Rule Changes You Would Like to See

Playoff HFA based on record. A 9-7 division winner already benefitted from playing in a ****ty division. Now they get to host an 11-5 wild card from a tougher division? Bleh.

Regards,
Chris

Tony2046 said:

I know what you mean but TDs should be hard to get. Or they should be that valuable. Rewarding a team for gaffing at the goal line cheapens that value. Imo.

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Sure, but gaffing at the 1 yard line = fine, get the ball right back. Gaffing out the endzone = the other team gets the ball and your chance of winning just went way down.

Why not compromise and give them a 10 yard penalty, but they keep the ball?

dannydyn said:

Just a few that have been bugging me for a while now (In no particular order):

• PI penalty should be the same for both offense and defense. Spot of the foul on DPI is total horse5hit (re: #JumpBallJoe).
• Get rid of the 2 minute warning. That’s an extra timeout for the trailing team.
• Speaking of 2 minute warning – do not stop the clock when a player steps out of bounds during 2 minute warning. If it doesn’t stop outside the 2 minute warning, it shouldn’t be stopped inside the 2 minutes either.
• Turnovers should be automatically reviewed – just like scoring plays. A coach should have to waste a challenge on a potentially game-changing play.
• Touch-back should mandatory. Kickoff returns, although more interesting should be eliminated – they are dangerous and unpredictable. Every drive should start at the 20 yard line to provide more equilibrium.
• Get rid of the PAT – that’s a nonsense play, even after it has been moved further back a couple of years ago, it’s still a gimme most of the time. A team can either score 6pts on a TD or go for an extra 2 bonus points via 2pt conversion attempt.
• Stop the delay of game to back up your punt unit nonsense. You have to punt from where you are.
• Remove the requirement to declare eligible receiver – that’s BS. 11 players on each side of the ball – the onus is on the defense to figure out who and how to cover each player. By declaring an eligible receiver, you’re essentially giving your play away to the opponent.
• Stop delaying snaps to allow the defense to get set. If the offense had enough time to call a play and set, so should the defense. Get the ref out of the line of scrimmage and let them play!
• Progress is stopped when a player is brought down, not when a ref feels like blowing his whistle, unless there is a clear evidence the player is carried backwards.
• All game balls are provided by the league – the teams shouldn’t be playing with their own balls. That’s the only sport in the world as far as I’m aware, where the teams show up to the game with their own game balls.
• Change OT rule: the current “TD on 1st possession wins game, while FG does not” is BS. It should be timed like every OT in other sport – the team with the higher score when the clock runs out is the winner. If the score is tied at the end of TO, the game ends in a tie – unless it’s a playoff game. Those should continue in repeating OTs until there’s a winner.
• Change playoffs format: 6 teams out of every conference is too much. It should be the top 2 seeds to battle it out.

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Yikes. I don't like most of these at all.

- two minute warning has been a part of the game forever. It's grab a beer time or take a leak time. You'll appreciate it more when you're older.

- agree with turnovers.

- the punt delay of game is to burn the clock. That'll change during the off-season.

- requiring to declare as an eligible receiver is because there are only six players who can touch the ball including the QB. Your suggestion has huge consequences on the game. So no I prefer it remained a logical chess match.

- waiting for the defense to get set is only if the offense changes players. It's a part of the chess match. But waiting for the defense to adjust after the offense has is best for the game. Otherwise you'll have teams scoring or winning for other reasons than being the better team.

- progress is stopped when forward progression is stopped. Holding a player up while others attempt to strip the ball for ten or twenty seconds sounds lame.

- All game balls provided by the league? Nope. How about underwear or gloves or shoulder pads or jock straps ??? I want to see the players play with the equipment they can be their best in or with. Including over or under inflated footballs.

- OT rules?? Beat the team during the game. If it goes to OT and the other team scores then you weren't good enough. I like it.

- the current playoff format works for me. I enjoy the two bye weeks for the two top teams.

TB_Helmet said:

Sure, but gaffing at the 1 yard line = fine, get the ball right back. Gaffing out the endzone = the other team gets the ball and your chance of winning just went way down.

Why not compromise and give them a 10 yard penalty, but they keep the ball?

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Because it's a matter of being disciplined. You'll rarely see a Patriot's player reach out over the goal line to score a TD. They get their TDs by being better and not because they got a second chance for being careless. The risk of reaching out to the goal line should be a great. TDs should be that valuable.

dannydyn said:

• Change OT rule: the current “TD on 1st possession wins game, while FG does not” is BS. It should be timed like every OT in other sport – the team with the higher score when the clock runs out is the winner. If the score is tied at the end of TO, the game ends in a tie

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I don't like most of what you listed although this is something I've considered.

