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Football Rules that Need to Change


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After seeing Dez Bryant's touchdown nullified by what was apparently the correct call invoking the "Calvin Johnson rule," I had to look the rule up. My first thought was "that rule needs to change." What other rules need to change? (I am kinda looking at penalties, possession, etc. as opposed to things like how overtime is formatted, the wide college hash marks, and the NFL's one helmet rule). Also, this could be expanded to other sports, but football just has so many rules...

My changes, off the cuff...

1. NFL: The Calvin Johnson rule, defined: "If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact with an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

First, the idea of that not being a catch is as bad as the idea of Brady's fumble being an incomplete pass, i.e., if you catch the ball and make three steps, that's gotta be a catch (and a fumble). Second, this opens up far too much interpretation. In trying to determine whether today's overturn was correct, I read a lot of folks discussing whether Bryant made a "football move." So if that third step would have looked more like he was trying to get to the end zone, it's a catch? I already have read people suggesting that the NFL keeps some rules vague so they can give a leg up to the preferred team (and this is the only team Dallas can play and not be that team). Once a player has possession and has been in bounds it ought to be a catch. This rule needs to be 1) more consistent with how other catches are determined and 2) less confusing (i.e., deciding when the play crosses the line between "susceptible to incompletion" and "susceptible to fumble.")

2. All Football: Eliminate the intentional grounding rule. I know this will be unpopular but I've always wondered whether others feel this way. Once again, the rule opens up to judgement and I have seen some very confusing calls and non-calls. It's already odd since you can throw out of bounds if it's past the line of scrimmage and you are outside of the tackles. Plus the NFL in particular wants to protect quarterbacks. Let 'em throw it away. Every time they do it's at their own risk.

3. NFL: Down by contact (vs. College down by no-contact). I don't feel very strongly here. I tend to prefer the college rule because there is some occasional ambiguity as to whether a player was contacted or not.

4. NFL: Getting pushed out of bounds while making a catch. I have to admit something here: I am not certain of the rule. My memory is that in college, if you catch the ball while in the air and get push out of bounds: no catch. In the NFL: judgement as to whether you "would have" landed in bounds had you not been pushed. But 1) I could be wrong and 2) the NFL may have changed that. If I am correct, I prefer the college rule because, you guessed it, it calls for less weird interpretation.

5. College: One foot in bounds for a catch. No really strong feelings here but I tend to prefer the NFL rule of two feet in bounds. (Visions of Cris Carter falling over the sideline and getting both feet in bounds).

Football has tons of rules. Any disagreements with the above? Others that ought to change? I felt like I wanted to say something about pass interference, but I am not sure what. And I suspect some of you have strong feelings about targeting, etc.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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Number 1 I agree with 100%

should be as simple as one/two feet being in bounds with control

3/5 I believe need to be mutually exclusive

Should be non contact and one foot in bounds, or two feet and a contact tackle

I believe that the NFL should borrow from the(my opinion) superior game(but not players) of the CFL, and eliminate the fair catch rule, and require 5 yards for the receiver to make the catch and start running

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I've never like how it could be 3rd or 4th and long, yet a 5 yard penalty in some instances makes it automatic first down. Either make those 10 yard penalties(and first down) or make it not automatic.

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something I don't get about receivers catching the ball at the sidelines -

since such a big deal is made about "breaking the plane" at the goaline, and how the ball gets spotted where it was reached out (not necessarily where it hits the ground), why is it different at the sideline than at any other point of the field? If a guy has both feet in bounds, but catches the ball clearly outside the plane of the boundary, shouldn't it be an incomplete pass? If the invisible plane counts for touch downs, first down, and any other spot, it should count for out-of-bounds too.

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I've never like how it could be 3rd or 4th and long, yet a 5 yard penalty in some instances makes it automatic first down. Either make those 10 yard penalties(and first down) or make it not automatic.

If you're talking about defensive holding, it pretty much has to be auto first down, otherwise if you're getting beat and your guy will be wide open to get the slant and run for a lot of yards, there's no incentive for you not to just grab him.

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I've never like how it could be 3rd or 4th and long, yet a 5 yard penalty in some instances makes it automatic first down. Either make those 10 yard penalties(and first down) or make it not automatic.

If you're talking about defensive holding, it pretty much has to be auto first down, otherwise if

you're getting beat and your guy will be wide open to get the slant and run for a lot of yards, there's no incentive for you not to just grab him.

Yeah, that's why I think it should be 10 yards for defensive holding.

