Change that the competition committee SHOULD consider

[DaBruinz]

I think that the Combine needs to be changed. There is no reason to put all the players through track & field events. If they are going to do these drills, shouldn't they be wearing their pads?

Instead of a 40 yard dash, have the WRs line up oppositie the CBs. Have the WRs run a go route and the CBs, would have to keep up with them..

For the DEs, you have them line up and rush a fictitious passer and time their explosion on getting to the QB.

I am sure that there are drills they could put the players through to get a more accurate time than what they do currently.

 

[Pats726]

I think that the Combine needs to be changed. There is no reason to put all the players through track & field events. If they are going to do these drills, shouldn't they be wearing their pads?

Instead of a 40 yard dash, have the WRs line up oppositie the CBs. Have the WRs run a go route and the CBs, would have to keep up with them..

For the DEs, you have them line up and rush a fictitious passer and time their explosion on getting to the QB.

I am sure that there are drills they could put the players through to get a more accurate time than what they do currently.

Not sure if the CC is the group that has anything to do with the Combine..I always thought that that group had to do more with the season games, play etc and NOT to do with the draft or combine. Not sure whose idea it is to do these rhings are why there have not been changes.

 

[Vern]

I think that the Combine needs to be changed. There is no reason to put all the players through track & field events.

Actually, the Combine arose because teams were separately asking players to take physicals and do other "routine" medical and other checks before the draft. This meant that highly touted players would be asked to do dozens of "combine" type drills as they met with any interested team.

The combine is purely a way for the league to do one giant physical on all the main players expected to be drafted to reduce the hassle and wear-and-tear on prospective players. It primarily is just a basic medical check-up and the drills are purely there to supplement official measurements of height, weight, shoe size and whatever else teams wanted to know about prospects.

It was never meant to play much of a role in scouting. It does make sense to not force players to get re-measured a dozen times over in various drills run separately.

 

[Pats726]

Actually, the Combine arose because teams were separately asking players to take physicals and do other "routine" medical and other checks before the draft. This meant that highly touted players would be asked to do dozens of "combine" type drills as they met with any interested team.

The combine is purely a way for the league to do one giant physical on all the main players expected to be drafted to reduce the hassle and wear-and-tear on prospective players. It primarily is just a basic medical check-up and the drills are purely there to supplement official measurements of height, weight, shoe size and whatever else teams wanted to know about prospects.

It was never meant to play much of a role in scouting. It does make sense to not force players to get re-measured a dozen times over in various drills run separately.

True..more like a fair for all the draft prospects...makes a LOT of sense.

 

[RayClay]

Illegal contact penalty for all but the most severe pass interference.

10-15 yards or half the distance.

 

[NePatriots]

Illegal contact penalty for all but the most severe pass interference.

10-15 yards or half the distance.

I really don't want another judgment call for the refs though... I hear where you are coming from though.

On the combine thing I think that they should have more varied sets of drills for each position... more weights for linemen, more quickness for d-backs, etc...

 

[SpiderFox53]

One change I'd like to see at the combine is a requirement to participate in all drills or no invitation will be issued. I'm sick of these guys thinking there "too good" and don't need to participate.

If you want to be part of the combine, then you have to do all aspects. Unless you have a medical reason not to participate that is. Then I'd want the league to verify that reason.

 

[DarrylS]

Illegal contact penalty for all but the most severe pass interference.

10-15 yards or half the distance.

I could not agree more, but there needs to be a clear delineation of what is meant by the rule..

 

[flasox27]

How about changing the membership so that good buddies like Polian,Dungy and Fisher don't influence the rules to help their teams or collude to throw games.

 

[Rob0729]

Illegal contact penalty for all but the most severe pass interference.

10-15 yards or half the distance.

I think they need to make PI reviewable or they have to go to the college system where PI is a 15 yard penalty. The current system makes it far too easy for one bad call to change the outcome of the game. You get one phantom pass inteference call in the end zone on a 50 yard bomb and it could be the difference between winning and losing.

 

[Deus Irae]

Illegal contact penalty for all but the most severe pass interference.

10-15 yards or half the distance.

If you pass this rule, you'll almost never see a long completion in the NFL. Any defender who might even think for a moment that he's beaten will just interfere with the receiver and take a gamble on which level of interference will be called. The only long completions that will be seen after a rule change like this will be the "the defender slipped" sort of wide open plays.

 

[Franchise12]

i'd like the commitee to look add goalline cameras.

 

[Sivy]

Good point on the no long passes thing if PI was a 10-15 yarder, I think that it should be the spot of the foul, but it should DEF! be reviewable, hands down. To many games have been blown because of pad PI calls.


Also, they should let people celebrate as a "team" after touchdowns, and not throw stupid flags for a teammate comin up and "dancing" with the person who just scored, resulting in a kickoff return by the other team on the next play. You score as a team, you should be able to dance as a team.

 

[Pats726]

How about changing the membership so that good buddies like Polian,Dungy and Fisher don't influence the rules to help their teams or collude to throw games.

