Suggested rule changes for the NFL

[the steam]

1. No more Thursday games. Should not have to play on 3 days rest. Exception Thanksgiving let Detroit and Dallas have their games for tradition.

2. In a 7 point game if the trailing team scores a TD they must go for 2. Example if team a is up 7-0 in the 1st Q and team B scores a TD to make it 7-6 they must go for 2. If team A is up 31-24 with 10 seconds left and team B scores they must go for 2.

3. If you line up to go for it on 4th down you must go for it. So sick and tired of "just trying to draw them offsides." You can't call TO and a delay of game is a turnover on downs.

4. Less timeouts. 6 TO's per team is a joke. Especially with the 2 min warnings, stoppage at the end of quarters and countless free TO's for commercials and reviews. Add to that coaches "I will never take a TO to the locker room!!" mentality and the games can be painful to watch. The NHL has this right and the NFL should follow. One TO per team per game. I'll admit redzone with 7 hours of commercial free football has spoiled me and between the TO's, penalties, reviews, and 100 pre snap whistles a game I get really bored watching stand alone games. Let's speed up the games

5.Enforcement of roughing the passer/late hit/unnecessary roughness. NFL should take another cue from the NHL here. NHL rules state you cannot check from behind or drive someone into the boards but this rule is broken about 20x a game. It is usually only called when the impact is hard and it does damage to an opposing player. They don't call soft shoves from behind and the NFL should not call RTP when a hand grazes the QB's helmet. Some RTP calls the QB doesn't even go down it's just a push in the shoulder. I'm talking about you Brady and Rodgers. If the QB is getting right up pumping his fist and celebrating RTP should not be called.

6. Intentional grounding. Rarely called because if the QB takes 2 or 3 steps to the left or right grounding the ball is legal. Just get rid of the penalty for intentional grounding but any pass that doesn't get to the line of scrimmage is a live ball. Would be very exciting and would stop all these check down Charlie QB's from boring us to death with their dink and dunk

What are some rule changes you guys would like to see?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I agree but I think there should be intentional PI and unintentional PI. If it’s not intentional then sure 15 yards, but if that rule gets set they can’t take advantage.

If that’s the rule and a DB gets beat and purposefully trips, pulls or hinders the WR then I think that should be intentional DPI and be a spot penalty

I'm not in favor of giving refs MORE leeway in interpreting the rules. They already have too much agency in the outcome of a game.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Home team gets the choice in OT (and might as well at the start of the game, too), no more coin flip bullshit... especially in the playoffs where you've earned HFA.

I actually like this one. Yes the coin flip is tradition and all but home field advantage should give more “advantage”. Hell even visitors get to call the coin flip….what is that?

They could still do the coin flip but it only determines which side of the field you start at. So for example….Chiefs are at arrowhead playing Raiders. Chiefs decide they want to defer but captains still go out for the coin flip to determine which side of the field the winner of the coin flip wants. Could actually make still a difference if wind is crazy.

This would give more meaning to home field advantage and could make playoff push’s for home field even more important to teams.

[the steam]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I'm not in favor of giving refs MORE leeway in interpreting the rules. They already have too much agency in the outcome of a game.

Absolutely. I did like the suggestion of 1 play to gain 15 yards instead of attempting an onside kick but after I thought about it that would just invite more terrible officiating deciding games. Imagine the outrage after stopping the offense and a phantom PI or defensive holding being called

[Pepe Silvia]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

Anyone who whines about the NFL being rigged should be banned from watching the NFL. And definitely banned from posting about it.

You still believe in Santa Claus too?

[the steam]

Originally Posted by BWillie

2. Make pass interference a 15 yard penalty. They call is so often. I really dont know why teams just dont go deep everytime.

This drives me crazy on 3rd and 15 or more. Hate it when teams call a "give up" screen, draw or short pass that rarely get the 1st down. Why not throw it 50 yards downfield? The risk is an int which is almost like a punt. The reward is a 50 yd completion or PI penalty.

Still remember the Miami ND 3rd and 43. Straight fly pattern. On 3rd and 43 in today's game they would throw a 7 yard in and scream at the ref to call PI or defensive holding

[the steam]

Originally Posted by AdolfOliverBush

It'll never happen, but the Super Bowl should not be at a neutral site. It should always be at the home stadium of the highest remaining seed. No extended halftime either. Super Bowls feel "Disneyfied"...a spectacle for casual and non-fans, rather than the actual football fans who have been watching all season.

Don't know if the smaller NFL cities could accommodate that. Especially on short notice because you wouldn't know where the SB was being played until 2 weeks before, but 100% agree with getting rid of the long, annoying halftime show.

