Owners approve rules adjustments for Replay, OT, and Kickoff

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Let's make things interesting.  Give each team's head coach the right to choose any active player on the other team's roster to kick-off, but that right can be used  only 1x per game.  Would make for some interesting choices and timing decisions, and maybe add a little fun to the No Fun League.

[Matt_In_NH]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

The NFL is pretty cagey with what data they do and don't let get out into the world regarding player safety. So no, I don't have data to support my statement.

My position is that they do surface level things like change the kickoff, begrudgingly allow guardian helmets to be worn during games, and add more stringent concussion protocols to give LIP SERVICE to the idea of player safety, when in reality, many of their other actions show that it's not really a priority for them.

Put differently, I think they're willing to make player safety changes SO LONG AS it doesn't affect their bottom line. None of the above three changes I just mentioned take money out of the owners' pockets. Meanwhile, they're willing to do things that ADD to their bottom line even IF they fly in the face of player safety.

I think the amount of short weeks they make players play on, Thursday night games (which are universally despised by players), adding extra regular season games, etc, are all inherently antithetical to the idea of protecting player safety. But they all increase revenue, so the league pushes them through.

If they can appease the public with safety measures that don't cost them profit, they will. That way, when they do things that are not conducive to player safety, they can point to the things they DO do and say "No. See? Look! We're doing things!".

Oh, and then there's the issue of turf being less safe to play on than natural grass, for which there DOES seem to be plenty of data. And yet...

I agree the owners will not be as quick to make changes when it affects revenue.   I think the Thursday product generally sucks and I have heard players complain but not sure it is backed up by injury data, not saying it is or isn't just that I have not seen it if it exists.  I think in many cases guys miss a Thursday game where maybe they could go on a Sunday, certainly true for concussions.  Also, valid point on the turf, that is a bit tricky for some of the existing domes and whatnot.  They should not play on that turf in London at Tottenham and in NY (and probably some other places) so there are things they could do.    I will say that long term affects of concussions are probably a different category than other injuries.

[T.E.]

You could improve the game immensely by undoing almost every single rule change put into place during the Goodell era.

 

"But what about player safety?" That all gets solved by eliminating the extra game, doing away with Thursday Night Football, and testing for growth hormone and other PEDs during the offseason without prior warning.

[ProcessTruster]

5 hours ago, DapperCam said:

All touchbacks putting the ball at the 35 is insane. It’s almost the same as the penalty for kicking out of bounds now! You only need 25 yards to be in FG range for a good kicker.

Bills need to get Taiwan Jones and Siran Neal on the horn quick.. time to play some ST again! 

5 hours ago, sven233 said:

 

That's the point of doing it though.  They want returns.  They are trying to force teams to kick the ball in play rather than blasting it into the endzone every time.  The league doesn't want teams to put the ball at the 35 at all.  They want them to kick it inside the 5 and have the returns.  This should help get them that result.

they agreed on the 35 last year and then caved at the last minute to see if the 30 would do the trick... which it didn't

[ProcessTruster]

5 hours ago, Kaenon said:

Let's see....

More scoring - good for the NFL

Longer games for review reviews, more commercial$ - good for the NFL

 

Win-win for the NFL

 

Goodell has to help do something to justify his $70M per year salary...

everyone gotta make a living I guess..  :I

[Steve Billieve]

12 hours ago, DapperCam said:

All touchbacks putting the ball at the 35 is insane. It’s almost the same as the penalty for kicking out of bounds now! You only need 25 yards to be in FG range for a good kicker.

 

Just wait, this is how real athletes start kicking footballs

 

[Richard Noggin]

12 hours ago, Cash said:

Playoffs:  Play a 15 minute OT, then go to sudden death if needed.

 

I think an extra 15 minutes is super fair, like old school hockey OT, but is also just too much extra football with no immediate incentive to score at all cost. College rules seem like the best compromise: dynamic, redzone-heavy kind of offensive shootout where special teams (minus extra points early on) is stripped away. Super exciting by design. 

 

10 hours ago, benderbender said:

Moving the kickoff is proof that the dynamic kickoff was not proposed to reduce injury. More kicks will be returned, and by default, injuries will increase. At one point is the injury rate acceptable? And does it have to intersect with a return rate?

 

Not at all. Kickoffs under this current setup, no matter how frequent, are inherently less dangerous due to dramatically less runway for the coverage unit before initial contact. Slower speeds = less force. We used to watch something much more gruesome and unsafe. Crazy collisions beyond what you'd see in normal scrimmage plays. The physics involved was terrifying. 

[Cash]

7 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

I think an extra 15 minutes is super fair, like old school hockey OT, but is also just too much extra football with no immediate incentive to score at all cost. College rules seem like the best compromise: dynamic, redzone-heavy kind of offensive shootout where special teams (minus extra points early on) is stripped away. Super exciting by design.

 

I abjectly hate the college OT rule.  It's not football to me; it's some sort of mini-game.  And yeah, mini-games can be really fun in the way that it's fun to eat cake frosting straight out of the can.  But that's not a good way to live your life.

 

I like special teams, and I like the field-position battle in general.  Spoon-feeding offenses the ball in scoring range just doesn't do it for me and never will.

[Livinginthepast]

So the NFL used to think that KO's were dangerous but now they want to encourage less touchbacks, which will result in more KO returns and more dangerous possibilities?? Limiting the style and ability to do onside kicks also is ridiculous. One of the best gambles in SB history was the surprise onside kick by NO in SB in 2010.