What NFL Rules Would You Fix/Change/Add/Remove?

[jeremiah]

I’ve been meaning to start this thread for a while. There are so many things I think are wrong about some of the rules that have been in place for a long time. I don’t think this will be a tough task for us to come up with examples. So therefore I am going to start with one.

The NFL needs to get rid of spot fouls. Since so many spot fouls can be so detrimental to a drive, I think it needs to be how college does it. Any pass interference should be an automatic 15 yard penalty, not a spot foul.

It’s too much. Especially if the call is iffy and if I had a dollar for every iffy pass interference call in the past, almost 50 years of watching NFL games, I literally could buy a French Bulldog. Oddly specific but there you go.

Who’s up next?

A penalty that results in half the distance to the goal line that the defense perpetrated, if the Offense is guilty of any penalty in the same zone, should be the same. Say if you are at the 4, and the defense is offsides, it moves 2 yards forward. If the Offense is guilty of a false start from the 4, it should move back 2 yards. I suppose it should be the same because of holding, if the yardage is good for the D, it should be good for the O.

 

[Aircrew]

Not sure why the NFL, a billion-dollar business times a billion, is not ahead of the curve of the tracking technology. The technology exists, why not employ it since it truly is a "game of inches"?

For the same reason they don't change the antiquated rules; makes it easier to manipulate the outcome of games. I know, a little tin-foil-hatty, but it's the only logical explanation as far as I can rationalize.

 

[Aircrew]

- penalties for retaliation. Use the replay to see who the instigator of a scuffle is, instead of penalizing the guy who reacts to getting shoved from behind or whatever it may be.

Now hear me out...when there's a fight, pause the game and let the 2 guys duke it out. Whoever loses the fight, their team takes the 15 yard penalty. Kind of hockey-ish but you can't tell me that wouldn't liven up a game here or there plus settle some scores.

 

[keasley45]

I’ve been meaning to start this thread for a while. There are so many things I think are wrong about some of the rules that have been in place for a long time. I don’t think this will be a tough task for us to come up with examples. So therefore I am going to start with one.

The NFL needs to get rid of spot fouls. Since so many spot fouls can be so detrimental to a drive, I think it needs to be how college does it. Any pass interference should be an automatic 15 yard penalty, not a spot foul.

It’s too much. Especially if the call is iffy and if I had a dollar for every iffy pass interference call in the past, almost 50 years of watching NFL games, I literally could buy a French Bulldog. Oddly specific but there you go.

Who’s up next?

I think most everything shoukd be subject to review. The argument that it takes too long... that may have been true 15 years ago but not anymore with all of the ultra hd came they have per game.

 

[keasley45]

I think the fact that some plays arent subject to review, in today's gambling age, provides too much latitude for officials to make calls to swing the outcome of games - just call something that cant be reviewed and the outcome can be effected. If you are going to acknowledge that they arent perfect, ok. But then have a system that helps them to be as often as possible.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I think the whole games are steered and/or scripted thing gets a little bit overblown. At least much of the time.

 

[bigskydoc]

Steroids kill you, so then anyone who wants to keep up with the juicers is forced to take them or lose their spot, no thanks. Plus people cheat period, so if they’re legal they won’t test for them and people will still take a lot, I had a friend I used to wrestle with who took second place in the worlds strongest man competition, he took steroids in college, he went from 215 to 300 pounds and at 27 died of a massive heart attack. I’m not gonna ever be pro steroids

That’s a simple misunderstanding, and lack of knowledge, of steroids and other anabolics. Steroids are safer than Advil and Tylenol, but anything taken in excess can have terrible effects.

I know a lot of people who take anabolics, and take their health seriously.

They have perfectly normal labs, blood pressure, etc. They monitor their cardiovascular, kidney, and liver health regularly.

The reason people die from steroids is because they don’t have the knowledge to take them safely, and doctors, who could learn the ins and outs, aren’t allowed to give their advice on how to use them safely.

So we have body builders taking unnecessarily obscene doses of these compounds, and dying. And we have people who have no real frame of reference for anabolics understandably thinking that they are bad and they kill people.

It’s sad.

 

[bigskydoc]

I agree with you.

The only other 2 sports that I really 'follow' are cycling and bodybuilding - and loosely lately. It's through ALL sports. The Rock doesn't even use public bathrooms - he uses a pee jug when he works out - he doesn't want anyone getting ahold of something to test.

Lance Armstrong has been quoted that during his 'scandal' - that if you were using PED - there's no way that you'd even BE in the tour - literally everyone was doing it.

"Leaving it illegal and unregulated is far more dangerous to player health and safety than legalizing it and regulating it." - I'd totally agree with that.

The winner of the TDF is the guy with the best doctors (who manage his PED regimen and keep it undetectable)

You still have to be an elite athlete, with almost unfathomable drive and discipline, but that alone isn’t enough.

PEDs aren’t going to get anyone here competitive in pro cycling, but even the best won’t be competitive without them

 

[Sperrydogg]

The winner of the TDF is the guy with the best doctors (who manage his PED regimen and keep it undetectable)

You still have to be an elite athlete, with almost unfathomable drive and discipline, but that alone isn’t enough.

PEDs aren’t going to get anyone here competitive in pro cycling, but even the best won’t be competitive without them

That’s a simple misunderstanding, and lack of knowledge, of steroids and other anabolics. Steroids are safer than Advil and Tylenol, but anything taken in excess can have terrible effects.

I know a lot of people who take anabolics, and take their health seriously.

They have perfectly normal labs, blood pressure, etc. They monitor their cardiovascular, kidney, and liver health regularly.

The reason people die from steroids is because they don’t have the knowledge to take them safely, and doctors, who could learn the ins and outs, aren’t allowed to give their advice on how to use them safely.