One way is to rotate membership so that all teans will be represented equally.

 

[fgssand]

If you pass this rule, you'll almost never see a long completion in the NFL. Any defender who might even think for a moment that he's beaten will just interfere with the receiver and take a gamble on which level of interference will be called. The only long completions that will be seen after a rule change like this will be the "the defender slipped" sort of wide open plays.

Absolutley right, if the DB is hopelessly torched, then the WR must be stopped by any means possible, a 15 yard penalty will be an easy gamble at that point.

The answer is better officiating and more clarification about what is and what is not pass interference.

Now, it is possible that that the minor / major judgment call could be beneficial, however, that may make a bad situation worse in that if they got it right to begin with - we would not be having these discussions. At least that would put into place an option for minimizing the damage of a really bad, tacky, PI call.

 

[DarrylS]

If you pass this rule, you'll almost never see a long completion in the NFL. Any defender who might even think for a moment that he's beaten will just interfere with the receiver and take a gamble on which level of interference will be called. The only long completions that will be seen after a rule change like this will be the "the defender slipped" sort of wide open plays.

Not necessarily when this happens it could be labeled severe pass interference... thus the illegal contact call. If a receiver is running past a defender and is taken down by the defender it very well could be the illegal contact provision. Think what is being said here is the long pass that results in incidental contact on both sides, not the flagrant fouls.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not necessarily when this happens it could be labeled severe pass interference... thus the illegal contact call. If a receiver is running past a defender and is taken down by the defender it very well could be the illegal contact provision. Think what is being said here is the long pass that results in incidental contact on both sides, not the flagrant fouls.

First, there's already an illegal contact penalty that can be used. Second, as I said, if someone thinks he's beaten, or even at a disadvantage, he'll commit the foul and hope the call is the 15 yard variety since it's a no lose situation. Third, incidental contact is already supposed to be a non-call.

The problem isn't with the current P.I. rule. The problem is with enforcement, as the Patriots can show from the past few playoff seasons. The problem hasn't only been light contact being called, it's been non-contact being called and offensive P.I. being called P.I. against the defense.

 

[godef]

I think that the Combine needs to be changed. There is no reason to put all the players through track & field events. If they are going to do these drills, shouldn't they be wearing their pads?

Instead of a 40 yard dash, have the WRs line up oppositie the CBs. Have the WRs run a go route and the CBs, would have to keep up with them..

For the DEs, you have them line up and rush a fictitious passer and time their explosion on getting to the QB.

I am sure that there are drills they could put the players through to get a more accurate time than what they do currently.

What's this have to do with the competition committee?

 

[Rob0729]

If you pass this rule, you'll almost never see a long completion in the NFL. Any defender who might even think for a moment that he's beaten will just interfere with the receiver and take a gamble on which level of interference will be called. The only long completions that will be seen after a rule change like this will be the "the defender slipped" sort of wide open plays.

I don't buy this argument. You have the 15 yard penalty rule for pass interference in college and you do see plenty of long completions. What you will eliminate are these last second bombs trying to draw a ticky tack PI penalty to set up a cheap score.

Pass Interference is one of the most inconsistently called rule in the sport. The Pats themselves have been the victim of at least two bad PI calls in the playoffs and one would have most likely been the difference in the Pats winning or losing. Ellis Hobbs bogus face guarding call in the end zone against the Colts in the AFC Championships and the very questionable PI call against Asante Samuel vs. Denver the year before were both momementum changers in critical playoff games that the Pats lost. Samuels' penalty gave the Broncos 39 yards and put them on the one and the Hobbs one gave the Colts 18 yards and put them on the 1.

Unless the league makes PI reviewable, they really need to make it a certain yardage instead of a spot foul. It hasn't hurt the college game. But these ticky-tack PI calls and phantom calls are hurting the Pro game though. It is just ridiculous to allow a foul that could be upwards to 50-60 yards to be left at the disgression of a ref without being able to review and overturn obvious mistakes by the refs. That is why making it a 15 yard foul is an equalizer that might add a few cheap PI plays, but will also eliminate teams getting screwed by a ref that might misunderstand the rule like think face guarding is still a rule or just get the call wrong.

 

[Rob0729]

First, there's already an illegal contact penalty that can be used. Second, as I said, if someone thinks he's beaten, or even at a disadvantage, he'll commit the foul and hope the call is the 15 yard variety since it's a no lose situation. Third, incidental contact is already supposed to be a non-call.

The problem isn't with the current P.I. rule. The problem is with enforcement, as the Patriots can show from the past few playoff seasons. The problem hasn't only been light contact being called, it's been non-contact being called and offensive P.I. being called P.I. against the defense.

Rule is the problem as much as how it is called. It is a judgement call rule. It allows the refs to use their own disgression that may penalize a defense between 40 or 50 yards on a ball that may never have been caught.

Again the college game has a 15 yard max foul for PI and you don't see blatant PI fouls by defenders who are gotten burnt all that often.