[ALUmnus]

Say goodbye to the wedge. These are some of the rule changes being considered by the owners, and they are all expected to pass:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d ... nfirm=true

A defender who hits a defenseless receiver in the head with his helmet or any part of his body will draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and be subject to a fine from the NFL. Call this "The Anquan Boldin Rule."

If a pass rusher, who is blocked into the quarterback's legs or into the ground on the way to the quarterback, continues to run or drives forcefully into the player, he'll draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and be subject to a fine. Call this the "Tom Brady Rule."

What happened to naming a rule after the player who committed the offense, a la the "Roy Williams" rule?

The "wedge," typically formed by the middle blockers on kickoff returns, might be outlawed because it has a long history of causing injuries.

the committee is recommending that instant replay -- which currently covers certain fumbles -- be expanded to include all fumble plays, including the "tuck rule," whereby a quarterback is deemed to have thrown an incomplete pass rather than fumbled if his arm is moving forward......Under the committee's recommendation, officials will not blow a whistle on such plays. "So, if there's a loose ball, you play through the recovery, and the recovery can be adjudicated on replay," the source said.

Another change the committee is recommending is the elimination of a rule -- put in place at the urging of former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher -- that allows teams attempting an onside kick outside of the final five minutes of the game to have a second attempt if the ball goes out of bounds.

And most importantly, partly because of recommendations from the players, there will be NO changes to overtime, which I wholeheartedly agree with. Anyone who thinks the overtime rules are unfair isn't looking at the facts, which I will not provide because I don't have them.

[LUconn]

A defender who hits a defenseless receiver in the head with his helmet or any part of his body will draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty and be subject to a fine from the NFL. Call this "The Anquan Boldin Rule."

This sounds real fair. So Wines Hard will be able to keep breaking people's jaws, but he's totally protected.


And the fumbling thing is retarded. People are always complaining about something that was ruled down or incomplete not being challengable, but it's logical. Players are going to stop if they hear the whistle. So basically they've decided to call everything a fumble from now on? That's a terrible idea. Coaches are gonna need like 4 challenge flags.

[Ed Dantes]

What's unfair about the OT rule? Both teams had an equal shot to win the coin toss?

[RagingTireFire]

Eliminating the wedge would be just plain stupid. If that happens, you may never see a kickoff return for touchdown ever again.

[LUconn]

how could that even be enforced? Do return blockers have to say a certain distance away from each other?

[RagingTireFire]

how could that even be enforced? Do return blockers have to say a certain distance away from each other?

Typically, wedge blockers form up by grabbing each others' hands so they could outlaw hand-holding I suppose.

[Maximus]

Could they please change the rule allowing quarterbacks to be pansies