NFL is considering some rule changes in 2025

[Goin Breakdown]

How does adding technology give any peace of mind. Don't we already see decisions made that clearly show different on film?  I'm sure there's still going to be some gaslighting. 

[BillsShredder83]

3 hours ago, mbs said:

Get rid of regular season overtime entirely. Playoffs get additional full quarters until someone wins.

 

Putting a Chip in the ball probably can’t work with adequate precision so the visual wireframe reference points make sense. Might not help as much as we hope.

 

3 sounds great.

 

 Still don’t like the new kickoff.

Wait, wait!  Is this the same thing we knew like 2-3 weeks ago???  Where the chip can measure FROM WHERE THE *REF* SPOTS THE BALL.  Or is this further expanding on what we heard a few weeks ago, and these HAWKEYE cameras can help spot a first down live/on review?

 

Suttle diference here... but one of these would've fixed Chiefs AFCCG debacle, and the other wouldn't.  The one they rolled out few weeks ago, I could not possible give less of a s*** about!  I'm not worried about incompetence in a crews ability to measure with a chain, a fixed tangible object..... this "fix" does NOT settle any problems (chain measurement has NEVER been a problem). In fact it CREATES problems! I trust the chain more than "yep hawk camera eye says its good, no need to measure" on close plays.

 

The problem, is DOGS**T SPOTS OF THE BALL.  Not only on the sneak, or Kincaid's previous 3rd down play..... but that video circulated showing Cook not getting a first down, from 1st and 10, on a 12yard run!  It was dogs**t all day!!!  I'm pissed off all over again.  I'd rather they left it unaddressed all together if they're not going to do it right.  

 

Obviously as a Bills fan, but from an NFL fan, this **** is ridiculous!!!!!  Ever rule tinker introduces less faith and more objectivity into the game

[BillsShredder83]

3 hours ago, Never NEVER Give-up said:

I hate the idea of the 4th & 15.
The strategy of the game is to get up by 2-3 scores to make it difficult for the opponent to come back.  The winning team thru 3 qtrs worked hard and had to march up & down the field to score.  Then the 4th qtr comes and we make it easier to re-gain possession and score more easily when the clock and score should be working against them.

 

If you're losing - yeah - it's great; but if you're winning, it seems (to me) the NFL would be diminishing the lead that was built.

This^^^.  The no surprise onside elimination was stuuuupid.  I get it, its a physical play... but how many onsides did this rule change stop the whole season?  4?  Across the 32 team schedule.  The not knowing when at least gave it some strategy.  They jacked all this up to stop 4 instances of - Sean Payton SB Halftime type kicks?  STOOOOPIDDDDD

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not fully opposed to the "4th and x" idea all together, as the onside kick has become completely worthless (NFL's own doing *eyeroll*).  I think implementing it could be done fairly easily:

 

What was the onside kick recovery % prior to the rule change?  Let's say 5%.  Now we have our target rate.

 

NOW:

 

Examine every 4th and Long (over 15yds), well call it "4th and X", from the past 5-10 years....

 

Solve for X: 

When X is <= 5%.  Boom! You've got you're number.

 

Onside Kick is now "4th and X"

 

If I were taking an educated guess I'd bet its something like "4th and ~22"

Edited March 13 by BillsShredder83

[reddogblitz]

4 hours ago, stevestojan said:

Why can’t the NFL just admit that the NCAA has figured out the OT thing and implement that. 

 

If the NFL is going to copy another league's overtime rule, got the XFL's from a few years ago before the merger.

 

2 point conversions.  Each team runs one. If both make it or both miss, do it again. When 1 team makes it and the other doesn't, game over.  Would be better in regards to player safety which the league is always talking about (but doesn't really care about).

[Steptide]

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, make overtime 8 or 10 mins and play it out. If it's still tied then go to sudden death. 

[Victory Formation]

I understand that some penalties need to be called, but you have to let them play the game too. Less officiating, not more, but fair to both sides.

[mbs]

3 hours ago, BillsShredder83 said:

Wait, wait!  Is this the same thing we knew like 2-3 weeks ago???  Where the chip can measure FROM WHERE THE *REF* SPOTS THE BALL.  Or is this further expanding on what we heard a few weeks ago, and these HAWKEYE cameras can help spot a first down live/on review?