The thing is, a "TD on the 1st possession wins the game" makes sense. For example, if the Falcons or Chiefs got the ball back in OT against the Pats in the SB and AFCCG, it would be pretty unfair since they'd be getting all 4 downs to run/pass down field -- as opposed to 3 downs by the Patriots. Perhaps the rule could involve limiting the responding team to 3 downs only, and only as many 4th downs used by the first team -- although that's a bit too much meddling in the game and its rules.

Nothing affecting the outcome of any game should be allowed to be decided by the 345 Park Avenue Clown Car Gang. Their role should be restricted to league administration. Get Dummy and the evidently corrupt crapweasels in Manhattan out of the way of people who have dedicated their lives to the sport.

Second, all disputes between club personnel, including players, and league officials should be adjudicated by a truly independent arbitrator who has no financial interest of any kind related to any club or league official, and whose decisions are agreed to in advance by all parties to be final.

Chevrolet said:

Here is an easy one.

Change it so all teams can have 53 players active on game day.
Never understood why only 48 allowed.

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Not as easy as you think. The 46 player gameday rule is there to mitigate the disadvantage caused by minor injuries. If one team had 4 players who were too hurt to play (but not hurt enough to go on IR), and the other team had 0, one team would be playing with 4 additional players on their roster. By having 7 gameday inactives, it gives teams some buffer so there's less of the playing field decided by luck.

Make helmets optional again, encourage unnecessary roughness penalties well after play is over (NFL Blitz), eliminate the use of referees, use a gong to signal the end of every quarter, allow the use of swords on the field, just to name a few.

Joey007 said:

Make helmets optional again, encourage unnecessary roughness penalties well after play is over (NFL Blitz), eliminate the use of referees, use a gong to signal the end of every quarter, allow the use of swords on the field, just to name a few.

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These remind me of what my dad always used to say: "I like hockey, but it would be more entertaining if holes opened up in the ice at random and swallowed players."

Sicilian said:

These remind me of what my dad always used to say: "I like hockey, but it would be more entertaining if holes opened up in the ice at random and swallowed players."

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Add it to the list.

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

There could be two variations. One could be pass interference (15 yards) and the other obstruction (spot foul). Obstruction could be something interpreted as extremely obvious, whereas PI could be more incidental. Otherwise you’ll have defensive backs tackling receivers who have them beaten on deep passes.

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They should also add a special review rule for determining whether the PI was "extremely obvious" or more incidental

jimnance said:

NFL needs to change OT rules. Every rule they've ever had, including sudden death, is stupid.
It should be like the NBA and MLB:
You keep playing by the same rules/format as you did in regulation. That way no team is victimized by the luck of a cointoss.
You play an extra quarter,but shorter,say 8 or 10 minutes. You play to the end of the clock,just like regulation.
If score is still tied, in regular season it becomes a tie.
In postseason you keep playing 8 or 10 minute periods until there's a winner.
It's very simple. You're keeping the integrity of the game. The same game you battled for 60 minutes to get to.

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Honestly I am satisfied with the current OT rules.

Given that apparently the NFL's OT rules have all sucked maybe we should just eliminate OT? If the game is tied at the end of regulation it ends as a tie. Want the win then win in regulation.

Given that apparently the most OT games in a season is 25, that seems acceptable. And the number of ties would probably be less than that as teams would play more aggressively at the end end of the game to win in regulation knowing there is no OT.

FCB02062 said:

Expand game day rosters, add wild card, automatic clock stoppage after every play inside 2 min (xfl), 2 timeouts/half, move kickoff back to 30, revert to old onside kick rules, make EVERY play reviewable regardless of whistle...that's just to name a few

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Undecided on expanding the roster, how much, how would they be used. Didn't seem like we had too many players inactive that would have contributed on game day. Some talk about expanding the overall roster. Undecided about that also. Would additional players get meaningful reps in practice? I think the clock inside 2 min is ok the way it is, it brings a lot of strategy into the game. Leave timeouts alone. Definitely go back to kickoff from 30 and old time onside rules. Reviews need to be modified. First any play should be challenged, its up to the coach to manage them, stick with the 2/3 rule. There should be an official monitored the telecast of each game. If he or she observes an obvious miss, then they should contact the field and enforce. That doesn't mean I want them reviewing or bisecting every play but we all see an obvious replay that shows a missed call or wrong call that could be corrected immediately. As to reviews by officials and challenges, don't agonize over them. Look at it, if its obvious make a ruling. If you have to get into repeated slow motion let the call stand. There should be a time limit 1 or 2 minutes and if no ruling has been made at the end of time, the play should stand as called. I would like to get away from coordinated celebrations. I know a lot of you like them and the media like highlight them, but I really cringe when I see these childish displays. Its one thing to pump your fist or spike the ball to register excitement but rehearsed displays, no. I would like to see them stop defensive players that make a play and think they have to run down 20 yards into the offensive area and make sure everyone knows they made a play. I don't like to see the smashmouth removed from football but there are a lot of plays that are made that are totally unnecessary, that are either not called or a personal foul is called. More ejections need to be called on some of these more egregious penalties. On the other side of this I think the NFL looking at film and assessing significant penalties for game actions is just not right. If someone is ejected as suggested above then that would warrant a fine but let's stop this combing the film to find a gotcha. A recent example is the Cody Ford blindside. It seemed marginal to me but supported by the refs, so okay, but it didn't warrant 28K plus a couple days later.

