If you could change one NFL rule, what would it be?

[RockThatBlue]

I would change the targeting rule. I feel the rule is very unfair to defensive players. JMO.

[NFLfan]

I would change the defensive pass interference rule. Make it a 15-yard penalty rather than putting the ball at the spot of the foul.

[RockThatBlue]

3 minutes ago, NFLfan said:

I would change the defensive pass interference rule. Make it a 15-yard penalty rather than putting the ball at the spot of the foul.

That's a good one. 

[RockThatBlue]

Really hate the rule of a defensive holding call being an automatic first down.

[Tracy Denton]

Excessive celebration - Taunting.

[crazycolt1]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 7:11 PM, RockThatBlue said:

Really hate the rule of a defensive holding call being an automatic first down.

I agree. It should be a 10 yard penalty just like offensive holding.

With that being said most defensive holding calls would result in a first down but not always.

[RockThatBlue]

4 minutes ago, crazycolt1 said:

I agree. It should be a 10 yard penalty just like offensive holding.

With that being said most defensive holding calls would result in a first down but not always.

I don't think any 5 yard penalty should be an automatic first down. First downs are 10 yards anyway. Just make it ten yards as you say, if its gonna be an automatic first. 

[crazycolt1]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 7:02 PM, NFLfan said:

I would change the defensive pass interference rule. Make it a 15-yard penalty rather than putting the ball at the spot of the foul.

I have always had a problem with that penalty. There have been plenty of times it was questionable the receiver would even make the catch but the ball would be placed 30 or 40 yards down field.

[crazycolt1]

22 minutes ago, RockThatBlue said:

I don't think any 5 yard penalty should be an automatic first down. First downs are 10 yards anyway. Just make it ten yards as you say, if its gonna be an automatic first. 

It would also stop the automatic first down when the offense is in 3rd down with more than 11 yards to make a first down also.

[NorthernBlue]

Running into the kicker is a sucky rule. If a guys dives to try and block a kick, and then accidentally rolls into the kicker, his team is punished for it. Really stupid, especially if it's incidental contact. Kickers are football players too, so it's not like they should be exempt from contact.

 

Roughing into the kicker is a good rule. Obviously keep that, but accidentally rolling into the kicker and getting penalized for it is dumb. I could do without. 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, NorthernBlue said:

Running into the kicker is a sucky rule. If a guys dives to try and block a kick, and then accidentally rolls into the kicker, his team is punished for it. Really stupid, especially if it's incidental contact. Kickers are football players too, so it's not like they should be exempt from contact.

 

Roughing into the kicker is a good rule. Obviously keep that, but accidentally rolling into the kicker and getting penalized for it is dumb. I could do without. 

I'm not too sure about changing that rule.  Most of the time when the kicker gets rolled on it results in a leg injury.

[crazycolt1]

If a RB or WR uses a straight arm to the face mask it should be called a face mask. If the defense is not allowed to do it why should the offense be allowed to?

[Nesjan3]

yea definetly the defensive pass interference should be 15 or 20 yards not a spot foul, it is just unfair to corners especially how touchy the refs are nowadays about contact.

[RockThatBlue]

18 hours ago, Nesjan3 said:

yea definetly the defensive pass interference should be 15 or 20 yards not a spot foul, it is just unfair to corners especially how touchy the refs are nowadays about contact.

Spot fouls annoy me a bit too. Teams get 30+ free yards on those sometimes.

[chad72]

21 hours ago, Nesjan3 said:

yea definetly the defensive pass interference should be 15 or 20 yards not a spot foul, it is just unfair to corners especially how touchy the refs are nowadays about contact.

 

Well, when it was Ty Law doing it on Marvin, or Talib doing it on Gronk, or Vontae doing it on DT, it all depends on the laundry of the D, IMO.

 

Plus, from 2012 to 2015, the Ravens (with their secondary led by Reed), the Seahawks (led by Sherman and Chancellor), the Patriots (led by Browner and Revis), the Broncos (led by Talib and Harris) all benefited from playoff friendly let-em-play officiating. For some reason, they decide to call 3 consecutive holding penalties against the Falcons in the first half of the SB to let the Pats get on the board, and did not let the secondary play as much (though the Pats secondary got away with a few in the second half) in the 2016 playoffs.

 

No matter the rules, like Polian emphasized, the subjective enforcement is far more powerful then the objective rule itself.

[AZColt11]

Other than the OT rule, the EP.  Make'em all go for two.

[Synthetic]

Change overtime back to sudden death. 

[Synthetic]

6 hours ago, chad72 said:

 

Well, when it was Ty Law doing it on Marvin, or Talib doing it on Gronk, or Vontae doing it on DT, it all depends on the laundry of the D, IMO.

 

Plus, from 2012 to 2015, the Ravens (with their secondary led by Reed), the Seahawks (led by Sherman and Chancellor), the Patriots (led by Browner and Revis), the Broncos (led by Talib and Harris) all benefited from playoff friendly let-em-play officiating. For some reason, they decide to call 3 consecutive holding penalties against the Falcons in the first half of the SB to let the Pats get on the board, and did not let the secondary play as much (though the Pats secondary got away with a few in the second half) in the 2016 playoffs.