[kccrow]

1. I don't really care, but my preference would be no TNF.

2. This is insane, no.

3. No.

4. The NFL is not going to cut into advertising opportunities. If we looked at it purely from a football angle, one TO per team per game might be a bit of a reach. I do agree, most situations don't require 3 timeouts and if they do then it's primarily posturing one way or another before a last-second field goal. Teams could certainly live with 1 per half. Hell, do them a solid and give them 1 per quarter. The chances of teams using 1st quarter and 3rd quarter TOs are probably slim, but not none. In any event, its a waste to think they'll change this.


5. Sure, we all agree this shit is as ticky-tack as it gets but the NFL and it's owners has made it an absolute that they protect the QB even if it looks ridiculous. I guess, if you're spending 100's of millions on a long-term deal, you don't want it getting all dinged up. I still think it takes away from the game. At least let the guys get touched if you're not going to let them get hit. Like 4 above, they won't change this.

6. Yeah, I kind of agree with this one in that it's be fun to see your rule in action. The "outside the pocket" rule has really made grounding a bit of a gray area. They still have to get the ball to the LOS but it has made it too easy for QBs to not lose yards and not get hit.

[the steam]

Originally Posted by kccrow

6. Yeah, I kind of agree with this one in that it's be fun to see your rule in action. The "outside the pocket" rule has really made grounding a bit of a gray area. They still have to get the ball to the LOS but it has made it too easy for QBs to not lose yards and not get hit.

I'd be fine with the old rule that you can't intentionally ground the ball ever.(exception for spikes) Take the sack or make a reasonable attempt at a completion, don't care if the QB is outside of the tackle. Rodgers and Wilson abuse the hell out of this rule, especially in the red zone.

[L.A. Chieffan]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I feel like that is accurate but could be take advantage of. What if Mahomes launches a bomb to Hardman and the DB knows he’ll be beat so he just pulls Hardman’s jersey to break up the play?

Bc why not? 50 yard penalty or 15?

Also rewind clock to start of previous play. That way not only 15 yard penalty but no time is taken off so makes penalty worse for defense without being crippling

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by the steam

I'd be fine with the old rule that you can't intentionally ground the ball ever.(exception for spikes) Take the sack or make a reasonable attempt at a completion, don't care if the QB is outside of the tackle. Rodgers and Wilson abuse the hell out of this rule, especially in the red zone.

I've never understood the penalty for intentional grounding. They say it's a loss of down and the ball is marked where it was thrown. So if Russell Wilson is about to get sacked on 1st down 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage and he intentionally grounds the ball, then the refs mark it as 2nd down and 16.

Well, that's no different than if he was sacked, right? So intentional grounding is not really a penalty at all. It's just a decision to ignore that he threw the ball.

I like The Steam's Rule 6, plus my wire rule in Post 69 and my suggested penalty of actually losing a down instead of merely pretending that a play happened. If the NFL did that, we'd have no more complaints about intentional grounding.

[oldman]

Originally Posted by the steam

That is exactly right. I love watching red zone every Sunday 7 hours of commercial free action, but single games bore me. I literally feel like I'm watching commercials with a smattering of plays in between.

Big 3rd and 4 late in the game. "blue 22 hut HUT!! hut HUT HUT!!" timeout just trying to get them to jump. Commercial. Line up again timeout defense just wanted to see how they line up now the defense wants to talk it over. Commercial. After 7 or 8 idle minutes a play is run. Was his knee down before the ball got to line to gain? Was that ball moving when he we rolled over? Gotta have a look at it. Another commercial. Just gets frustrating and tedious to watch.

40-50 years ago 3 TO's per half probably was the right number. Teams ran the ball about 60% of the time and huddled after every play so the clock melted much faster. QB's weren't in constant communication with the coach through their helmet so sometimes they needed to call TO and talk to the coach. Spiking the ball to stop the clock wasn't allowed. There were no free TO's for replay. Just isn't the case today. All these TO's aren't necessary like they were when the 3TO's per half rule was made.

I know this will never change because it is a business and the max stoppages/ commercial time is what the NFL wants but I can dream

Gee, I'm sorry you have to be entertained for every minute. Play Madden instead.

Those are pretty important decisions.

Make all TOs 30 seconds. There are plenty of coaches that will not use all their 6 TOs per game. Now that you can challenge some rulings at the expense of a TO, how do you propose to challenge?

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

The NFL is never removing timeouts. Without them, the number of late game comeback opportunities decrease.

[PHOG]

Originally Posted by Carr4MVP

The NFL is never removing timeouts. Without them, the number of late game comeback opportunities decrease.

As do the all important commercial break opportunities.

[Pepe Silvia]

No more rule changes, just end the league entirely.

[the steam]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I've never understood the penalty for intentional grounding. They say it's a loss of down and the ball is marked where it was thrown. So if Russell Wilson is about to get sacked on 1st down 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage and he intentionally grounds the ball, then the refs mark it as 2nd down and 16.

It's 10 yards from the LOS. If the QB was more than 10 yds behind the line then it is a spotted where he threw the pass. But if the QB has ran backwards more than 10 yds he was probably out of the tackle box anyway and it's legal as long as the ball gets back to the LOS