The Philadelphia Eagles have submitted proposals to change four rules ahead of the next NFL season. Here’s a detailed overview:
1: Modify the blindside block rule to prevent unnecessary fouls
The current rule states that:
It is a foul if a player initiates a block when his path is toward or parallel to his own end line and makes forcible contact to his opponent with his helmet, forearm, or shoulder.
Note: A player may initiate forcible contact in an area between the offensive tackles and three yards on either side of the line of scrimmage (until the ball leaves that area), but is still subject to the restrictions for crackback and “peel back” blocks.
Penalty: For a Blindside Block: Loss of 15 yards.
It’s easy to see the logic here. Anything that improves payer safety is an automatic win in my books, but there have been some shocking ‘blindside’ calls that have negated huge plays. Hopefully, this would help ensure that trend does not continue.
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.
Y e s. I don’t think this needs explaining. There have been so many dodgy calls over the last 12 months or so, being able to review those via automatic replay to see if a foul was committed that would negate a big play (CC: JJ Arcega-Whiteside’s touchdown that was called back due to a Vaitai penalty) would be a great addition and help remove some of the wild errors we’re used to seeing on a weekly basis.
3: To provide an alternative to the onside kick that would allow a team who is trailing in the game an opportunity to maintain possession of the ball after scoring (4th and 15 from the kicking team’s 25-yard line).
Very XFL of you, Mr Lurie. You can see where the influence has come from and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s so rare to see offside kicks recovered because they’re so dependent on errant bounces of a ball that has to travel a set distance anyway. At least 4th-and-15 will allow teams to get creative offensively and draw up a play that could actually gain 15 yards thanks to their best players being on the field. It also enhances that nailbiting entertainment value, which I’m all for.
4: To restore preseason and regular season overtime to 15 minutes and implement rules to minimize the impact of the overtime coin toss.
YES. All of my yes. Take it. Spend it. Make it happen. Yes.
Overtime is so skewed based on who wins the coin toss (unless you’re Jameis Winston and the Bucs in which case, it really doesn’t matter) and amending the rules so that both teams get a fair chance, like a ‘best of 3 offensive drives’ scenario would drastically change that.
What do you think of the proposed rule changes?
Mandatory Photo Credit: AP Photo/Michael Perez
