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What (on field) rules would you change, if you could?

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by Unlucky 13, Sep 2, 2021.

  1. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    With an extra week with no football this year, I thought I'd throw out a conversation topic if anyone is interested. So, what on field rules would you change, if any, if you had that power? Here are mine.

    1) I would eliminate the coin toss. It's mostly a needless exercise these days, especially since most teams choose to kick off if they get the choice. So I would take a page from baseball, and have the visitor get the ball to start the first half, and the home team get the ball to start the second. Easy and fair.

    2) I would completely eliminate the kickoff. I would simply have each offensive drive at the start of the half or after an opponent's score start at the 20 yard line. Most teams try to force the other team into a touchback anyways, so again, this just eliminates a mostly needless step. It also reduces injury, and lessens the chance of a team winning the game on both offense and defense but having one special teams gaff ruin the day.

    2B) As part of this, it would eliminate the onside kick. I would just be done with the idea, and not replace it. If a team is losing late, then too bad, they should have played better the entire game up to that point. This again rewards teams for playing well on offense and defense, and speeds up the end of a game that's out of reach, while also reducing injury.

    3) I would eliminate the single-point PAT try. When a team scores a TD, the coach would just take the 1 point and score 7, or try for 2 as it currently stands. The XP is even more useless and a bigger waste of time than the kickoff and the coin toss, and making it harder doesn't make the game any better, its just random. This means that when a team scores a TD, generally the TV Network would go straight to commercial, and come back with their opponent with 1st and 10 on their own 20, streamlining the broadcast.

    4) I would limit each team to 4 punts per game, in regulation. They could use them at any point should a drive stall, but this would encourage teams to do their best to at least move the ball to mid field or else face the consequences, and it would virtually eliminate teams punting from within their opponent's territory. This would also greatly limit teams taking the "run three times and punt" approach when they have a lead in the 4th quarter, and would speed up the end of blowouts. This would also have the effect of increasing scoring during defensive struggles.

    5) I would change overtime so that each team gets exactly one possession. The road team would get the ball first, with 1st and 10 on their own 20 yard line. They would then have a completely regular drive, and if they score, the other team would then get the ball at their own 20, and need to match or beat that. The visiting team could of course choose to punt if things go poorly, but should they choose that option, the best that they could hope for would be a tie, unless they were able to score on defense. After both teams have had the ball once (with the exception of the home team scoring on defense), the game then ends. If its a tie, so be it.

    6) I would make the head official at each game in charge of all replays, and have them watch from a booth with multiple monitors with the TV feed. They would be able to stop the game at any point to get a better look at the action, and would have full and final say over whether a call was overturned. Coaches would no longer ever challenge a play, nor would the on field ref look at the play through a monitor on the sidelines. We have the technology to make it better, quicker, easier and more fair. Its stupid not to use it.
     
  2. KeyFin

    KeyFin Well-Known Member

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    1) I would get rid of the latest version of the roughing the QB rule...it's too over the top.

    2) I'd also get rid of the recent "leading with helmet" rule the way it's enforced. Both of these serve a purpose for player safety, but it's being called too often for very minor collisions (or a hit where the shoulder goes first, both players follow through and then their helmets hit. can't blame the defender for that).

    3) I'd get rid of all QB protections past the line of scrimmage. The "fake slide" should not exist in the NFL.

    4) I would change offsetting penalties. If the D gets a 5 yard penalty and the offense gets a 15 yard penalty, then charge both penalties and move the ball back 10 yards.

    5) I would keep kickoffs and move the kick back even further. Kickoffs are often the most exciting part of the game and I want to see them.

    6) For missed field goals, I'd keep the ball at the LOS on the turnover.

    7) I would give each team one challenge per game for ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING. If you get the challenge right, then they give you another challenge...and this can happen unlimited times. However, if a ref on the field makes 3 bad calls per game or misses three potential penalties that are caught in challenges, they're ejected from the field. I'll call it the "Cam Wake Rule".

    8) For overtime, I'm make it a 5 minute quarter and drop the sudden-death aspect. If you're tied after 5 minutes, play another quarter until someone wins.

    9) And just for fun, I would make all turnovers via fumbles/INT worth one point each. Also, a pick-6 or fumble recovery/TD would be worth 7 instead of 6.
     
  3. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    I would vote for getting rid of illegal formation rules. Let the offense do as it pleases. There would be MUCH more innovation.
     
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  4. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    I would allow teams to challenge everything but if you lose the challenge then it is a 10 yard penalty.
     
  5. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    I like cbrad's formation rule change. Anything that boosts creativity!