 

No matter the rules, like Polian emphasized, the subjective enforcement is far more powerful then the objective rule itself.

 

The Falcons got off on some pretty nasty calls in the 4th quarter. The final drive in which the Pats tied the game, they got off on pass interference multiple times. Go back and watch that, especially on the circus catch play and the 'almost interception' play. Atlanta had their fair share of no calls on defense. 

[southwest1]

46 minutes ago, Synthetic said:

Change overtime back to sudden death. 

I kind of agree with this reverting back I mean. This idea that both sides get an opportunity to touch the ball on offense is overrated to me. Yeah I know, the coin toss by a ref was given excessive weight to a random element of chance, but still. I liked it when the first score in OT even a FG could win the darn game. It was a rush man. The arbitrariness of it all in overtime so many things coaches had no control over: heads or tails on the toss, hearing what player captains declared on the field incorrectly before the toss itself; & life in general isn't fair anyway. Why should both teams get the ball in OT anyway? It gives almost voodoo magic mystique to how the coin lands. 

 

Plus, a lot of players can get injured playing an extra quarter of football. They're tired, exhausted, & say a coach is on the hot seat by their owner & needs to make the playoffs to retain their job...And then wham the team looses their star WR or DB? Crap. 

 

Not only that. Field Goals are crisp, clean, & the guys can get a shower faster & clean up sooner for post game interviews too. 

 

Last but not least, one of the reasons I refuse to watch baseball is that the games take too long to finally conclude & the longer games play out the more it interferes with TV programming & sleeping habits of some fans too. Length isn't always an asset in broadcasting as producers or consumers overall. 

[southwest1]

On May 20, 2017 at 7:02 PM, Tracy Denton said:

Excessive celebration - Taunting.

I agree with taking away the taunting rule tool because it's just another version of smack talking live. If you wanna ban the throat slashing gesture, the pretend pistol firing gesture, or the archery firing motion fine; but everything else is fair game.

 

It's your job to shut your adversary up by scoring TDs or crippling their ground game on defense on 3rd down. And why is the league allowed to promote their shield & jerseys for profit but players can't engage in individual expressions of self promotion either? Seems highly hypocritical to me Mr. Commissioner. Just saying. 

[southwest1]

Pre-game & halftime interviews with both head coaches. Yeah I know, they are not an NFL rule per say unless you wanna count them as a CBA mandate to make themselves available to journalists during a game. 

 

I just have never really gotten anything meaningful over these reporter/coach interactions. 90% of the remarks are tired cliches & even if you missed part of the game; nobody ever looks online to say hear what Erin Andrews asked a coach at halftime. 

[southwest1]

Actually, if I'm being totally honest here, I'd make NFL referees a permanent 12 month position with great benefits & a nice salary vs the temporary occupation it is now. 

 

My reasoning is simple: If you compensate people well so that they can devote their entire time perfecting & improving their craft, they tend to excel at it & negate their mistakes over time. 

 

Plus, with all the new rules/modifications that get tweaked every yr, it would be a wise move to validate to your referee crews that you value their attention to detail through their pocket book. When you pay people well, they strive to make their bosses look good. 

[southwest1]

Roughing the passer against the quarterback penalty only gets called if a pass rusher or safety pile drives the field general into the ground; hits him high & low simultaneously; pulls the face mask clearly in another direction on replay; or hits him long after the ball has been released or handed off to a running back. 

 

I seriously think QBs are too protected now. I get it. Ticket sales decline if your face of the franchise goes down. 

 

I just remember Lawrence Taylor, John Randle, & Mike Singletary back in their heydays & if you could endure their punishment for 3 hours, you had earned their respect & admiration for a hard fought battle. I miss those days. 

[NannyMcafee]

On 5/20/2017 at 7:02 PM, NFLfan said:

I would change the defensive pass interference rule. Make it a 15-yard penalty rather than putting the ball at the spot of the foul.

 

The only issue with that is defensive pass interference on an 80 yard bomb, or in the end zone. Who wouldn't take a 15 yard penalty to stop a catch like that?

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, NannyMcafee said:

 

The only issue with that is defensive pass interference on an 80 yard bomb, or in the end zone. Who wouldn't take a 15 yard penalty to stop a catch like that?

Defensive backs already take those penalties now if they feel a TD is eminent.

The problem I have is there is no way to tell if the receiver is going to make the catch in the first place. To penalize a defensive player on a huge play without being certain the catch would have been made is not right IMO. I highly doubt we would ever see any changes in this area just for the fact the NFL wants to keep scoring up.

[shakedownstreet]

Eliminate overtime

 

And eliminate ties by giving the win to whichever team's staring center has the biggest man boobs 

[WarGhost21]

On 5/21/2017 at 10:54 PM, crazycolt1 said:

If a RB or WR uses a straight arm to the face mask it should be called a face mask. If the defense is not allowed to do it why should the offense be allowed to?

