[News] Ravens' Replay Rule Proposal Tabled, Two More Rules Passed

[BR News]

Baltimore's proposal related to eligible and ineligible receivers did not pass at the owners meetings.

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[Ugly Ball]

I don't know, it may just be me but does anybody else feel like the lack of rules is not the biggest problem with the NFL ?
When are they going to stop putting more and more rules on part time officials, that already seam to be struggling with the rules that are in place ? I feel like the NFL needs to address this more than anything else. Full time officials could be getting more shool in off season. Maybe a panel in NY to override terrible miss calls that have game  changing results.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Ugly Ball

[ellicottraven]

"I’m a traditionalist,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said. “I’m not into it. I’m not.
Why would he when all these so called judgment calls tend to go in favor of his team? He knows he's won about 15% of his games through the bias of refs for his team so it goes to reason that he doesn't want to suddenly become a perennial 7-9 team.

[fusuymada]

One of the rules they passed was to move the ball on a touchback to the 25. So, after moving the kickoff to the 35 to cause teams to kick it out of the endzone reducing players slamming into each other on kickoffs, they move the touchback to the 25 so teams wont kick it out of the endzone so they have the players slamming into each other. Do these owners just sit around and drink and get stoned and flip a coin to see what is a new rule and what isn't. A group of preschoolers could do a better job. What is the point of moving the kick up one year to make it safer then moving the touchback up the next year nullifying the safety benefit of moving the kick up. Why not just have left the kick off where it was and the touchback where it was and we would have ended up with the same result. Sometimes I think the NFL is more in tune with the WWF and WWE than they are a legitimate sport. It has just become the laughing stock of pro sports. From the criminal acts, the drugs, the PED's, the rule changes, the judicial hearings, the racist team name, on and on, the NFL is in the news more for other things than actual football.

[fusuymada]

"I’m a traditionalist,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said. “I’m not into it. I’m not.
Why would he when all these so called judgment calls tend to go in favor of his team? He knows he's won about 15% of his games through the bias of refs for his team so it goes to reason that he doesn't want to suddenly become a perennial 7-9 team.

"I'm a traditionalist" said Tomlin, "I think if someone is going to return a kickoff for a touchdown I think a coach should just take things into his own hands and try to go out and trip the returner. I also believe that my players and coaches should be out on the field trying to start fights before games and during them. That's what a traditional moron does."

[Moderator 3]

27 minutes ago, fusuymada said:

One of the rules they passed was to move the ball on a touchback to the 25. So, after moving the kickoff to the 35 to cause teams to kick it out of the endzone reducing players slamming into each other on kickoffs, they move the touchback to the 25 so teams wont kick it out of the endzone so they have the players slamming into each other. Do these owners just sit around and drink and get stoned and flip a coin to see what is a new rule and what isn't. A group of preschoolers could do a better job. What is the point of moving the kick up one year to make it safer then moving the touchback up the next year nullifying the safety benefit of moving the kick up. Why not just have left the kick off where it was and the touchback where it was and we would have ended up with the same result. Sometimes I think the NFL is more in tune with the WWF and WWE than they are a legitimate sport. It has just become the laughing stock of pro sports. From the criminal acts, the drugs, the PED's, the rule changes, the judicial hearings, the racist team name, on and on, the NFL is in the news more for other things than actual football.

Just a guess since I don't have any inside information, but I think teams would be less likely to bring it out of the endzone if they're automatically going to get 25 yards.  OTOH, teams might be more tempted to pooch the kickoff to force a runback.  I guess we'll see.

[rmcjacket23]

37 minutes ago, fusuymada said:

One of the rules they passed was to move the ball on a touchback to the 25. So, after moving the kickoff to the 35 to cause teams to kick it out of the endzone reducing players slamming into each other on kickoffs, they move the touchback to the 25 so teams wont kick it out of the endzone so they have the players slamming into each other. Do these owners just sit around and drink and get stoned and flip a coin to see what is a new rule and what isn't. A group of preschoolers could do a better job. What is the point of moving the kick up one year to make it safer then moving the touchback up the next year nullifying the safety benefit of moving the kick up. Why not just have left the kick off where it was and the touchback where it was and we would have ended up with the same result. Sometimes I think the NFL is more in tune with the WWF and WWE than they are a legitimate sport. It has just become the laughing stock of pro sports. From the criminal acts, the drugs, the PED's, the rule changes, the judicial hearings, the racist team name, on and on, the NFL is in the news more for other things than actual football.

Actually, that's not the case.

The distance the kicker has to kick the ball hasn't changed since they moved it to the 35, and neither has the desire to do so. It wouldn't make sense to purposely try to kick it shorter, because you still would only need a 20-25 yard return to cover that, which is pretty common.

