NFL Rule Change Allows For Teams To Be Penalized If Players Make Repeat Illegal Hits

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Next season, whenever that may be, the NFL will start fining teams for repeated flagrant hits resulting in fines by their players. The NFL instituted a stricter policy on the punishment of dirty hits last season, fining a number of players for hits on defenseless players and helmet to helmet hits, and this rule goes another step further in trying to change the culture surrounding illegal hits in the NFL. As it stands, punishment will be financial, but when asked about the possibility of teams being fined draft picks, league vice president Adolpho Birch said commissioner Roger Goodell had not ruled it out.

Regarding how punishment would be assessed, Birch had this to say:

With the NFL’s announcement that kickoffs would be moved from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line, a move made with the intention of increasing touchbacks and decreasing kickoff returns due to safety concerns, it’s fair to wonder about how much the value of kick return specialists will diminish should the NFL ever return, resembling the old product we were used to. The number of kickoffs that ended up between the three yard line and three yards deep in the end zone seems high through pure personal recollection. It’s hardly scientific, but on the surface, this five yard change seems like it could be a big deal.

To see how much the rule change will affect kickoffs, and therefore, the value of kickoff specialists, someone would have to go through every NFL kickoff from this season (or just 1000 of them, actually. Hi high school statistics teacher!) and determine how many of them just narrowly avoided being likely touchbacks. Of course, we’d have to set a parameter for “likely touchbacks,” which we could figure out while we were taking the kickoff length sample.

As you all know by now, NFL owners announced a rule change that will move the kickoff from the 30 to the 35-yard line. The change was done primarily to avoid injuries as kickoffs are one of the more dangerous parts of the game.

We’re not sure exactly how it will affect the game but the number of kickoff returns will likely decrease. This means, in theory. that teams will generally have worse field position on kickoffs.

Can you imagine walking into the New Meadowlands Stadium and looking at blue turf a la Boise State?

If you can imagine it, don’t expect it to turn to reality. At the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday it was announced that a new rule had been enacted that eliminates the possibility of blue turf.

The NFL tweaked the rules on replay challenges at the owners’ meetings in New Orleans on Tuesday. Under the new rule, all scoring players will be subject to a booth review. Previously, the only automatic booth review came under two minutes of each half. Now all scoring plays can be reviewed without a coach using a challenge.

The original proposal also called for the elimination of the third replay challenge but that will remain intact.

The NFL owners meetings in New Orleans aren’t just about the current labor situation -- it’s also about rule changes. The Competition Committee proposed a rule change that would move kickoffs from the 30 to the 35-yard line and it passed, according to reports.

So kickoffs will now start at the 35-yard line which likely means more touchbacks. For the NFL’s purposes, that means less returns, which in turn may mean less injuries. Kickoff returns are one of the most dangerous parts of the game and player safety has been an emphasis in recent years.