It’s NFL rule change season part 2! The NFL owners had their second meeting of the offseason and as usual, rule changes or tweaks were on the agenda. And surprising to no one, I have thoughts about them.
Why I’m glad the NFL didn’t change its ‘unfair’ overtime system
Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz gives his thoughts about the current OT system, the potential PI replay tweaks, and the elimination of certain drills.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Let’s start with the one that wasn’t passed: a new overtime rule.
The current overtime system stayed the same — and that’s fine
The NFL declined to vote on the Kansas City Chiefs’ proposal to alter the overtime rules. The Chiefs were asking for both offenses to have an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime. Well guess what? Both teams have that opportunity now: It’s called defense!
I know, forcing teams to play defense is cruel and unusual punishment, but hey, it’s part of the game. The Rams showed us this formula in the NFC Championship Game when they lost the coin toss, forced a turnover, and won in overtime. It’s OK to ask your defense to get a stop and give your offense a chance with the ball.
As you can tell, I’m totally in favor of keeping overtime rules the same. I’d even be fine with moving back to sudden death, but with the range of kickers now, the offense wouldn’t have to move far to get into field goal range to end the game. That does give the coin toss winner a larger advantage than I’m comfortable with.
So, the current rule is great. A touchdown wins the game. Many people are in favor of the college system of overtime — where both teams get the ball on offense — because it’s “fair.”
Well, the NFL isn’t fair. Almost nothing about the game is fair. Fair isn’t the goal here. Winning in regulation is the goal, and if you can’t do that, then I don’t feel sorry for you. Also, data has shown that the college OT system is more favorable to the team that wins the toss:
There isn’t a “fair” solution to overtime, so it doesn’t need to be tweaked at all. Just win in regulation or play defense in overtime.
The new PI replay is still a work in progress
There could be adjustments to the new pass interference replay rules. The owners voted to let the competition committee decide if coaches can challenge a pass interference call in the final two minutes of a half. The committee will discuss it soon with coaches:
This has led to debates about the Hail Mary play. We’ve all seen these. The ball is thrown deep, and while it’s in the air defensive players bump, hold, grab, and try their best to prevent receivers from catching the ball. There could be pass interference on each of these plays. However, the NFL might exclude these from replay review, or at the least, make the standard high to overturn them if reviewed.
And again, I LOVE it. I wrote about this when the rule was first introduced: We already have rules so skewed in favor of the offense that I’m fine with this play favoring the defense just a tad.
In my view, and I know people strongly disagree, the spirit of replay reviews isn’t to get every single call correct within the game. It’s to fix egregious errors and oversights. If there’s some contact on a Hail Mary but the offensive players have an opportunity to jump for the ball, that’s good enough.
If a player is legit tackled, then yes, pass inference should be called. The standard should be that high.
Eliminating certain drills might not be a good thing
Finally, the NFL has moved to eliminate some contact drills in training camp:
Some of these drills aren’t used anymore, like Bull in the Ring, or used sparingly, like the Oklahoma drill. The other drills — half line and pods — are still used frequently in the NFL, but won’t be anymore.
And in the name of player safety, I understand. I once saw two players get injured on the same half-line drill on a single rep. It’s physical. It’s violent.
That’s the game, though. Offensive and defensive linemen need reps close to game speed. They need to work on double teams (pods) and other run fits. We are moving further away from the physical part of the game.
And look, I totally get it and I’m sure all the players involved won’t miss these drills (I know I wouldn’t), but it’s just a sign that the way football was played in the trenches is no more. I do envision a day, sooner than later, where the three-point stance is outlawed, at least for offensive linemen. Also, where there are penalties or fines for any contact, purposeful or not, with the helmet in the box — that’s linemen working to linebackers, or defenders on a bull rush.
That’s going to fundamentally change the game, and I’m not sure for the better. I hope these changes don’t move too quickly.
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