New rules for this year

[awalt]

To enhance safety, owners passed four safety proposals Tuesday morning:

Starting this fall, the NFL is going to outlaw the "wedge" on kickoffs. Starting this fall, no more than two players on the receiving team may intentionally form a wedge to help the returner. The penalty is 15 yards and will be enforced from the spot of the wedge. It will be called if three or more players line up shoulder to shoulder within 2 yards of each other to lead the blocking.

Stop the bunching of players on onside kicks. First, at least four players of the kicking team must be on each side of the kicker. Second, at least three players must be lined up outside each inbounds line, including one who must be outside the yard-line number.

Protect blockers from a helmet-to-helmet hit from the blind side (The HInes Ward rule). A 15-yard penalty will be enforced if a player delivers a blind-side block to the head of a defender using his helmet, forearm or shoulder.

Save receivers from forearm or shoulder hits to the head when they appear to be defenseless. In the past, officials gave an unnecessary roughness penalty to a defender if he delivered a helmet hit to a receiver going across the middle of the field or any spot on the field in which he appeared to be defenseless. Starting this fall, the penalty will also apply if the defender hits the defenseless receiver in the head or neck with his forearm or shoulder.

Defenders who are knocked to the ground no longer can lunge into quarterbacks if the play is still going on. (The Tom Brady rule). This was not a rule change and did not require an owners' vote.

Using video replay on QB fumble or incomplete pass rulings (the Ed Hochuli/Jay Cutler rule) will be voted on tomorrow.

[RavensDomination]

IMO, video replay should be eligible on every play. You only get two game so why is there a limit on what you can use them on? It's intended to correct mistakes right? To me that San Diego/Denver game was just one of a long line of reasons why everything should be open for challenge.

[The Fanatic]

So does that Hines Ward rule apply to offensive players that deliver unnecessary blind side hits to defenders as well?

Seems to me thatr if the rule is intended to protect players from injury it should apply both ways.


That wedge rule is stupid if you ask me.

That is basically how special teams have been taught forever.

You're basically taking away the one weapon a special teams unit has to achieve the explosive play IMO.

Certainly there are guys that have shifty abilitys, etc., but damn.

[UKRavenStockers]

The Tom Brady rule is ridiculous. You get knocked down you have to stop playing the game? What a load of crap.

[jonboy79]

So does that Hines Ward rule apply to offensive players that deliver unnecessary blind side hits to defenders as well?

Seems to me thatr if the rule is intended to protect players from injury it should apply both ways.


That wedge rule is stupid if you ask me.

That is basically how special teams have been taught forever.

You're basically taking away the one weapon a special teams unit has to achieve the explosive play IMO.

Certainly there are guys that have shifty abilitys, etc., but damn.

The Hines Ward rule always applied to Offensive players getting blindsided by defenders, now it is applied both ways(hence the moniker, Hines Ward rule_.

I agree, the kickoff is instantly less returnable.

[Jeremiah W]

IMO, video replay should be eligible on every play. You only get two game so why is there a limit on what you can use them on? It's intended to correct mistakes right? To me that San Diego/Denver game was just one of a long line of reasons why everything should be open for challenge.

This is one rule the college game has so much better it is a shame. Get the call right. If you have a guy watching the game on TV live, he has time to change a call the extra 2 or 3 times a game it should be. It is all reward, no extra risk. No one can complain abou getting a call right, even when the ruling turns out wrong like some BS TDs by Jamal and Santon that never crossed the line.

I have been in favor of changing the spotting rules to mark all forward progress as down where the football ends up when you are down, not how far it was extended in space before forward progress was stopped.

[psuasskicker]

The Tom Brady rule is ridiculous. You get knocked down you have to stop playing the game? What a load of crap.

:word

[Jeremiah W]

The Tom Brady rule is ridiculous. You get knocked down you have to stop playing the game? What a load of crap.

That is a bullshit rule. if they want to protect the knee of the QB, take away the chop block that sent the rusher into them.

[Ravenswarrior19]

The Tom Brady rule is ridiculous. You get knocked down you have to stop playing the game? What a load of crap.

That historic Ravens play from the Superbowl, of Mike McCrary crawling on hands and knees to bring down Collins ... is now a 15 yard penalty. ugh.

[purplepoe]

Here's my question.

Why didn't the NFL pass this rule when Palmer got his knee rolled up on in the playoffs?

That was worse than Brady's play because Van Oloffen (sp?) didn't have an offensive player near him and basically crawled into Palmer's knee.

I guess Palmer wasn't important enough to warrant a rule being made for him.

PP

[Greg]

I have been in favor of changing the spotting rules to mark all forward progress as down where the football ends up when you are down, not how far it was extended in space before forward progress was stopped.
So if a tackler or tacklers pick up a ball carrier and move him 3-5 yards backward before he is technically down the ball should be spotted there?

[4G63]

Every play should be reviewable, including yellow flags. Get the damn call (or non-call) right.

[gsxjockey]

Every play should be reviewable, including yellow flags. Get the damn call (or non-call) right.

I couldn't agree more. We have been screwed more often than helped by horrible penalty calls. They should be able to be reviewed as well. May the best team actually win!

[Ravenswarrior19]

Here's my question.

Why didn't the NFL pass this rule when Palmer got his knee rolled up on in the playoffs?

That was worse than Brady's play because Van Oloffen (sp?) didn't have an offensive player near him and basically crawled into Palmer's knee.

I guess Palmer wasn't important enough to warrant a rule being made for him.

PP

I thought they did. Isn't that when they passed the "can't hit a QB below the knee" rule?

The way I understand it (and I haven't seen any official language yet) is that now they added the specific provision - if you're already on the ground, you can't "lunge" at the QB - to the old Palmer rule.

OT- Why doesn't the NFL make the official rulebook available?

The 2006 rulebook was leaked online a while ago, yet the NFL still has some abridged thing on the website.