I have always assumed when people want a chip in the ball that they think some sort of wireless telemetry will provide an exact position and orientation of the ball at an instant. Thus no refs spotting anything. I can't imagine such a technology exits, but I'm not an engineer. The visual wireframe they describe suggests an aid for refs to spot the ball accurately by giving a 3d model with presumably very precise positions. That tech definitely works.

 

So yeah, I think their proposal would fix Kinkaid's spot and maybe Josh's as well. The system would prevent the whole conversation that goes, "well from this camera angle at least, it looks like his elbow is over the 45, so his toes must be just behind the  . . . " nonsense. The imaging would let us know instantly where all the body parts are to the inch and there's no need for some microwave triangulation or whatever the "chip" is supposed to provide.

 

And, yeah, I have only once thought the chain gang leaned a flag, otherwise it's always the bad spot and with a poor camera angle it's tough to overturn.

 

Also,  I would rather have an onside kick that must be pre-called than go to any 4-15 gimmickry. 

Edited March 13 by mbs

[mbs]

1 hour ago, Victory Formation said:

I understand that some penalties need to be called, but you have to let them play the game too. Less officiating, not more, but fair to both sides.

I would like to agree, but players don’t play to the rule they play to the enforcement. Ease up and they will just play dirtier. I don’t know how to fix that.

[UConn James]

10 hours ago, section122 said:

 

#3 is pandoras box.  They can't allow replay assist to retroactively apply a flag which I get but it also is what would make it the most effective.  The next step is letting coaches challenge missed penalties.  There is no way that Darnold play shouldn't be corrected when everyone knows what happened.

Well they tried this with Pass Interference review when it wasn’t called and the refs (no doubt with ref union urging) gave everyone a huge middle finger every time.
 

They WILL NOT relinquish any bit of control they have over the outcome of the game. And why is that…?

[LabattBlue]

Rule change 1 - no more illegal formation. Man is covered up blah blah blah

 

Rule change 2 - OL can be downfield. Who cares as long as they are not eligible to catch a pass

 

Rule change 3 - you can have multiple players in motion as long as not moving towards line of scrimmage

[Doc Brown]

17 hours ago, ryguy101 said:

3. Replay assist could have more power - CBS sports "step in for objective penalties like a facemask. This version of replay assist would only apply if a flag is thrown that should NOT have been thrown." BUT.. the one that wasn't called on Sam Darnold would not be able to be replayed because replay can't throw a flag if the refs didn't

The bigger problem is the roughing the passer penalties imo.  Replay assistance should be able to overturn those calls by making the criteria for a call as objective as possible.

10 hours ago, Steptide said:

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, make overtime 8 or 10 mins and play it out. If it's still tied then go to sudden death. 

What if you have historically bad offenses where it's like the hockey playoffs where they can go five 20 minute periods long without scoring?  I like the idea but make it  a 10 minute period and just call it a tie if it's still tied.

[BillsShredder83]

13 hours ago, mbs said:

I have always assumed when people want a chip in the ball that they think some sort of wireless telemetry will provide an exact position and orientation of the ball at an instant. Thus no refs spotting anything. I can't imagine such a technology exits, but I'm not an engineer. The visual wireframe they describe suggests an aid for refs to spot the ball accurately by giving a 3d model with presumably very precise positions. That tech definitely works.

 

So yeah, I think their proposal would fix Kinkaid's spot and maybe Josh's as well. The system would prevent the whole conversation that goes, "well from this camera angle at least, it looks like his elbow is over the 45, so his toes must be just behind the  . . . " nonsense. The imaging would let us know instantly where all the body parts are to the inch and there's no need for some microwave triangulation or whatever the "chip" is supposed to provide.

 

And, yeah, I have only once thought the chain gang leaned a flag, otherwise it's always the bad spot and with a poor camera angle it's tough to overturn.

 

Also,  I would rather have an onside kick that must be pre-called than go to any 4-15 gimmickry. 