    I would simplify the catch rules. If the player catches the ball in his hands, before it touches/without the assistance of the ground, and he's in bounds then it's a catch. If in doubt this is indicated by him being able to control the ball in his hands - i.e. he's not dropping it or batting it. That's it. That's what we all know is a catch. If the ball comes loose after a catch, then it's a fumble.

    Similarly, forget the forward motion thing for QB's. As soon as the QB has the ball in his hands, if it comes out at any point it's a fumble, because, you know, that's what fumbling is.

    Oh and the extra point kick - I'd keep it but I'd make it like rugby and the kicking spot has to be perpendicular to where the ball broke the plane (on a run) or the feet came down on a catch. That would add an extra dimension and skill to the kicking game. They could either keep the distance as it is and have the defense rush as normal, or do it like rugby and allow a free kick at goal from any distance the kicker chooses. Straight kicks would be guaranteed. Angled ones not so much.

    If you want to get really spicy you could have it so that if the ball doesn't go through the posts and is caught in the end zone by a defender it's live and the defense can run it back!
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2021
  6. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Another rule I would change is I would adopt the college football rule of stopping the clock on a first down.

    I think spiking the ball is dumb and should be intentional grounding
     
  7. Galant

    Galant Love - Unity - Sacrifice - Eternity

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    Oh - and allow any player celebrations/reactions other than directly vulgar/insulting language or overt sexual taunts. Otherwise, let them celebrate.
     
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  8. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Take replay out of the on-field official's hands. Have a 3 person team in the front office that, when a challenge is initiated, have 20 seconds to watch replays and then lock in a vote. Majority takes it.

    Obsessing over challenges - and either getting them flat out wrong or overturning based on miniscule evidence - while it takes like 5 minutes to do is just ... ugh. Replay was intended, imo, to overturn OBVIOUS screw-ups, not be the minutia police.
     
  9. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    That's one of the reasons that college football games take four hours now, though. It wasn't so bad in the old days when teams ran the ball 70% of the time, but between inconpletions, first downs and teams running 80 plays a game, it's all too much.
     
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  10. Vertical Limit

    Vertical Limit Senior Member

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    The games would last forever… the only way to cut out the time is if the penalty is a loss of down on first, second and third down.. on 4th down you can apply the 10 yard penalty.

    for me i would change the pass interference penalty to a spot foul with a maximum of 15 yards.. i hate bail out pass interference calls that are costly… brady is famous for those 40+ yard PI bailout… when was the last time a referee has overturned a bad PI call…
     
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  11. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Like skip a down? I think it would be a loss of down if it is on offense, so if it is 1st and 10, the offense challenges, and they lose the next down would be 2nd and 20.

    If on defense, just make it an automatic first down if they lose.

    I don't think the game would last forever. What coach is going to give a free first down or lose 10 yards?

    The problem I would have with changing that PI rule is that it would incentive corners to just pass interfere on any pass longer than 15 yards.
     
  12. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    On egregious cases, I would eject the defender, like with illegal hits. I would also consider it a foul against the HC, and would suspend him for a game after a certain number.
     
  13. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    These are NFL cornerbacks. It would have to be really egregious.

    Plus imagine losing Howard or Jones because some ref thought the pass interference was "egregious" when he was going for the ball.
     
  14. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    It would have to be extreme. Like the defender tackling the receiver before the ball got there, or pulling him back by his jersey. I hate seeing that. It's bad for the sport.

    If the defender goes over the receiver for the ball, that's just a penalty. Snacks his arm, his hand, they both fall over, ect. All fine. 15 yards.
     
  15. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    WHy not do that every play then if it is a long pass?
     
  16. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    You mean the less invasive ones? At some point, the official would have to call an extra intentional personal foul if its going to be like that. So it becomes 30 yards instead of 15. Warn the benches type of situation.
     
  17. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    That just seems worse than what is happening now.
     
  18. ExplosionsInDaSky

    ExplosionsInDaSky Well-Known Member

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    Pretty much most of what KeyFin said.
     
  19. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I don't think that there's a perfect answer. I just hate it when teams routinely get rewarded for throwing incomplete deep passes because a DB was near by. Especially certain teams with prominent quarterbacks.
     
  20. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    I hate that as well. I just wish there were ways to make officiating better, which should include some eye in the sky type situation to correct bad calls. So many are obvious.

    I would hate it as well if a cornerback interferes by "accident" on a beautiful 50 yard pass and all the team gets is 15 yards.

    I hate when that happens in college.
     
  21. Pauly

    Pauly Season Ticket Holder

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    I would remove overtime for regular season games altogether and let more games end in ties. For 2 reasons
    1) Player safety
    2) it creates more differences between teams for determining playoff berths/seedings and draft order.
     
  22. cbrad

    cbrad .

