When the NFL competition committee meets next week at the NFL owners’ meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., player safety will again be a priority.
But don’t expect any changes to the league’s controversial catch rule.
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NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said during a Thursday conference call the competition committee made a unanimous decision not to alter the rule.
Vincent said the “three-step process is appropriate” and cited safety of the receiver as part of the reason to not change the rule.
Vincent said high-definition replays have helped exaggerate a rule that is “at a good place.” Competition committee chairman Rich McKay, the Atlanta Falcons president and CEO, said the committee “will talk it through to make sure everybody understands how the rule is to be applied.”
The competition committee met in January for two days and then again at last month’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where the committee also held discussions with the NFL Players' Association, and the NCAA. Committee members met in Florida this week to put together an agenda for the owners’ meetings that begin Sunday.
While there won’t be any changes to the catch rule, the committee will be discussing 19 proposed rules changes — five of which are directly related to player safety.
The biggest change may be the proposal from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during his state of the league address before Super Bowl 50 that two personal foul penalties would result in an automatic ejection. The committee has modified that to narrow the scope to unsportsmanlike conduct penalties — throwing a punch or forearm or a kick, even if no contact is made — threatening language, and taunting acts.
The proposed rule would have played a role in Super Bowl 50, during which Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib was flagged twice for personal fouls. New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. would have been ejected in Week 15 last season after he went after Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman and drew multiple flags.
The committee was sparked by an upswing in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties with 75 last season when the average had been about 50.
McKay said the referee is empowered to make an immediate ejection if warranted, and would not have to wait until a second personal foul.
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The Washington Redskins also proposed an expansion of replay to include having personal fouls subject to review. The Redskins would also like to see the elimination of overtime in preseason games. Washington, Baltimore and Minnesota each proposed changes to allow three replay challenges.
The league will also move to prohibit chop blocks, something the NCAA did in 2008. After the rule had been modified several times, McKay said it was time to make the “important rule change.”
“There have been numerous changes to the rule, thus it became very confusing,” McKay said. “We asked officials which rule became the most difficult in enforcing and this was always at the top.”
The committee will also discuss a league proposal to follow college football in moving the line of scrimmage following touchbacks to the 25-yard line instead of the 20. The idea, McKay said, is to encourage players to take a knee on deep kickoffs into the end zone to prevent injuries on returns.
There will also be an amendment on horse-collar tackles to include the nameplate area on jerseys. Hits on defenseless receivers, leading with the crown of the helmet, low hits on quarterbacks, coaches being on the field, and the positioning of officials will be points of emphasis this season.
There will not be any changes to the concussion protocol, but Vincent said there was a “system failure” in the Rams’ handling of quarterback Case Keenum last November in a loss to the Ravens.
“We didn’t see any reason to modify that, but to make sure we are executing that protocol," he said. "It was a system failure we cannot allow to happen.”
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There will not be any changes in the policy of the league’s handling of footballs on game day after Vincent said there were no violations last season in the wake of the Deflategate scandal.
Here is the full list of proposed rules changes:
1. By Competition Committee: permanently moves the line of scrimmage for try kicks to the defensive team’s 15-yard line and allows the defense to return any missed try.
2. By Competition Committee: permits the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches’ booth.
3. By Competition Committee: makes all chop blocks illegal.
4. By Competition Committee: disqualifies a player who is penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.
5. By Competition Committee: changes the spot of the next snap after a touchback resulting from a free kick to the 25-yard line.
6. By Baltimore: to amend Rule 5, Sections 3, Articles 1 and 2 (changes in position) to require players to wear jersey vests with numbers appropriate for their positions.
7. By Baltimore: to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5 (instant replay) to provide each team with three challenges and expand reviewable plays.
8. By Buffalo: to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Articles 1, 4, and 5 (instant replay) to permit a coach to challenge any official's decision except scoring plays and turnovers.
9. By Carolina: to amend Rule 8, Section 2, Article 1 (intentional grounding) to expand the definition of intentional grounding.
10. By Kansas City: to amend Rule 14, Section 2, Article 1 (half-distance penalty) to add penalty yards to the distance needed to gain a first down.
11. By Kansas City: to amend Rule 8, Section 1, Article 2 (legal forward pass) to prohibit quarterbacks from falling to the ground, getting up, and throwing a forward pass.
12. By Minnesota: to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 1 (coaches' challenge) to eliminate the requirement that a team be successful on each of its first two instant replay challenges in order to be awarded a third challenge.
13. By Washington: to amend Rule 16, Section 1, Articles 1, 4, 6 and 7 (overtime procedures) to eliminate overtime periods in preseason games.
14. By Washington: to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 4 (reviewable plays) to subject personal foul penalties to instant replay review.
15. By Washington: to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 1 (coaches' challenge) to eliminate the requirement that a team be successful on each of its first two instant replay challenges in order to be awarded a third challenge.
16. By Competition Committee: expands the horse-collar rule to include when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground.
17. By Competition Committee: makes it a foul for delay of game when a team attempts to call a timeout when it is not permitted to do so.
18. By Competition Committee: eliminates the 5-yard penalty for an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds, and makes it a loss of down.
19. By Competition Committee: eliminates multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.