I'm thinking the exact opposite almost. If they have a straight arm to the face mask and the defender isn't obviously jerked around by the ball carrier gripping the mask, then that is a stiff arm. If the defender is obviously jerked around by their face mask, then yes, it should be called.

[BR-549]

3 hours ago, southwest1 said:

Roughing the passer against the quarterback penalty only gets called if a pass rusher or safety pile drives the field general into the ground; hits him high & low simultaneously; pulls the face mask clearly in another direction on replay; or hits him long after the ball has been released or handed off to a running back. 

 

I seriously think QBs are too protected now. I get it. Ticket sales decline if your face of the franchise goes down. 

 

I just remember Lawrence Taylor, John Randle, & Mike Singletary back in their heydays & if you could endure their punishment for 3 hours, you had earned their respect & admiration for a hard fought battle. I miss those days. 

Anything else on your mind? lol

 

Good points, Im in

[crazycolt1]

26 minutes ago, WarGhost21 said:

I'm thinking the exact opposite almost. If they have a straight arm to the face mask and the defender isn't obviously jerked around by the ball carrier gripping the mask, then that is a stiff arm. If the defender is obviously jerked around by their face mask, then yes, it should be called.

I understand but why should an offensive player get by with a straight arm when the defender gets called for a face mask regardless if he grabs the facemask? If the defender just touches the facemask it is a penalty but yet an offensive player can use a straight arm to force a defender off his feet.

[crazycolt1]

4 hours ago, southwest1 said:

Actually, if I'm being totally honest here, I'd make NFL referees a permanent 12 month position with great benefits & a nice salary vs the temporary occupation it is now. 

 

My reasoning is simple: If you compensate people well so that they can devote their entire time perfecting & improving their craft, they tend to excel at it & negate their mistakes over time. 

 

Plus, with all the new rules/modifications that get tweaked every yr, it would be a wise move to validate to your referee crews that you value their attention to detail through their pocket book. When you pay people well, they strive to make their bosses look good. 

The average salary for a NFL referee is $180,000. a year that is going up to $200,000 in 2018. Not bad for a part time job.

Where do I sign up?

[Luck is Good]

This is pretty obvious but defensive penalties are much more harsh than offensive penalties. Illegal contact, 5 yard penalty, first down. Holding, 5 yard penalty, first down. Pass interference, spot of the foul penalty, first down. It really irritates me when it's 3rd and forever and a 5 yard penalty results in a first down. That needs to be changed

[Chrisaaron1023]

3 hours ago, Luck is Good said:

This is pretty obvious but defensive penalties are much more harsh than offensive penalties. Illegal contact, 5 yard penalty, first down. Holding, 5 yard penalty, first down. Pass interference, spot of the foul penalty, first down. It really irritates me when it's 3rd and forever and a 5 yard penalty results in a first down. That needs to be changed

That, or just make offensive PI an automatic 4th down.. tired of pick plays

[Chrisaaron1023]

But it looks like they are allowing celebrations again, thank Jesus

[Luck is Good]

1 hour ago, Chrisaaron1023 said:

That, or just make offensive PI an automatic 4th down.. tired of pick plays

We'd have as much flopping as the NBA

[Superman]

Overtime. Both teams should get possession. 

[Chrisaaron1023]

45 minutes ago, Luck is Good said:

2 hours ago, Chrisaaron1023 said:

That, or just make offensive PI an automatic 4th down.. tired of pick plays

We'd have as much flopping as the NBA

LOL could you imagine... "Pass interference, Offense #84; 10 yard penalty, automatic 4th down!"

[Luck is Good]

20 minutes ago, Chrisaaron1023 said:

LOL could you imagine... "Pass interference, Offense #84; 10 yard penalty, automatic 4th down!"

Be interesting to say the least

[21isSuperman]

On 2017-05-20 at 6:02 PM, Tracy Denton said:

Excessive celebration - Taunting.

Almost like they're reading the forums...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000810537/article/nfl-relaxing-touchdown-celebration-rules-for-players

[Lucky Colts Fan]

Any penalty involving linemen holding, offensive or defensive.  That's such a weak penalty.  

 

I'm half joking, but not really.  All the linemen, offensive and defensive, should lose the pads and jerseys so there's nothing to "hold" onto, just paint the numbers on their torso and let the big men go at it.  Sumo wrestlers in real battle!

 

Concussions are a serious concern, so they can keep the helmets, even though it's something to hold onto. (Facemask penalty)  But other than that, if you give your opponent something to hold onto, that's your fault.  Cut your hair, shave your beard, and get your hand-work right.  Until this game becomes 7-on-7, the big men rule the field.

 

[Myles]

I have 2.

I would make a rule that any player that has been with a team for 10+ years will not have their salary count against the salary cap.  

 

I would make penalties review able.   I wouldn't increase the amount of challenges though, so it wouldn't really extend games.