Modifications to the instant replay system and the onside kick will be the focus when NFL owners meet remotely Wednesday to vote on rule-change proposals for the 2021 season.
The proposals, made by both the rulemaking competition committee and individual teams, were discussed during a remote meeting of owners, general managers and coaches April 14. Any proposal must be approved by at least 24 of the 32 teams to be enacted for the upcoming season.
Perhaps the most significant proposal is one made by the competition committee that would expand the role of the replay assistant stationed in the press box. Under the proposal, the replay assistant would be given additional responsibilities to consult with the on-field officials about a limited scope of calls. That list of rulings would include possession of the ball; whether a pass was complete; whether a ballcarrier reached the goal line or first-down marker or was out of bounds; and whether a ballcarrier was down by contact.
NFL gives final go-ahead for 17-game season beginning in 2021
Currently, the replay assistant can consult with the on-field officials only about game-administration issues such as the proper enforcement of a penalty, the correct down, the spot of the football and clock-related matters.
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This proposal, made with the backing of the Baltimore Ravens and the competition committee’s coaches subcommittee, is much more limited than the “sky judge” concept favored by many coaches and some others. Under that concept, an official stationed before a monitor in the press box would have the power to overturn erroneous calls by the on-field officials. The league and competition committee have been wary of going that far, and the Ravens withdrew a sky judge proposal that the owners would have considered Wednesday.
This is a more limited step. A similar proposal was to be used last year as a preseason experiment, with the possibility of an extension into the regular season. But the NFL canceled the preseason last year, at the behest of the NFL Players Association, because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
It is unclear whether the owners will ratify the measure Wednesday.
“I think the replay proposal will pass,” one person familiar with the deliberations said, “but that is not definite.”
It would be the NFL’s first tweak to the instant replay system since the measure during the 2019 season that made pass interference decisions subject to replay review. That rule was enacted following the erroneous pass interference non-call in the NFC championship game at the conclusion of the 2018 season that helped send the Los Angeles Rams, rather than the New Orleans Saints, to the Super Bowl. But the measure lasted only one season and was not renewed last offseason amid widespread dissatisfaction with how the rule was applied.
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The owners’ deliberations Wednesday also will include consideration of the fourth-and-15 alternative to the onside kick, being proposed again by the Philadelphia Eagles. The measure would enable a team to retain possession by getting a first down on a fourth-and-15 play from its own 25-yard line. The proposal is aimed at addressing the increasing futility of onside kicks since the NFL put safety-related rule changes into effect on kickoffs before the 2018 season.
But the fourth-and-15 proposal has been considered too gimmicky by some owners and has failed to generate the necessary support for ratification when it has been put forth in recent years. Its approval this time is considered a long shot.
The competition committee has made a separate proposal designed to make recovering an onside kick a bit more realistic for the kicking team. The proposal would limit the receiving team to having no more than nine players line up within 10 to 25 yards of the kickoff spot.
Other proposals are related to overtime. The competition committee is proposing to eliminate overtime in preseason games. The Ravens and Eagles are proposing variations of a “spot and choose” overtime format. One team would choose the spot of the football to begin overtime by picking a yard line; the opposing team then would decide, based on that starting point, whether it wants to be on offense or defense.
The Kansas City Chiefs are proposing to expand the jersey-number options for players at certain positions. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers would be allowed to wear single-digit jersey numbers under the Chiefs’ proposal.
The Buffalo Bills are proposing a measure to postpone all teams’ interviews for head coaching and coordinator vacancies until after the conference championship games. No hires for those positions could be made until after the Super Bowl.
The proposals, made by both the rulemaking competition committee and individual teams, were discussed during a remote meeting of owners, general managers and coaches April 14. Any proposal must be approved by at least 24 of the 32 teams to be enacted for the upcoming season.
Perhaps the most significant proposal is one made by the competition committee that would expand the role of the replay assistant stationed in the press box. Under the proposal, the replay assistant would be given additional responsibilities to consult with the on-field officials about a limited scope of calls. That list of rulings would include possession of the ball; whether a pass was complete; whether a ballcarrier reached the goal line or first-down marker or was out of bounds; and whether a ballcarrier was down by contact.
NFL gives final go-ahead for 17-game season beginning in 2021
Currently, the replay assistant can consult with the on-field officials only about game-administration issues such as the proper enforcement of a penalty, the correct down, the spot of the football and clock-related matters.
ADVERTISING
This proposal, made with the backing of the Baltimore Ravens and the competition committee’s coaches subcommittee, is much more limited than the “sky judge” concept favored by many coaches and some others. Under that concept, an official stationed before a monitor in the press box would have the power to overturn erroneous calls by the on-field officials. The league and competition committee have been wary of going that far, and the Ravens withdrew a sky judge proposal that the owners would have considered Wednesday.
This is a more limited step. A similar proposal was to be used last year as a preseason experiment, with the possibility of an extension into the regular season. But the NFL canceled the preseason last year, at the behest of the NFL Players Association, because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
It is unclear whether the owners will ratify the measure Wednesday.
“I think the replay proposal will pass,” one person familiar with the deliberations said, “but that is not definite.”
It would be the NFL’s first tweak to the instant replay system since the measure during the 2019 season that made pass interference decisions subject to replay review. That rule was enacted following the erroneous pass interference non-call in the NFC championship game at the conclusion of the 2018 season that helped send the Los Angeles Rams, rather than the New Orleans Saints, to the Super Bowl. But the measure lasted only one season and was not renewed last offseason amid widespread dissatisfaction with how the rule was applied.
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The owners’ deliberations Wednesday also will include consideration of the fourth-and-15 alternative to the onside kick, being proposed again by the Philadelphia Eagles. The measure would enable a team to retain possession by getting a first down on a fourth-and-15 play from its own 25-yard line. The proposal is aimed at addressing the increasing futility of onside kicks since the NFL put safety-related rule changes into effect on kickoffs before the 2018 season.
But the fourth-and-15 proposal has been considered too gimmicky by some owners and has failed to generate the necessary support for ratification when it has been put forth in recent years. Its approval this time is considered a long shot.
The competition committee has made a separate proposal designed to make recovering an onside kick a bit more realistic for the kicking team. The proposal would limit the receiving team to having no more than nine players line up within 10 to 25 yards of the kickoff spot.
Other proposals are related to overtime. The competition committee is proposing to eliminate overtime in preseason games. The Ravens and Eagles are proposing variations of a “spot and choose” overtime format. One team would choose the spot of the football to begin overtime by picking a yard line; the opposing team then would decide, based on that starting point, whether it wants to be on offense or defense.
The Kansas City Chiefs are proposing to expand the jersey-number options for players at certain positions. Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers would be allowed to wear single-digit jersey numbers under the Chiefs’ proposal.
The Buffalo Bills are proposing a measure to postpone all teams’ interviews for head coaching and coordinator vacancies until after the conference championship games. No hires for those positions could be made until after the Super Bowl.