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I'll add runing in to and roughing the kicker as penalties that need to be looked at (but won't be). There are too many penalties that you simply can't avoid, and have nothing to do with malice or recklessness, and are just part of the way the game is played. The purpose of a penalty is to discourage someone from cheating or from putting someone at unnecessary risk for injury. While running in to the kicker certainly risks injury, you simply can't play the game right and not get called for that, even if the kicker wasn't in any legitimate danger.


I've never like how it could be 3rd or 4th and long, yet a 5 yard penalty in some instances makes it automatic first down. Either make those 10 yard penalties(and first down) or make it not automatic.



If you're talking about defensive holding, it pretty much has to be auto first down, otherwise if
you're getting beat and your guy will be wide open to get the slant and run for a lot of yards, there's no incentive for you not to just grab him.
Yeah, that's why I think it should be 10 yards for defensive holding.

Doesn't matter. Then if it's 3rd and 15 and my guy is running by me I'm just gonig to tackle him before the ball is thrown and we'll repeat third down.

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Our most popular game and nobody ever knows what the hell the rules are. Maybe we need to make baseball more inscrutable and start randomly calling guys out because they weren't "making a baseball move."

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1. As dumb as it sounds, a catch should have a clear-cut definition. That's why I do like the Calvin catch guidelines. It eliminates the gray area. Had there not been this rule, there would be big arguments about this being a catch or not.

2. Hell no. Eliminating the Intentional Grounding rule just benefits the offense even more. Having IG makes the offense at least try to make a play. And, usually IG is one of the penalties where there's a discussion before a flag is thrown.

3. Nah, keep the down-by-contact rule. Again, forces the offense to make a play (and gives the defense a chance to cause a fumble). Although, the NFL recently came up with the giving-yourself-up rule.

4. The NFL used to have that push-out judgement rule (and any Vikings fan should remember that rather fondly), but now has no such rule. I prefer the latter. It gives the defense a better chance to defend the pass. Forces the offense to make a play.

5. Nah, keep the one-foot-in (and temporarily stopping the clock for first downs) for the college game. Their skill levels aren't sharpened enough to handle professional rules. Makes the college game better to watch. (Players at Alabama or USC or Texas might be able to handle the pro rules, but not Charleston Southern or Western Michigan or Valdosta State wouldn't. Gotta think about the overall talent levels for every college program around, not just the Power 5.)

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The Calvin Johnson rule just might be the only rule that's dumber than the old tuck rule. It has to go. I still haven't heard a good explanation for why the Dez Bryant catch was not a catch.

Another rule that I'd like to get rid of is the rule that says the ground can't cause a fumble. What's the call if a runner is 10 yards ahead of anyone, trips over his feet, falls down flat on his face and is knocked unconscious while the ground clearly causes the ball to pop out and roll five yards away? He's not down but it's also not a fumble?

 

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The Calvin Johnson rule just might be the only rule that's dumber than the old tuck rule. It has to go. I still haven't heard a good explanation for why the Dez Bryant catch was not a catch.

Another rule that I'd like to get rid of is the rule that says the ground can't cause a fumble. What's the call if a runner is 10 yards ahead of anyone, trips over his feet, falls down flat on his face and is knocked unconscious while the ground clearly causes the ball to pop out and roll five yards away? He's not down but it's also not a fumble?

In that situation, it's a fumble (in the NFL). The ground can only cause a fumble if he's never down by contact.

Here's my main one: Inside of the two minute warning, stop the clock after a first down until the chains are reset, similar to college. More comebacks this way, though I could see how it would be an issue for trying to running out the clock.

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The Calvin Johnson rule just might be the only rule that's dumber than the old tuck rule. It has to go. I still haven't heard a good explanation for why the Dez Bryant catch was not a catch.

Another rule that I'd like to get rid of is the rule that says the ground can't cause a fumble. What's the call if a runner is 10 yards ahead of anyone, trips over his feet, falls down flat on his face and is knocked unconscious while the ground clearly causes the ball to pop out and roll five yards away? He's not down but it's also not a fumble?

I think that's a fumble. He'd have to be down by contact to benefit from that rule.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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Our most popular game and nobody ever knows what the hell the rules are. Maybe we need to make baseball more inscrutable and start randomly calling guys out because they weren't "making a baseball move."

If it means randomly calling batters out because they're wasting time by stepping out of the box, etc., I'm all for it.

 

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1. As dumb as it sounds, a catch should have a clear-cut definition. That's why I do like the Calvin catch guidelines. It eliminates the gray area. Had there not been this rule, there would be big arguments about this being a catch or not.

2. Hell no. Eliminating the Intentional Grounding rule just benefits the offense even more. Having IG makes the offense at least try to make a play. And, usually IG is one of the penalties where there's a discussion before a flag is thrown.