What this rule does is give returners less motivation to bring the ball out of the endzone on a return, because they now have to go 5 yards further to get back that yardage.

So the first rule, kicks from the 35, makes it easier for kickers to kick touchbacks, thus reducing returns and reducing collisions from returns.

The second rule, TB at the 25, makes it harder for players to gain back the return yardage when they do return it, and makes it riskier to bring it out of the endzone, thus reducing returns and reducing collisions from returns.

I will 100% guarantee that touchbacks will increase in 2016, and kickoff return attempts will decrease in 2016. Precisely what they want.

[rmcjacket23]

53 minutes ago, ellicottraven said:

"I’m a traditionalist,” Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said. “I’m not into it. I’m not.
Why would he when all these so called judgment calls tend to go in favor of his team? He knows he's won about 15% of his games through the bias of refs for his team so it goes to reason that he doesn't want to suddenly become a perennial 7-9 team.

Just out of curiosity... why exactly would NFL officials have a bias towards the Steelers? 

[RAVENSBL00D]

It all makes sense... think about it... money rules the world. So despite the failed attempts at being proactive per safety reasons and moving the kickoff up, money entertainment, action, excitement, trill and adrenaline releases endorphins that create and stimulate that good feeling. That's why we watch, and thats what the fans pay to see. So, it doesn't shock me that the NFL is getting back to what it does best, filling seats and making billions. The NFL saw the return game depreciate last season. One of the most exciting parts of the game. Who remembers watching Donte Hall return kicks and punts? Yea well I can't blame the NFL for moving the kickoff back 10 yards. Fortunately, and thanks to Coach Harbs and his special teams professorship, we have one of, if not the best punter in the league. It'll take more than 10 yards to stop Sam who averages 46.7 yards per punt from booting it out of the end zone. Do we as a team value the safety of our team and players? absolutely. We also value our own lives, but we still speed and exceed the speed limit at times. Now we get a chance to see what our speed options can do in the return game vacated by Jacoby. 

[ellicottraven]

Tomlin is a fake. I  have zero respect for the man. I respect Marvin Lewis and Hue Jackson and Harbs much more. They're real coaches. Tomlin? Not so much. He's ridden the coattails of their slobbering ex-coach Cowher for too long.

[Marco]

TV High Definition replay is the only reason that matters. The NFL must allow all plays to be reviewed...
The majority of NFL fans view the games via TV & the technology & capability of HD Video replay shows the BAD Calls with incredible clarity!!! The fans can see for themselves the bad on the field officiating... Its a game integrity issue... The NFL has to adjust... Its the same for all televised sports today, the technology is just that damn good of showing via replay what the correct call should be at a continuously higher and higher percentage... So ALL sports have to step up to all play replay review of officiating, because all the fans can see clearly for themselves what the correct officiating should be.... All the other dumb old school (Tomlin) excuses for not reviewing all plays via replay is just plain stupid... Technology is the game changer... You can't put the genie back in the bottle...

[riseNConquer81]

  3 hours ago, fusuymada said:

One of the rules they passed was to move the ball on a touchback to the 25. So, after moving the kickoff to the 35 to cause teams to kick it out of the endzone reducing players slamming into each other on kickoffs, they move the touchback to the 25 so teams wont kick it out of the endzone so they have the players slamming into each other. Do these owners just sit around and drink and get stoned and flip a coin to see what is a new rule and what isn't. A group of preschoolers could do a better job. What is the point of moving the kick up one year to make it safer then moving the touchback up the next year nullifying the safety benefit of moving the kick up. Why not just have left the kick off where it was and the touchback where it was and we would have ended up with the same result. Sometimes I think the NFL is more in tune with the WWF and WWE than they are a legitimate sport. It has just become the laughing stock of pro sports. From the criminal acts, the drugs, the PED's, the rule changes, the judicial hearings, the racist team name, on and on, the NFL is in the news more for other things than actual football.

Actually, that's not the case.

The distance the kicker has to kick the ball hasn't changed since they moved it to the 35, and neither has the desire to do so. It wouldn't make sense to purposely try to kick it shorter, because you still would only need a 20-25 yard return to cover that, which is pretty common.

What this rule does is give returners less motivation to bring the ball out of the endzone on a return, because they now have to go 5 yards further to get back that yardage.

So the first rule, kicks from the 35, makes it easier for kickers to kick touchbacks, thus reducing returns and reducing collisions from returns.

The second rule, TB at the 25, makes it harder for players to gain back the return yardage when they do return it, and makes it riskier to bring it out of the endzone, thus reducing returns and reducing collisions from returns.

