NFL Rule Changes? Now?!?!

More Ref involvement, might not be ALL bad. ;)

So the NFL and the players still aren't talking. Yet they continually write love letters back and forth letting each other know just how much they are dying to talk. But yet aren't talking at all, hmmm. All the while, the desperately loyal fans cling to any little tidbit of NFL information we can find - like a crack addict trying to figure out what they’re going to have to do for their next fix. Maybe not that far, but I’m getting there.

Funny though, the owners obviously found the time to go over some more rule changes for next season; one they may not even have because they WON”T TALK WITH THE PLAYERS! It’s all a bit ridiculous and though some of the changes make sense, what’s the point of worrying about such marginal rule fixes when you don’t even have the players to see if they will be better or worse.

Honestly, I am tired of the NFL constantly changing the rules every single year. Some I agreed with like the two point conversion, coach’s challenge and removing the spearing of players, but some have really gotten out of hand. A defensive player’s small window in which they can hit a quarterback, though it protects a team’s biggest asset (the real only reason it’s a rule to begin with) makes me wonder why the quarterback even bothers to have pads on in the first place. Sudden death overtime, though this has been a rule since 1941, I still think they should just play another full quarter of football and give us a real winner. Definitely as the game evolves, some changes are necessary but some of the recent changes seem more like they are changing rules just to change rules rather than trying to really benefit the game, or the player’s safety.

Take the first rule they implemented, now all kick offs will be kicked from the 35 yard line. The owners claim this is for player safety, but I am tired of hearing that. The only thing the owners obviously care about is making sure they don’t have to pay a player through the injury. Statistics show that about 10% of all kickoffs last year went for touchbacks. Watching the NFL as much as I do, it appears that a significant amount more of them land around the five yard line before the return begins. So while I don’t think we won’t see a decent amount of returns, it will definitely be a lesser amount and honestly it’s just annoying.  For the 1-3 potential injuries that may be saved, it’s worth changing such a big aspect of what makes the game so fun to begin with? A kickoff is the football equivalent of a homerun. In a split second the fortunes of your teams game can change for the better or worse and its super exciting. So now we all can look forward to commercial break – touchback – commercial break. Jumping for joy over here (heavy sarcasm).

By the way, they were also thinking of removing the two man wedge (so basically no coordinated blocking schemes?!?!) and placing kick-offs at the 25 yard line which they did not (thank goodness). But they did change also change the distance kickoffs players can get a running start before the ball is actually kicked from 10-15 yards down to only 5. Again I understand this is for “safety” but it seems like nit picking to me.

Seems like a bunch of guys who want to rub their player’s noses in the fact they have the control no matter what happens with the CBA.

One rule change that I agree with is that the referee’s will confirm all scoring plays on replay no matter what just to get it right. Although I love that idea, because in today’s day in age to not get things right like baseball seems wildly archaic, does this mean EVERY single score? I mean if Adrian Peterson breaks through the defense and goes 80 yards untouched to the end zone we will have to see a ref’s head tucked in a camera like a giraffe trying to hide in the desert to really check if he crossed the goal line? Is this going to take forever like a regular replay does (why can’t they have someone watching live in a studio somewhere who has a direct telephone line to the ref so we don’t have to waste our time you know?)? Either way, this seems like another way for the owners to appear as honest lovers of the game while they reserve more time for a couple new commercial breaks….you know, for our benefit.

All in all, the NFL has made some good rule changes and not so good ones and at least it’s nice to see them take a more progressive approach (baseball we are looking at you kid), but do we need new rules every single year? Is it even the same game that players played even ten years ago? Are they being to over reactionary? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I do know this. Changing the rules now, while you don’t have the players to perform the game the rules are being changed for is ridiculous. The fact that you will all get together and negotiate amongst yourselves but yet only address the players through mail and emails is really petty and rather pathetic.

Oh, in other news, there was one little rule change that took place. Any team that wished to change the color of their field NOW requires league approval. Oh really? Only now? Although no team had ever discussed doing so to begin with, Falcons owners Arthur Blank wanted to make sure sponsors couldn’t approach teams about changing the field color. That’s rather funny seeing as the owners seem desperate for cash don’t you think? You’re changing everything else anyway Arthur, so since you owned Home Depot, why not have the Falcons playing on their brand new bright orange field? In fact, you could make it look like the circular from the Sunday paper. “Matt Ryan steps back to throw, plants his foot on the John Deer 20% lawnmower sale, bombs a deep ball to Roddy White who makes the catch in the back of end zone and kisses the 2 for 1 On all Craftsman Power Tools!”

I think you guys missed the boat on that one.

Negotiate with the players please and get on with things.

-BurL