ivotuk
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Pretty interesting article...
2021 NFL season preview: Fifty-six things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LVI
Published: Sep 03, 2021 at 01:33 PM Judy Battista NFL.com Columnist
THE TRENDS TO WATCH
4) Home-field advantage has been decreasing each season since 2006, but it plummeted in 2020, dropping by more than a full point from 2019, presumably because fans were largely absent from games. According to the NFL Football Operations website, the 1.30-point average spread last year means home-field advantage was worth less than half of what it was in 2006 (3.30). And home teams were barely above .500, going 127-125-1 (excluding three neutral-site home games for San Francisco). Will home-field advantage bounce back now that fans are back and every utterance can't be heard?
5) Offensive holding penalties were way down last season -- 462 were called in 2020, an average of 1.80 per game, compared to 724 in 2019 (2.83 per game) and 708 in 2018 (2.77 per game) -- part of the broader reduction in flags, after complaints that too many penalties were making games unwatchable. But coaches complained last year that infractions went uncalled. How will the games be called this season?
6) Related: Scoring was through the roof last year, with a total of 12,692 points, obliterating the previous record by more than 700 points. With fans back -- and cheering making it harder to hear signals -- will scoring slow?
7) Keep your program handy. The NFL relaxed the rules for the numbers players at certain positions can wear. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers can all wear single-digit numbers now.
THE RULES TO KNOW
8) Incremental change to replay review. The replay officials who sit in the press box now have the authority to offer referees advice on what they see on broadcast replays related to possession, completions and interceptions, players down by contact and the spot of the ball relative to the out of bounds lines. They will not be able to reverse calls on their own or tell referees to throw flags.
9) We might see more successful onside kicks. In a one-year experiment, the NFL will allow only nine players from the receiving team to be allowed within 25 yards of the ball. Only three onside kicks were recovered last year in 67 tries, the lowest rate of recovery since 2001.
10) Knock it off! Taunting is now a point of emphasis for officials. That doesn't mean celebrations will be restricted, but the NFL doesn't want players standing over each other and having acrimonious exchanges on the field
https://www.nfl.com/news/2021-nfl-seaso ... r-bowl-lvi
2021 NFL season preview: Fifty-six things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LVI
Published: Sep 03, 2021 at 01:33 PM Judy Battista NFL.com Columnist
THE TRENDS TO WATCH
4) Home-field advantage has been decreasing each season since 2006, but it plummeted in 2020, dropping by more than a full point from 2019, presumably because fans were largely absent from games. According to the NFL Football Operations website, the 1.30-point average spread last year means home-field advantage was worth less than half of what it was in 2006 (3.30). And home teams were barely above .500, going 127-125-1 (excluding three neutral-site home games for San Francisco). Will home-field advantage bounce back now that fans are back and every utterance can't be heard?
5) Offensive holding penalties were way down last season -- 462 were called in 2020, an average of 1.80 per game, compared to 724 in 2019 (2.83 per game) and 708 in 2018 (2.77 per game) -- part of the broader reduction in flags, after complaints that too many penalties were making games unwatchable. But coaches complained last year that infractions went uncalled. How will the games be called this season?
6) Related: Scoring was through the roof last year, with a total of 12,692 points, obliterating the previous record by more than 700 points. With fans back -- and cheering making it harder to hear signals -- will scoring slow?
7) Keep your program handy. The NFL relaxed the rules for the numbers players at certain positions can wear. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers can all wear single-digit numbers now.
THE RULES TO KNOW
8) Incremental change to replay review. The replay officials who sit in the press box now have the authority to offer referees advice on what they see on broadcast replays related to possession, completions and interceptions, players down by contact and the spot of the ball relative to the out of bounds lines. They will not be able to reverse calls on their own or tell referees to throw flags.
9) We might see more successful onside kicks. In a one-year experiment, the NFL will allow only nine players from the receiving team to be allowed within 25 yards of the ball. Only three onside kicks were recovered last year in 67 tries, the lowest rate of recovery since 2001.
10) Knock it off! Taunting is now a point of emphasis for officials. That doesn't mean celebrations will be restricted, but the NFL doesn't want players standing over each other and having acrimonious exchanges on the field
https://www.nfl.com/news/2021-nfl-seaso ... r-bowl-lvi