I will 100% guarantee that touchbacks will increase in 2016, and kickoff return attempts will decrease in 2016. Precisely what they want.

I dont think so.
yeah teams will be less likely to bring it out of the endzone...but because of the extra 5 yards they'd be giving away, balls probably wont be making it to the endzone anymore anyway, so its a moot point.

Only half the league averaged 24+ yards on returns last season.
Only 9, got 25+.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn

Half the league will still likely lose at least 2 yards if forced to return it. Its a game of inches, so many will find it worth it.

Aside from that: it will always make more strategic sense to give your coverage unit a chance to stop a returner than to guarantee them 25 yards.

Kick it high and short and run him down. If he makes it back to the 25 anyway, so be it,but nobody's just gonna gift drop it for them though.

Harbaugh has the right idea, and thats probably how this is going to go with most teams.

[rmcjacket23]

5 minutes ago, riseNConquer81 said:

I dont think so.
yeah teams will be less likely to bring it out of the endzone...but because of the extra 5 yards they'd be giving away, balls probably wont be making it to the endzone anymore anyway, so its a moot point.

Only half the league averaged 24+ yards on returns last season.
Only 9, got 25+.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn

Half the league will still likely lose at least 2 yards if forced to return it. Its a game of inches, so many will find it worth it.

Aside from that: it will always make more strategic sense to give your coverage unit a chance to stop a returner than to guarantee them 25 yards.

Kick it high and short and run him down. If he makes it back to the 25 anyway, so be it,but nobody's just gonna gift drop it for them though.

Harbaugh has the right idea, and thats probably how this is going to go with most teams.

Let's revisit at the end of the year. I'd make a substantial wager that touch backs will be up and return attempts will be down.

The fact that the discussed reward from kicking short is like 2-3 yards on an average return would make me bet a ton that it's not nearly worth the risk.

At the very least, if the opposite occurs, it'll be a one year rule change, since it would accomplish the opposite of what they are attempting to achieve.

[riseNConquer81]

  1 hour ago, riseNConquer81 said:

I dont think so.
yeah teams will be less likely to bring it out of the endzone...but because of the extra 5 yards they'd be giving away, balls probably wont be making it to the endzone anymore anyway, so its a moot point.

Only half the league averaged 24+ yards on returns last season.
Only 9, got 25+.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn

Half the league will still likely lose at least 2 yards if forced to return it. Its a game of inches, so many will find it worth it.

Aside from that: it will always make more strategic sense to give your coverage unit a chance to stop a returner than to guarantee them 25 yards.

Kick it high and short and run him down. If he makes it back to the 25 anyway, so be it,but nobody's just gonna gift drop it for them though.

Harbaugh has the right idea, and thats probably how this is going to go with most teams.

Let's revisit at the end of the year. I'd make a substantial wager that touch backs will be up and return attempts will be down.

The fact that the discussed reward from kicking short is like 2-3 yards on an average return would make me bet a ton that it's not nearly worth the risk.

At the very least, if the opposite occurs, it'll be a one year rule change, since it would accomplish the opposite of what they are attempting to achieve.

AT LEAST 2-3 yards.
As with anything, you cant treat one stat as the whole story.
averages only give you a starting point as far as expectations go, there's plenty of other things that factor into the decision.
Level of their returners vs the level of your coverage units, scoreboard etc.

If you're going against the steelers for instance, and looking at Jacoby jones on the goal line looking to receive the kick, you're definitely kicking it short to see if he can pull anything out of his aging hat.

Likewise, if you're the Bills, and you only gave up 17 yards per return on average to ANYbody all last year, you kicking it short no matter who they got.

I'd bet on more returns, but if not: i wouldnt be surprised if they break even and end up with no real or significant change. The teams with better coverage units or who are going against weaker returners will be aggressive about it, and the teams that arent wont.
That's really why you do a trial: to see what, IF anything at all, changes

[Bat-mite]

Tomlin is a fake. I  have zero respect for the man. I respect Marvin Lewis and Hue Jackson and Harbs much more. They're real coaches. Tomlin? Not so much. He's ridden the coattails of their slobbering ex-coach Cowher for too long.

Been saying that for years.

[Bat-mite]

Can someone explain #1 to me? Is that the extra point change from last year? Are they just making it permanent now?

[rmcjacket23]

1 minute ago, Bat-mite said:

Can someone explain #1 to me? Is that the extra point change from last year? Are they just making it permanent now?

Yes.

Many rule changes, such as moving the Touchback to the 25 this year, are put in as one year rules initially so they can "evaluate".

All goes well, they pass it permanently.