One drunk night we floated this idea:
What if they removed 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalties. Specifically, late hits, helmet to helmet, etc. and instead of punishing the team with yardage, simply ejected the offending player.
The theory would be that players would be more conscious of their actions because they would be only hurting themselves. How often is a game or drive derailed or extended due to a dumb penalty that was unwarranted? It can make the game unwatchable.
Small offenses for 15 yard penalties would not be called any more while the larger, more egregious penalties would be severely punished.
It wouldn’t make the game same necessarily, but maybe more watchable