I forgot pass interference. Undecided here also, but think I would go with the 15 yards. I realize DBs would be more likely to foul to prevent a long play but I know offenses now just throw the ball up hoping for a penalty, so I will go with the 15 yards.

Just remembered OT changes. This is stupid. Every one complains that Mahomes didn't get to touch the ball. Well what if he did and scored. Brady scores again, do we let Mahomes have the ball again. I just don't like the college rule, it seems rinky dink to me. Leave the OT rules alone.

dannydyn said:

OK, maybe more than two teams, but the current structure where 9-7 teams automatically secure a playoff spot by virtue of winning their weak *** division is bull5hit. Teams need to 'earn' the spot. Rolling into the playoffs with a 9-7 record is ridiculous. How about seeding based on overall conference record? How about top 4 teams based purely on W-L record, regardless of what division you play in gets you into the playoffs. And I disagree about having nothing to play for. You'd have to play your butt off to make sure you records puts you in the top 4 spots - FINAL 4.

That way, the top 4 would look like:

1) 11-5
2) 12-4
3) 13-3
4) 12-4

Now THAT looks more like playoffs comprised of teams who have earned it. Those are winning records! Not some BS 9-7 that got you into the playoffs by virtue of winning your division.

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The playoff rules are fine. The NFL would never decrease playoff teams to 4 as they would lose an entire weekend, and 4 games, of playoff revenue.

And even giving the division winner an auto playoff bid is not a big deal. Looking at this year the Eagles were the 9-7 division winner. And if instead you simply seeded the teams based on record you would have a tie between the Eagles and Rams for the 6th spot. And it would depend on the NFL's arcane tie-breaker rules as to who would get the spot. Don't think that is an improvement.

The cases where you get say a 7-9 division winner are so rare, that its actually funny and entertaining. Especially when the 7-9 division winner wins their playoff game. Why would we want to get rid of that?

Tottie said:

The fumble out of bounds thing you'll have defensive players in those crucial situations just swat at the ball towards the boundary instead of trying to recover it. The offensive player wouldn't have that luxury so it becomes kind of a problem. The DPI rule suggestion where we let refs decide the severity of the infraction to determine if it's a spot foul will lead to big drama when we disagree on whether it was worth of a spot foul or the 15 yarder.

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Yes, spare us from any more drama.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

1) Close the clock loophole (limit total runoff to 40 sec);

2) Coaches get 2 replay challenges, but don't lose any at all if they are correct (why punish them for getting it right?). In other words, unlimited challenges until you fail on two of them;

3) Since the onsides kick play is now dead and can't be revived, for safety reasons, give a scoring team that is trailing in the last 5 minutes of a game the option of, instead of kicking off, to take possession of the ball at the 25 yard line with a 4th and 20 play (or 4th and whatever distance equates with the expected success rate of an onside kick in the past);

4) Ditch PI replay review, except in the last two minutes of each half

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Don't give coaches unlimited reviews, keep it at 2/3

My OT change would be simple:
1) When the coach sends the captains out at the start of OT, each coach gives his captain an index card on which the coach has written on what yardline he's willing to take possession.
2) On the field the ref collects the cards and announces the numbers.
3) Whichever team was willing to start closest to its own goalline gets the ball at that yardline; the other one picks which goal to defend.
4) If both team pick the same spot, a coin is tossed (away team calls) and the winner gets the ball at that yardline; the other one picks the goal to defend.
5) It is true sudden death - first score of any kind wins.

TB_Helmet said:

Why not compromise and give them a 10 yard penalty, but they keep the ball?

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...or no

FCB02062 said:

Another rule, don't know if it's been mentioned - allow unlimited players to return from IR and don't put a time limit on amount of games player must sit out to be on IR. It makes no ****ing sense - unless it's a way, who knows how, for the greedy owners to make more $. Why not allow a player designated for return on week 1 to return week 5 if he's ready?
Along with my added wildcard, do away with preseason games COMPLETELY

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I agree this needs to change some way, allow more players to return if healthy. However, it results from Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke stashing several players on IR just to keep them from other teams. It's not fair to the players in some respect. maybe increase the number that can return to 6.

chris_in_sunnyvale said:

Playoff HFA based on record. A 9-7 division winner already benefitted from playing in a ****ty division. Now they get to host an 11-5 wild card from a tougher division? Bleh.

Regards,
Chris

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No changes to this. No seeding/