Rules changes will kick in this season
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:05 am
Rules changes will kick in this season
BY MELINDA WALDROP
August 4, 2006
Changes in instant replay and a greater scrutiny of celebrations are among NFL rules changes in 2006.
Officials now have 60 seconds instead of 90 to review a play on the field in a move designed to speed up the game, and coaches can challenge the "down by contact" rule if they believe a player fumbled before being ruled down.
Replays must show that both a fumble occurred and that the challenging team recovered, or the coach who threw the flag will lose a challenge and a timeout.
"Down by contact comes up a lot, where people see it. It's an obvious error," said Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who underwent a public adjustment process to replay when he returned to coaching in 2004. "(Replay) is for the obvious reversal. None of us want to be sitting at home watching TV and saying that the wrong team won a playoff game, and it definitely happens where you get a big play like (a fumble controversy)."
Another rules change will prohibit an individual player, not just two or more, from engaging in prolonged, excessive or "premeditated" celebrations. Players also cannot use a prop, such as the ball, to celebrate - a point illustrated in the video shown Thursday at Redskins Park by Washington running back Clinton Portis' resuscitation of the pigskin last season.
Onside kicks also will look different in 2006. Four players will be required on each side of the kicker to prevent teams from "loading up" on one side of the ball and potentially injuring players from the opposing team as they scramble to recover the kick.
The much-discussed "horse collar" rule also has received an update. A 15-yard penalty will now be called if a defender tackles a player - excluding a runner in the tackle box or a quarterback in the pocket - by grabbing the inside collar of the player's jersey as well as of his shoulder pads.
Other changes include:
Defenders will be penalized 15 yards for "forcibly" hitting a quarterback below the knee when the QB has established himself as a passer.
When the kicking team is penalized before a change of possession occurs, the receiving team will have the choice of replaying the down or tacking the penalty yardage onto the end of the play.
Points of emphasis for the upcoming season will include offensive-holding penalties, which are to include any hooking motion that alters a defender's angle of pursuit, and illegal hits on defenseless players. Centers in particular had better beware: The league will focus on movements that could be construed as false starts, such as a rocking motion, an abrupt head bob, or shifting the ball before it is snapped.
One interested observer for the video screening was former Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, who brought up the tuck rule. He referred to Washington's Oct. 9 game at Denver, when quarterback Jake Plummer was ruled not to have fumbled as the ball slipped from his hand near his own goal line and rolled backward. Redskins fans - and apparently Jurgensen - thought that the Redskins, who lost the game 21-19, should have been awarded a safety after recovering the ball in the end zone.
Jurgensen listened to the explanation - that a quarterback's arm is considered to be going forward until the arm returns to his body - and then offered a colorful, unprintable objection.
BY MELINDA WALDROP
August 4, 2006
Changes in instant replay and a greater scrutiny of celebrations are among NFL rules changes in 2006.
Officials now have 60 seconds instead of 90 to review a play on the field in a move designed to speed up the game, and coaches can challenge the "down by contact" rule if they believe a player fumbled before being ruled down.
Replays must show that both a fumble occurred and that the challenging team recovered, or the coach who threw the flag will lose a challenge and a timeout.
"Down by contact comes up a lot, where people see it. It's an obvious error," said Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who underwent a public adjustment process to replay when he returned to coaching in 2004. "(Replay) is for the obvious reversal. None of us want to be sitting at home watching TV and saying that the wrong team won a playoff game, and it definitely happens where you get a big play like (a fumble controversy)."
Another rules change will prohibit an individual player, not just two or more, from engaging in prolonged, excessive or "premeditated" celebrations. Players also cannot use a prop, such as the ball, to celebrate - a point illustrated in the video shown Thursday at Redskins Park by Washington running back Clinton Portis' resuscitation of the pigskin last season.
Onside kicks also will look different in 2006. Four players will be required on each side of the kicker to prevent teams from "loading up" on one side of the ball and potentially injuring players from the opposing team as they scramble to recover the kick.
The much-discussed "horse collar" rule also has received an update. A 15-yard penalty will now be called if a defender tackles a player - excluding a runner in the tackle box or a quarterback in the pocket - by grabbing the inside collar of the player's jersey as well as of his shoulder pads.
Other changes include:
Defenders will be penalized 15 yards for "forcibly" hitting a quarterback below the knee when the QB has established himself as a passer.
When the kicking team is penalized before a change of possession occurs, the receiving team will have the choice of replaying the down or tacking the penalty yardage onto the end of the play.
Points of emphasis for the upcoming season will include offensive-holding penalties, which are to include any hooking motion that alters a defender's angle of pursuit, and illegal hits on defenseless players. Centers in particular had better beware: The league will focus on movements that could be construed as false starts, such as a rocking motion, an abrupt head bob, or shifting the ball before it is snapped.
One interested observer for the video screening was former Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, who brought up the tuck rule. He referred to Washington's Oct. 9 game at Denver, when quarterback Jake Plummer was ruled not to have fumbled as the ball slipped from his hand near his own goal line and rolled backward. Redskins fans - and apparently Jurgensen - thought that the Redskins, who lost the game 21-19, should have been awarded a safety after recovering the ball in the end zone.
Jurgensen listened to the explanation - that a quarterback's arm is considered to be going forward until the arm returns to his body - and then offered a colorful, unprintable objection.