Monday, February 6, 2012

Things that the NFL needs to change immediately

1. The review process.

A. The official on the field should not be the one reviewing the play. If they screwed up the call in the first place, there is a certain pride in sticking to your guns on a close call.
B. There should be a booth manned by third party officials constantly reviewing every play for each game. They will be the ones to rule on a call and they should be prepared to overturn every call. This will speed up the review process as well as add an outsider's view. If there is any question that a full 2 minutes is needed, they should buzz the field to let them know to stop play. After two minutes, the ruling on the field will stand.
C. Non-penalties should automatically be reviewed. If there is any play that is questionable it should be reviewed for 2 minutes unless evidence is found sooner.
D. Penalties should be able to be challenged by coaches by the same rules that currently apply. I'll discuss this further below, but all penalties are not created equal and many can make a huge difference in a game, particularly if called or not called. Pass interference and holding in particular are huge penalties that get called far too often and at the same time are missed during particularly big plays.

2. Simplify the rule book. There are far too many examples of rules that are over the average viewer's head and really don't affect the game.

3. Make things a little bit harder on the Offense.

A. Fix pass interference. Currently, it's the single most devastating penalty in the game and it operates on the assumption that the player will catch the ball if he wasn't interfered with. Being a Redskins fan and watching Deion Branch in SuperBowl XLVI, just because the ball hits your hands doesn't mean you will catch it. Pass interference should be 15 yards or the spot of the foul, whichever is farther.

B. There should be fewer defensive penalties that give first downs. If the defense breathes wrong it's a first down for the offense, offensive penalties don't all lose downs, defensive penalties should grant a new set of them every time.

4. Why is a personal foul not the worst penalty?
Why is pass interference a more serious penalty than a personal foul? It's mind boggling. There needs to be more serious repercussions for playing with the intent to injure or attempting to ruin the game through unsportsmanlike conduct. My proposal: 1st foul the player has to sit out for a down. 2nd foul, they're ejected.
You could also make the 1st foul more serious, like sitting out the remainder of the drive. On a bench foul, a player that was on the field needs to sit for the team.

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