or a receiver in the process of a catch. A crackback block will now be penalized by a personal foul and a 15 yard penalty.