Had our annual meeting with the officials today, with back judge Greg Steed leading the discussion about rules changes for the upcoming season. The best part? Getting to watch NFL highlights for about 15 minutes.
Among the big rules changes:
…The Tom Brady Rule. Defenders can only swipe or grab at the knees of a quarterback in an attempt to tackle them in the pocket. If, for example, a defender drives his shoulder, or helmet, into the quarterback’s knees then it’s a 15-yard penalty.
…The Hines Ward Rule. When making a blindside hit on a defender, it’s considered illegal if the initial contact by a blocker’s helmet, shoulder or foream is to the head or neck area of an opponent. You are still allowed to do this if you’re a lead blocker (Mike Sellers won’t have to worry).
…It’s illegal to use anything more than a two-man wedge on kick returns. As long as the other players are more than two yards from the other two blockers then it’s legal. We know this much: Redskins special teams coach Danny Smith has studied this one long and hard and pestered the league with questions to make sure he has it down right. He’s also asked about this rule regarding onside kicks: At least four players on the kicking team must be on each side of the kicker. And at least three must be lined up outside each hash mark, one of whom must be outside the yard-line number. The wedge penalty would be 15 yards; the other is a 5-yard illegal formation.
…Also on onside kicks, there will be no automatic kick over. The only way the ball could be re-kicked is if, for example, the kicking team commits a penalty and subsequently recovers the ball. The receiving team naturally would ask for them to kick again.
…The Jay Cutler Rule. Our man Ed Hochuli got in trouble last season in the Denver-San Diego game when he inadvertently blew a play dead, preventing the Chargers from recovering a fumble late in the game. Naturally, Denver won. Now, if a player recovers the ball and if replay shows it to have been a fumble, it will be that team’s ball at the spot of the recovery. There has to be a clear recovery, so if there’s a pileup, it won’t apply.
Among the points of emphasis:
…The horse collar penalty. This penalty was called twice as much in 2008 as it was the previous year.
…Taunting penalties.
…The Brady Rule.
