NFL Rules Changes

Owners and league officials have been meeting from remote locations this week to hash out and vote on proposals to the NFL Rule Book. Going into and during these meetings, the most talked about proposals were alternatives to the onside kickoff and the addition of an official as "an eye in the sky" to assist the on field officials. The alternative to the onside kickoff didn't pass and the additional official proposal was withdrawn before it even got to a vote. So, the proposals that received the most attention didn't make the cut. It shouldn't be a surprise to see each proposal return in some fashion for a future vote. The following rule proposals did pass.

Approved 2020 Playing Rules Summary

1. By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to make permanent the expansion of automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful or unsuccessful Try attempt.

2. By Competition Committee; expands defenseless player protection to a kickoff or punt returner who is in possession of the ball but who has not had time to avoid or ward off the impending contact of an opponent.

3. By Competition Committee; prevents teams from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running.

Approved 2020 Bylaws Summary

1. By League Office; increases the number of players that may be designated for return from two to three. Incorporates interpretations applicable to bye weeks during the regular season and postseason.

***

After the manner in which the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans made a joke of the endings of a couple games last season, including a playoff game, it's no surprise that the third rule change passed. Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel each took advantage of penalty/clock loop-holes to make the final moments of a couple games pretty much unwatchable. If anything can force change in the NFL it's the possibility of a game becoming unwatchable. No one wants to see a team in punt formation for a minute or more of game time. I suppose it was a little funny to see Vrabel pulled his late game stunt against Belichick.

None of the new rules passed this year drastically changes how football is played. That hasn't always been the case. One of the things that has fascinated me about football is it's evolution. Baseball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, tennis, lacrosse, etc are played today very much like they were played when they were played for the first time. Equipment has advanced, some field/court dimensions have been tweaked but the games today look very much like the games of long ago yesterdays. Even the sports from which football evolved, soccer and rugby, have changed little from their origins. Today's football games look little like the football games played in the late 1800s. It's fascinating stuff.