WR/DB playing field moving back to level?

I've watched all or part of 11-12 regular season games so far


Certainly looks like DB's are getting away with far more contact this year - Thompkins has been getting the rookie treatment from opposing CB's, but it seems like in every game I watch I see a little more hand fighting and contact with no call - which IMHO is a good thing - but I've been conditioned to expect to see those calls over the past few years


Anyone else noticing a bit of de-Polianization of pass coverage so far this season, or is it just me?

yukon cornelius said:

I've watched all or part of 11-12 regular season games so far


Certainly looks like DB's are getting away with far more contact this year - Thompkins has been getting the rookie treatment from opposing CB's, but it seems like in every game I watch I see a little more hand fighting and contact with no call - which IMHO is a good thing - but I've been conditioned to expect to see those calls over the past few years


Anyone else noticing a bit of de-Polianization of pass coverage so far this season, or is it just me?

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I've been thinking the same thing.

yukon cornelius said:

I've watched all or part of 11-12 regular season games so far


Certainly looks like DB's are getting away with far more contact this year - Thompkins has been getting the rookie treatment from opposing CB's, but it seems like in every game I watch I see a little more hand fighting and contact with no call - which IMHO is a good thing - but I've been conditioned to expect to see those calls over the past few years


Anyone else noticing a bit of de-Polianization of pass coverage so far this season, or is it just me?

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Watching the SeaHawks makes it seem like those rules never existed. If they are going to allow some teams to manhandle receivers they should allow all teams to do it. I would be fine with allowing the DB's to hit again.

DB's in the rest of the league are merely catching up with Revis, who has been manhandling and getting away with DPI since he came into the NFL...

KontradictioN said:

DB's in the rest of the league are merely catching up with Revis, who has been manhandling and getting away with DPI since he came into the NFL...

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and he learned it from Ty Law.....




i've been seeing it in every game, though......lots of (good) non-calls on what would have been penalties in years past


i know it isn't an official point of emphasis, but i can't help but think this is a concerted effort by officials to return to normalcy after tilting the advantage to the offense for years

yukon cornelius said:

and he learned it from Ty Law.....




i've been seeing it in every game, though......lots of (good) non-calls on what would have been penalties in years past


i know it isn't an official point of emphasis, but i can't help but think this is a concerted effort by officials to return to normalcy after tilting the advantage to the offense for years

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Ty Law was doing it back when it was legal. Revis was doing it post-Polian. I've personally never been a fan of the Polian rule changes, though, and celebrated when we beat Indy again the following year after the rule changes took effect. If the NFL is consciously trying to back to the way it used to be, pre-2004, then I think that's good for the game.

I think quarterbacks set a record of some sort for 400-yard games this early in the season. So, whatever is happening it's not in favor of defenses, unfortunately.

Good, I hate seeing the games called differently in the playoffs than the regular season.

One conjecture -- because they're going so ticky-tack on player-danger kinds of calls (a trend I approve more than many fans do), they're compensate by being less ticky-tack on other kinds of contact.

The current members of the NFL Competition Committee are:

- Rich McKay (Atlanta Falcons) (Chairman)
- Jeff Fisher (St. Louis Rams)
- Stephen Jones (Dallas Cowboys)
- Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals)
- John Mara (New York Giants)
- Mark Murphy (Green Bay Packers)
- Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens)
- Rick Smith (Houston Texans)
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers)


Of those, I only see representatives of two teams (Falcons, Packers) that would likely prefer to have 'points of emphasis' heavily tilted in favor of the offense. On the other hand I count five (Rams, Bengals, Giants, Texans, Steelers) that would probably prefer the opposite.

With that in mind it's not really any surprise that the 'point of emphasis' directives generated by the Competition Committee may have shifted from the days when Bill Polian was in charge, seeking to make things favorable for the Colts.

A rundown on NFL's committee power brokers - Press Coverage | The Buffalo News


There is also an NFL General Managers Advisory Committee that works with/offers suggestions to the Competition Committe, but I cannot find a current listing of those members. The last one I found was from a year and a half ago, and half of those on it have been fired since then.

Dimitroff named to NFL general managers committee

yukon cornelius said:

I've watched all or part of 11-12 regular season games so far


Certainly looks like DB's are getting away with far more contact this year - Thompkins has been getting the rookie treatment from opposing CB's, but it seems like in every game I watch I see a little more hand fighting and contact with no call - which IMHO is a good thing - but I've been conditioned to expect to see those calls over the past few years


Anyone else noticing a bit of de-Polianization of pass coverage so far this season, or is it just me?

Click to expand...

I've been seeing it too, and it's about time. To be honest, I thought I saw a fair amount of it last season, and thankfully it's continued into this season. Some teams take better advantage of it than others (Seattle, in particular, has maulers at corner), but the Pats are pretty well-suited for this change, between Talib and Dennard. Makes it even more of a bummer that Dowling didn't pan out.

Re: officiating quirks, has anyone else noticed that the refs have basically rewritten the rules surrounding replays on the fly? It used to be that you called it how you saw it on the field, and only overturned with indisputable visual evidence. Now it seems like, in the event that a turnover or score may have happened, the refs default to calling it that way on the field if there's any uncertainty, so that they can trigger the automatic replay, check it out again, and make the right call (no indisputable evidence required).

This is probably the better way, but it does lead to a lot of butthurt whining from fans of losing teams (see: Jets fans complaining about Clyde Gates' non-catch TD being overturned). I wish the rule would be updated to reflect the reality of how it's applied.

jmt57 said:

The current members of the NFL Competition Committee are:

- Rich McKay (Atlanta Falcons) (Chairman)
- Jeff Fisher (St. Louis Rams)
- Stephen Jones (Dallas Cowboys)
- Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals)
- John Mara (New York Giants)
- Mark Murphy (Green Bay Packers)
- Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens)
- Rick Smith (Houston Texans)
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers)


Of those, I only see representatives of two teams (Falcons, Packers) that would likely prefer to have 'points of emphasis' heavily tilted in favor of the offense. On the other hand I count five (Rams, Bengals, Giants, Texans, Steelers) that would probably prefer the opposite.

With that in mind it's not really any surprise that the 'point of emphasis' directives generated by the Competition Committee may have shifted from the days when Bill Polian was in charge, seeking to make things favorable for the Colts.

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Nice work...a fact supported argument. And no read-option supporters as well so Harbaugh might find it some what difficult gaining support for "vulnerable" QB protection.

The refs missed a holding call on Kyle Arrington against Santonio Holmes in the Slot Thursday Night. That none calls might have lead to Arrington's improved play from the Slot.*sarcasm*

BradyFTW! said:

Re: officiating quirks, has anyone else noticed that the refs have basically rewritten the rules surrounding replays on the fly? It used to be that you called it how you saw it on the field, and only overturned with indisputable visual evidence. Now it seems like, in the event that a turnover or score may have happened, the refs default to calling it that way on the field if there's any uncertainty, so that they can trigger the automatic replay, check it out again, and make the right call (no indisputable evidence required).

This is probably the better way, but it does lead to a lot of butthurt whining from fans of losing teams (see: Jets fans complaining about Clyde Gates' non-catch TD being overturned). I wish the rule would be updated to reflect the reality of how it's applied.

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Have exactly noticed the same.
The downside is a bad call will survive because of no good angle, which is what I thought was going to happen with the Edelman drop/fumble that clearly was a case of what you are talking about.