NFL Rule Changes

by Mario Granata and Paul Wanecski
A lot of talk has been circling about the new rule proposals and by-laws that will be presented during the NFL off-season owners meetings. While many of them need a decoder ring to truly find out what they mean, Hashtag Sports would like to present their Top 5 proposed changes.  Now, some of these you might agree with and some you might think are never going to come to fruition. Either way, this should be a great conversation starter for your friends at the bar or it could just be a good laugh.

Rule Change #1: Ban Tim Tebow
Okay, we were kidding on that one. From the media prespective, he is the gift that keeps on giving. Lets move on to the REAL list: 

Rule Change #1: 15-yard Penalty for a Kick After the Whistle Blows
Lets be honest, icing the kicker is stupid. What is worse however is when the kicker gets a “practice” kick after he is iced. Why?  Why does the NFL, and more importantly, the refs let this happen?  If a receiver throws or rolls the ball, they are often flagged for a delay of game penalty, so why are kickers afforded a practice kick when the game is very much in doubt.  I say, do away with the kicks after the whistle blows, and stop giving these guys a chance to read the field.  There aren’t mulligans in golf, so why are they in football?

Rule Change #2: Pass Interference Penalty will be 10 yards
It seems that every rule that has been implemented in the NFL has been tailored to benefit the offense.  The NFL wants the game to be exciting with a lot of scoring, so they handcuff the defense in regard to what a defensive player can do to an offense player.  The receivers in today’s NFL seem to come out of they have taken acting classes from LeBron James and draw these penalties all the time.  Take it back to college, and make it only 10 yards with an automatic first down.  That’s all you get WR Divas, take it and play some ball. 

Rule Change #3: 20-second play clock under 2 minutes
Are you tired of a team getting the ball and taking a knee?  Yeah, we are too.  By changing the play clock to 20 seconds, teams wouldn’t be able to kneel on the ball and they would have to play a full 60 minutes.  Imagine the mindset for these playcallers and how much more exciting the game would be if your team was able to get another possession.  Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but if you would like the game to be more exciting, stop having 56 or 58 minute games, drop the play clock down. 

Rule Change #4: Put a sensor in each tip of the football, and put a sensor on each pylon
Now, this is pretty high tech for the NFL, but when the Commissioner makes $44 million in 2013, and over $20 million this past year, this billion dollar “company” can afford some other costs.  Either that or put some more cameras out there so we can properly tell if a player has crossed the goal line. The Patriots actually made the proposition to add additional cameras on all boundary lines, which shouldn't be a surprise that the Patriots are asking for additional cameras anywhere. How many times have you had arguments with friends watching a game trying to tell if a player scored or not? The NFL did effectively steal the "X-CAM" from the XFL, so anything is possible.

Rule Change #5: Expand the Draft to 12 rounds
With the rosters at 90 for a majority of the days after the draft, why not have the draft expanded to 12 rounds?  It just makes sense and if these “scouts” in the NFL are as good as advertised, then they would have no problem trying to find players.  Bart Starr was drafted in the 17th round.  A lot of other great players were taken in the 10th round or later.  This would definitely make a player who is an undrafted free agent making it in the NFL something to celebrate. 

Some of these suggestions are out there, I get that, but with the NFL going more and more to being played with flags, there are some changes that they make that simply don’t make sense (just google what Jim Irsay and the Colts came up with). Are a couple of these out there?  No doubt, but it would be fun to watch.