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    Downside is that teams will play for ties, kind of like in soccer. The entire reason the NFL instituted overtime for regular season in 1974 was to cut down on ties. They used to be quite frequent. In the early 1970's about 1 in 5 teams could expect to have one tie game during the regular season, so ~20%. Since 1974 it's down to about 0.5% of teams having a tie during a season. In other words, a tie now occurs around once every 2 years on average. It's pretty rare.

    Incidentally, the NFL shortened OT from 15 minutes to 10 in 2017 to cut down on injuries and the percentage of ties went up. I'd rather not see it go more in that direction. Once teams see ties as a viable option you'll see more of those dull soccer-type games where both teams are fine with the tie and neither tries to win the game as time runs out. I definitely want OT.
     
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  23. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    This is nitpicky, but it's always bugged me. But when the offense has a penalty and the assessed yardage is half the distance to the goal line, I'd give the defense the option of moving the yardsticks 5, 10 or 15 yards upfield. It kills me that if (for example) a team has two false starts after starting on the 5-yard line, they'll be snapping with 13 yards to go instead of 20 yards. It almost incentivizes teams to be aggressive. On the other end of the field, if the defense has two 5-yard penalties (or 10 or 15 yards), I'd give the offense a first down as they'd receive if they were any other place on the field.

    Also, I'd find it very interesting to watch the video review as the official is seeing it and hearing the discussion about how the determination is made. Forget having a former referee offer opinions on what he would call, I want to hear and see the rationale in real time from the guys making the call.
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2021
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  24. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I have long been opposed to half the distance penalties on the defense. I think that the penalty yardage should always be the full amount until you get to the one yard line. And then, if the defense commits a penalty from its own 1, the offense gets a first down.

    So, 3rd and goal from the 1 and they're offsides, it becomes 1st and goal from the 1. Otherwise, they can be offsides all day long and it never hurts them.
     
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  25. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    One more from me. I have always despised the that if the offense fumbles through the endzone where they are trying to score, it becomes a touchback and the other team gets the ball. That just seems to be the harshest, most overreactive penalty in the game.

    A more fair solution would be loss of down and five yards from the spot of the fumble. So if you fumble at the 5 and it goes through the End Zone on 1st and 10, it becomes 2nd and 10. Fumble from the 1 on 2nd and goal, and it becomes 3rd and goal from the 6. And the only time its a turnover is if it happens on 4th down.
     
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  26. OwesOwn614

    OwesOwn614 Well-Known Member

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    Well, it's not a penalty per se. I'd prefer that if the ball goes from field-of-play and out of the end zone, it's just a loss of down and the team that blew the opportunity get the ball where the last play started. Running in from the three-yard line and fumble out of the end zone? It's now second-and-goal from the three. That's punishment enough IMO.
     
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  27. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    Agreed. I never understood why people hate this rule so much. If an offensive player fumbles the ball out of bounds into the end zone they should not get another chance to score.

    I think that would be as bad as the old rule where teams that were offsides on an onside kick got a second chance.
     
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  28. Puka-head

    Puka-head My2nd Fav team:___vs Jets Club Member

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    Why do you hate kickers?

    With the new rules in the kicking game teams are finding it better to kick the ball short and force a return. Advantage is on the kicking team now.

    For me kick returns, punts or kickoffs have always been one of the more exciting aspects of the game. There are very few plays during a game that can just completely flip the game in between 2 whistles.

    I absolutely hate most/all the new kicking game rules
     
  29. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I absolutely do not hate kickers. I am as big of a proponent of seeing field goals as anyone on this board. A drive that ends in a FG is a success. But I would make kicking field goals the only thing that kickers do.

    As far as my limit on punts, 4 a game is a big number. That's 64 over a 16 game season. Only four guys had more than 68 last year, and they were all on teams with a terrible offense. Almost half the league punted 55 or fewer times. So it wouldn't have a dramatic effect on the gross volume of punts, but I think would change strategy in a positive way that would reflect teams working very hard to avoid 3-and-outs deep in their own territory.

    What I don't like are kickoff returns. The Dolphins only had 10 real KRs last season (6 by Grant, 4 by Iggy), and I would be absolutely delighted if they had even fewer this year. Take the touchback every time. Don't risk messing it up, or worse turning it over. Four of Grant's six KRs last season were for 15 or fewer yards. 1 was for 23, and 1 was for 45. Most of the time, it doesn't help the team to bring it out. Just don't do it.

    As for punt returns, you pick your spot. Most of the time, a fair catch or a small return are the best choice. Once in a while, the opprotunity is there for a bigger one, but the returner needs to be smart about it, follow his blockers, and then just get out of bounds when the time is right.
     

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