Chip in the ball (both ends), chip on the field every 5-10 yards.  Some algo that can help spot the difference.  Not an every play thing, challengable or available to refs when they cant see inside a scrum

 

But im highly regarded lol probably talking out my arse.  You have 32 franchises valued over a billion, where theres a will theres a way LOL

Edited Friday at 12:21 PM by BillsShredder83

[BobbyC81]

A strategy on onside kicks that could be done that I’ve never seen is have the kicker kick the ball hard at a member of the receiving team.  The ball will likely bounce off the receiver back towards the kicking team, giving them the advantage in recovering.  

[Steptide]

11 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

 

What if you have historically bad offenses where it's like the hockey playoffs where they can go five 20 minute periods long without scoring?  I like the idea but make it  a 10 minute period and just call it a tie if it's still tied.

Ya I agree with that for the regular season. Playoffs, obviously you need sudden death 

[Doc Brown]

5 minutes ago, Steptide said:

Ya I agree with that for the regular season. Playoffs, obviously you need sudden death 

I think the NFL OT playoff format currently is the best system in the history of the league.  I think they should bring the same format to the regular season with the only exception being there's a tie after 10 minutes.  

5 hours ago, BobbyC81 said:

A strategy on onside kicks that could be done that I’ve never seen is have the kicker kick the ball hard at a member of the receiving team.  The ball will likely bounce off the receiver back towards the kicking team, giving them the advantage in recovering.  

The ball has to hit the ground first before the kicking team can recover.  If they change that rule it's not a  bad idea.

Edited Friday at 06:46 PM by Doc Brown

[Talley56]

On 3/13/2025 at 9:15 AM, ryguy101 said:

The NFL is considering some rule changes in 2025:

 

1. Regular season OT rules modified to playoff format - Ever since 13 seconds this one has been under fire. They obviously changed it for the postseason but it does IMO need to be changed for the regular season. We shouldn't have to be worried if our team will get the ball in OT based on a coin toss (controversy in 49ers chiefs game also)

 

I'm not sure I understand the 49ers Chiefs reference.  Are they talking about last year's SB?  Both teams got the ball in OT, so, not to defend the Chiefs, but, that one was actually fair.

[dayman]

On 3/13/2025 at 9:15 AM, ryguy101 said:

The NFL is considering some rule changes in 2025:

 

1. Regular season OT rules modified to playoff format - Ever since 13 seconds this one has been under fire. They obviously changed it for the postseason but it does IMO need to be changed for the regular season. We shouldn't have to be worried if our team will get the ball in OT based on a coin toss (controversy in 49ers chiefs game also)

 

2. Virtual measurements - I think that will be better so we don't have to worry about blind refs. Ehem... Josh Allen spot in Bills-Chiefs game on QB sneak... CBS Sports - "The NFL would be using Sony's Hawk-Eye SkeleTRACK system, a 14-camera system that specifically monitors more than two-dozen skeletal points on a player's body. "That system, along with the chips in the footballs and the 18 other specific cameras strategically placed around the stadium"

 

3. Replay assist could have more power - CBS sports "step in for objective penalties like a facemask. This version of replay assist would only apply if a flag is thrown that should NOT have been thrown." BUT.. the one that wasn't called on Sam Darnold would not be able to be replayed because replay can't throw a flag if the refs didn't

 

The NFL will still use their secretly developed gravitational wave technology to rig first down spots undetectable by the virtual measuring tool. They are unaware aliens will see this signal in 3 years and invade.

Edited Saturday at 10:42 AM by dayman

[ryguy101]

11 hours ago, Talley56 said:

I'm not sure I understand the 49ers Chiefs reference.  Are they talking about last year's SB?  Both teams got the ball in OT, so, not to defend the Chiefs, but, that one was actually fair.

the 49ers won the toss and wanted to receive the ball. instead of giving the chiefs offense the ball first to see if they would go down and either punt, fg, or td they took the ball and then got a field goal giving Mahomes the opportunity to get a win by a TD. they didn't know about the super bowl rules - they were probably just thinking about the regular season OT rules.... 

[The Cincinnati Kid]

I would like to see overtime as a full 10 or 15 minute period and eliminate the sudden ends to the game. 
 

An offensive play in place of an onsides kick would also be my preference, outside of the original rules with overloaded side and absolute destruction of the receiving team’s players.

[Freak-O]

Thw technology to spot exactly where the ball is has existed in tennis for a long time as well as in soccer. There must be a way to make it work in the NFL so we get rid of the refs pretty much just saying ”this seems about right”.