3. Nah, keep the down-by-contact rule. Again, forces the offense to make a play (and gives the defense a chance to cause a fumble). Although, the NFL recently came up with the giving-yourself-up rule.

4. The NFL used to have that push-out judgement rule (and any Vikings fan should remember that rather fondly), but now has no such rule. I prefer the latter. It gives the defense a better chance to defend the pass. Forces the offense to make a play.

5. Nah, keep the one-foot-in (and temporarily stopping the clock for first downs) for the college game. Their skill levels aren't sharpened enough to handle professional rules. Makes the college game better to watch. (Players at Alabama or USC or Texas might be able to handle the pro rules, but not Charleston Southern or Western Michigan or Valdosta State wouldn't. Gotta think about the overall talent levels for every college program around, not just the Power 5.)

I was thinking that rule had changed. (And I don't remember whatever I should remember as a Vikes fan).

1. I don't feel the Johnson rule gives it a clear cut defintion. It still leaves confusion as to when a player has done whatever he has to do for the ground to cause a fumble instead of an incompletion.

2. I was expecting no love on that

5. I can buy this. And I should add that I don't think it's important for the two games to have the same rules.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

BADGERS TWINS VIKINGS TIMBERWOLVES WILD

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  1. Quarterbacks are hit way too often still. I think ejections for sacking the QB should be necessary.

15, no, 30 yard penalties for defending a receiver. Wideouts should be allowed 1-3 catch attempts in a single Football Move™

Kickoffs from midfield.

Punts should be illegal.

If a player takes a shot to the head he should immediately remove his uniform/equipment, sign a waiver, then be forced into early retirement.

5 yard penalty and loss of down for beating your wife/girlfriend.

Annual "Gooddell Award" for players who successfully defuse their own scandals.

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  1. Quarterbacks are hit way too often still. I think ejections for sacking the QB should be necessary.
  2. 15, no, 30 yard penalties for defending a receiver. Wideouts should be allowed 1-3 catch attempts in a single Football Move™
  3. Kickoffs from midfield.
  4. Punts should be illegal.
  5. If a player takes a shot to the head he should immediately remove his uniform/equipment, sign a waiver, then be forced into early retirement.
  6. 5 yard penalty and loss of down for beating your wife/girlfriend.
  7. Annual "Gooddell Award" for players who successfully defuse their own scandals.

8. Raiders' touchdowns/field goals count for double points.


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Eliminating intentional grounding wouldn't work because there'd be nothing to stop a QB from just spiking the ball at his feet when he gets into trouble in the pocket.

I'd say the the five-yard contact rule when defending a WR needs to go as well as loosening up on the defensive holding calls. I think the games are much more entertaining to watch when you get the officiating crews that let these penalties slide as opposed to the ones who are more likely to call these penalties.

At the professional level, taunting penalties need to go away also.

I'd like to say this Calvin Johnson rule needs to go away, but Hedley raised a good point. Also, I'd have to think the rule itself exists for a reason, right? Was there some call that made the NFL clarify how it defines a catch in this way (Troy Polamalu INT against Indy? Or was that way before they made the rule the way it is now?)?

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Our most popular game and nobody ever knows what the hell the rules are. Maybe we need to make baseball more inscrutable and start randomly calling guys out because they weren't "making a baseball move."

If it means randomly calling batters out because they're wasting time by stepping out of the box, etc., I'm all for it.

Yeah, we need some instances of

"Time."

"Nope."

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Don't make pass interference a spot foul rule- it's too damn easy to flip the field in 40 yards without a completion. Just heave it up and draw a flag. All PI penalties should be 10 or 15 yards. Endzone PI is the absolute worst.

If illegal contact penalties come on downs of more than 5 yards, don't make it an automatic 1st down. If it's on, say, 2nd and 12, make ir 2nd and 7.

Make pass interference reviewable- we've seen too many feel tangled up situations turn into PI.

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Don't make pass interference a spot foul rule- it's too damn easy to flip the field in 40 yards without a completion. Just heave it up and draw a flag. All PI penalties should be 10 or 15 yards. Endzone PI is the absolute worst.

If illegal contact penalties come on downs of more than 5 yards, don't make it an automatic 1st down. If it's on, say, 2nd and 12, make it 2nd and 7.

This.
In general, I like college rules a lot better. The biggest rule I don't like in the pros is how PI is a spot foul. There is no reason why a potential 50+ yard bomb that falls to the ground needs to be awarded due to PI. Making that a 10 or 15 yard penalty would be just fine.

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