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Updated: March 29, 2006, 3:49 PM ET
NFL votes to rein in TD celebrations
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Chad Johnson, Steve Smith and Terrell Owens lost a good portion of their end zone celebrations. Carson Palmer, Brian Griese and Ben Roethlisberger gained some protection for their knees. And NFL coaches gained the ability to make replay challenges on down-by-contact plays.
Here's a list of the ones that did pass:
- Limited celebration
- Replay changes
- A rushing defensive player won't be allowed to forcibly hit a quarterback below the knees.
- Centers who snap on field goals, extra points and punts can not have a defender line up directly over him.
- Expanded the definition of a horse collar tackle.
- Other little changes for safety included trying to limit the number of re-kicks by giving the kicking team more chances to take penalties after kicks.
- The owners also prohibited kicking teams from loading up one side of the field on free kicks.
- In a vote of 29-3, owners allowed teams to keep 75 instead of 65 players on their roster in the first cutdown, which is annually the Tuesday after the third preseason weekend. The trade off was the NFL Europe exemptions that allowed teams to bring more players to camp expire at that time.
• The Bucs' recommendation to include all penalties for replay review was almost unanimously defeated.
• The Chiefs proposal to expand the playoffs from 12 to 14 was tabled to May, but it doesn't have the support of Tagliabue and the Committee and is expected to fail.
The Committee also completed a six-page clarification of the writing of the holding penalties that it hopes will bring uniformity to the calls and the coaching of offensive linemen.
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i know i heard something about cutting back to 90 seconds, but what else?
• Replay changes: Perhaps the biggest victory of the competition committee was the inclusion of down-by-contact plays on replay challenges. Last year, the Committee fell four votes short of getting down by contact plays included. This year, it passed, 27-5.
Pereira said there were 12 plays in 2005 that would have been overturned in a replay challenge on a lost fumble that was ruled down because the player had been downed after contact with a defensive player. If the defensive team wins the challenge, the ball would go to them at spot of the recovery. In 2004, about 13 change of possessions would have been made in favor of the defensive team that recovered.
One slight modification included in the rule change would shorten the time the referee has to review a play. The review time would go from 90 seconds to 60 seconds from the time the referee begins looking at the replay monitor. In reality, that's not much of a big deal. The average time an official reviews the play is one minute and seven seconds. The league is hoping to shorten the three and a half minutes of lost time during replay challenges.
- A rushing defensive player won't be allowed to forcibly hit a quarterback below the knees. This one seems to call for a LOT of interpretation on the Refs part.
- Centers who snap on field goals, extra points and punts can not have a defender line up directly over him. I definitely don't understand this one. Instead of one guy directly over him, the long snapper will now have a guy on either side of him. To me, having 2 guys on him is more likely to hurt the long snapper.
- Expanded the definition of a horse collar tackle. I got no problem with this rule being expanded as long as they start calling it.
- Other little changes for safety included trying to limit the number of re-kicks by giving the kicking team more chances to take penalties after kicks. Didn't they make those changes last year?
- The owners also prohibited kicking teams from loading up one side of the field on free kicks. What is considered a "free kick?" My understanding of a "free kick" was the play that happens after a safety where the kicker has to drop kick the ball. Is that what they are referring to? Or are they referring to On-side kicks?
- In a vote of 29-3, owners allowed teams to keep 75 instead of 65 players on their roster in the first cutdown, which is annually the Tuesday after the third preseason weekend. The trade off was the NFL Europe exemptions that allowed teams to bring more players to camp expire at that time.
All this means is that there are more players available beyond the starters to play in the last pre-season game.
• The Bucs' recommendation to include all penalties for replay review was almost unanimously defeated.
I don't mind that this was defeated. Reviewing EVERY penalty is a bit much. Though, they should review pass interference calls and holding calls.
• The Chiefs proposal to expand the playoffs from 12 to 14 was tabled to May, but it doesn't have the support of Tagliabue and the Committee and is expected to fail.
I don't see what the purpose of this is other than to add another level of the play-offs. A level that isn't needed.
The Committee also completed a six-page clarification of the writing of the holding penalties that it hopes will bring uniformity to the calls and the coaching of offensive linemen.
My comments are in red.
As for the holding clarification, damn, they needed 6 pages to clarify what holding is and what it isn't?
Anyone see any pattern here when it comes to which side of the ball is once again helped and which side is hurt? Rodney is not going to be happy once again.
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Anyone see any pattern here when it comes to which side of the ball is once again helped and which side is hurt? Rodney is not going to be happy once again.
Don't know if I agree with this totally. The clarification of the holding rules as well as the review of "Down by contact" fumbles actually is a benefit to the defense.
The most needed rule revision was not touched, That is the Pass Interference rule. There should be two types of pass interference penalties. just like the ftwo ace mask calls. The severe and obvious PI should be awarded at the spot of the foul, or on the one, if in the endzone and FD. The lesser and questionable PI call, should be five or ten yards, or half the distance to the goal, and a FD.
Its the arbitrary PI calls that so infuriated the fans, not any of the others...
The best safety changes they could make would be to outlaw the Alex Gibbs rollup crackback-block blocks...
Last edited by AzPatsFan; 03-29-2006 at 05:45 PM..
As for the holding clarification, damn, they needed 6 pages to clarify what holding is and what it isn't?
A free kick is any kick not from scrimmage. It can be a kickoff (onside or regular), safety kick (the punt that comes after a safety, which I think is the term you were looking for), or fair catch kick (which is a field goal attempt after a receiving team can elect to kick after a fair catch, in which the defense must stay 10 yards back).
ESPN: 15 rule changes pass, 2 get voted down (defensive radio, WR movement)
Severe and lesser PI calls...
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