So we have body builders taking unnecessarily obscene doses of these compounds, and dying. And we have people who have no real frame of reference for anabolics understandably thinking that they are bad and they kill people.

It’s sad.

I understand that steroids are not dangerous if taken with a drs. guidance, there was a 115 pounder on my wrestling team in high school who was on them always because of some kinda growth thing, but I feel like making them legal would end testing, and with no testing then guys can take them how they want to and what is to stop them from taking more because they are not getting the results they want fast enough, and then it leads to people who aren’t wealthy taking them and they can’t afford a doctors supervision, or they are young and not smart enough to do it right.

 

[Chukarhawk]

The idiotic "hit on a defenseless receiver", ineligible man downfield has no business being a rule. Refs should be ejected from games for having too many calls overturned. Holding calls ruin the game, 5 yards is a good way to neuter it a bit.

 

[Kamcussionator]

I'd get rid of replay: all of it. The refs have always been a bit of an X factor, but it was understood as part of the game.

Now everybody expects perfection -- and it's still just as loosey-goosey at it ever was -- just with a lot more sitting around waiting and a lot more outrage.

 

[bigskydoc]

I understand that steroids are not dangerous if taken with a drs. guidance, there was a 115 pounder on my wrestling team in high school who was on them always because of some kinda growth thing, but I feel like making them legal would end testing, and with no testing then guys can take them how they want to and what is to stop them from taking more because they are not getting the results they want fast enough, and then it leads to people who aren’t wealthy taking them and they can’t afford a doctors supervision, or they are young and not smart enough to do it right.

Legal doesn’t mean over the counter. Opiates are legal for NFL players, doesn’t mean you can go to the local quick shop and buy them, or that there isn’t regulation and testing. They are, of course, far more addicting and dangerous than anabolics. A little of either is not particularly dangerous, too much of either will kill you.

We can have exercise scientists and doctors testing, developing, and publishing appropriate and safe protocols for steroids and other anabolics. People who can’t afford a doctor’s guidance will still have to source on the grey or black market (just like they do now), but they will have published safe(r) protocols to follow.

Young men are using them anyway, and keeping them illegal just means that they continue to resort to using protocols they find on the internet and from their gym bros. These protocols are almost entirely of the same “if a little is good, a lot must be better” ilk, instead of the “let’s find the minimum effective dose that is still safe” variety.

Current policy on who we allow to have supplemental testosterone, and who we don’t, is pretty ridiculous, but I won’t touch that particular third rail here.

 

[AVL]

Keep the clock running on incomplete passes. Make everything reviewable. Admit football is a game of hard to enforce rules, not inches.

 

[Ruminator]

Wasn't even aware of this thread 'til today. Great discussion and I agree with most suggestions herein.

Two things in NFL games piss me off: 1) selective holding calls, and 2) touchbacks starting at the 30-yard line.

We all know players routintely get away with holding, so it pisses me off when the referee misses the majority of them and whistles a certain few. They all need to be whistled. So hire a ref whose job is primarily to watch for holding. Granted, he won't catch them all, but it will be way better than less than 10 percent of holding being whistled today.

Offenses used to have to start their drive at the 20-yard line, needing to drive 80 for a TD. Now they only need to drive 70. That's pretty significant, and I just don't like it.

 

[Shane Falco]

A few on my "pet peeve that they'll never address, and other people might not find as annoying" list:

- penalties for retaliation. Use the replay to see who the instigator of a scuffle is, instead of penalizing the guy who reacts to getting shoved from behind or whatever it may be.

- players signaling a penalty. So annoying to see the O and D lines pointing at each other when there is false start/offsides. Or jumping up from being tackled and signaling for a facemask. Either the ref saw it or they didn't. If you're trying to influence the ref to call a penalty they didn't see, throw the unsportsmanlike flag.

- Receivers signaling the first down. Should be a 5 yard penalty after the play is over. Make it a 15 yarder for a repeat offense, or if their team is down by 14 or more. (I don't mind the quick first down signal, it's the overly dramatic posing that's annoying.) Heck, apply this to any kind of muscle flex or dance when your team is down by a couple of scores.

(those last two are for fun, I don't expect anyone cares enough to really make those penalties. )

My biggest pet peeve is players celebrating fairly mundane plays or when they are losing. Guys getting paid millions to do their job and when they do it they get up and prance around like they just scored the game winning TD. Drives me nuts.

I always appreciated Beast Mode's handshake celebration probably more than most.

 

[EverydayImRusselin]

Onside kick announcement is the dumbest.

Taunting should just be 5 yards.

Great point about the onside kicks. I still don't know why they changed them. If anything they should make it easier to do than before, but with more risk if you don't succeed.

 

[uncle fester]

15 yard penalty every time someone posts why we should’ve drafted Creed Humphrey

 

[Appyhawk]

I agree with those who propose returning to the former kickoff rules. Also that thoroughly vetted officials should be full time pros who have gone through educational regimen and pass tests required at regular intervals.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Get rid of taunting penalties. It's part of the game. Can't take it? Then win.

Use a chip in the ball rather than chains for measuring distance

 

[sc85sis]

Ironically, the NFL says they changed the kickoffs to allow MORE returns. How is that working out for ya, NFL?

Touchbacks starting at the 30 is ridiculous. Make it the 20 again. And get rid of the rule saying you have to declare an onside kick. That’s just stupid and eliminates part of the strategy of the game.

I also wish they would de-emphasize holding such that only holds that obviously impact the play get called. It’s not a rule change as much as a philosophy one, and it makes it more of a judgement call — which could be dicey. But I’m tired of seeing plays get called back because someone held ten yards away from where the play actually occurred.