Overtime, touchdown celebrations, injured reserve, preseason roster cut-downs, a lot got done at this week’s NFL owners meetings and while the rule changed don’t alter the entire complexion of the game, they will end up being significant and the difference will show up in the product on the field.
That’s exactly the kind of rules you want.
The biggest rule adaptation for 2017 is shortening overtime from 15 minutes to just 10 minutes. A lot of lip service is played to player health and safety, but in this case, this change does just that. Without even looking up a stat, from my own experience, an NFL game that goes beyond two possessions probably has a significant chance of ending up in a tie anyway. Adding an entire extra quarter to a game not only puts players in more danger of injury, but likely impacts their performance the following week.
According to the NFL, only 26.5 percent of overtime games went longer than 10 minutes. With a full quarter, teams many times go back in the shell of their playbooks, getting conservative when hitting the throttle is what got them to overtime in the first place. My guess is, with the shorter period, we’ll see teams stay in their two-minute offense and not take any chances with the clock. Just like moving the kickoff touchback actually ended up making teams kick the ball short of the end zone, this rule change might have the unforeseen result of significantly shorter, multi-possession overtime games.
While the overtime change impacts players’ health, removing the arbitrary roster cut-down dates of the preseason will affect their livelihoods. Under the old rules, NFL teams could start out with 90 players on their roster, but had to trim down to 75, before the final 53-man roster cut-down at the end of the preseason. Under the new rule, NFL teams can keep 90 players the entire time up until the 53-man roster must be determined. That means that bubble players, and especially undrafted free agents, will get every opportunity to put performances on film and make the team they signed with originally or as an audition for another team. It will create a new, free agent dash period post that 53 cut-down date too, which is always fun to follow.
Under the new rules, NFL teams will be able to bring two players back during the season off injured reserve. Previously they could just designate one player for return. General Manager interviews will have more relaxed standards and the team will no longer be forced to disclose in the posting that they are willing to hand over complete control of the roster.
The change that will get the most attention is allowing players more leeway in their touchdown celebrations. It’s an old criticism of the NFL, calling it the No Fun League as it penalized players for anything the refs thought was excessive. According to reports, players will no longer get flagged for group celebrations, they can use the ball as a prop and can “go to the ground,” whatever that means. They still can’t mimic a weapon or delay the game. The 40-second clock will start immediately after a touchdown and that should more than take care of that possible problem.
What didn’t pass? The most significant rule change tabled looks like the ability to negotiate head coaching contracts with assistant coaches that are still in their team’s playoff runs. Teams are currently barred from it and it’s led to some coaches losing out on jobs because they happen to be doing pretty well calling offensive or defensive plays on Super Bowl teams. It’s not dead, but it won’t be a factor this season.
Rules not on the docket
There doesn’t be any real ownership push to change the format of NFL overtime to a more fan-friendly college style system. While it might be the talk of sports radio and plenty of column pixels and ink, the NFL obviously has no interest in giving both teams a “fair shot” with the ball.
There’s also no discussion of allowing all 53 players to be active on game day, which seems like a no-brainer to me. The guys are on your roster and you’re paying them. Why shouldn’t they all be active? And, just my idea, I’d like to see roster sizes at least hit 60 just so the league can really focus on some quarterback development without hurting your game day roster capabilities.
In years past, the NFL has floated the idea of an 18-game regular season schedule, but nobody even whispered about this time around. That’s a good thing. There was also no murmurs about expanding the playoff field, which I also don’t support.
Pro Bowl back in Orlando
Much to the chagrin of NFL players, the Pro Bowl will be back in Orlando in 2018. Camping World Stadium will host the AFC and NFC All-Stars on Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.
NFL Pro Bowl returns to Orlando, will air on ESPN and ABC. https://t.co/wmAaWrYBWg pic.twitter.com/HfWikEsjUI
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) May 24, 2017
ESPN again is back on the broadcast and will also stream it on the ESPN app. If you want to listen to it on a radio, because, I don’t know, you’re an unfrozen cave man and our televisions and computers confuse and frighten you, you’ll have Westwood One, SiriusXM NFL Radio and the TuneIn App to choose from.
“The Pro Bowl is not only a time to watch NFL greats compete live, but it is also a unique opportunity to inspire youth and the next generation of stars,” NFL senior VP of events Peter O’Reilly said. “We received tremendous feedback from players, coaches, and fans about Orlando’s first Pro Bowl, and we are excited to build upon that enthusiasm with a week-long festival that celebrates the entire football community.”
What he doesn’t say is that they completely ignored the feedback from players, who I’m sure to a man would all rather spend a week or more in Hawaii than effing Orlando.
But, hey, at least Orlando’s pumped to have the NFL back.
“We are excited to bring Pro Bowl Week back to our community,” Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said. “This year’s sold-out game was a landmark moment for Orlando and our reputation as a preferred destination for world-class sporting events. We became an NFL city for a week last season and look forward to making the 2018 Pro Bowl bigger and better.”
In addition to the Pro Bowl, the league also holds skill competitions during the week that the NFL Network will spend the entire offseason showing over and over again at 3 a.m.
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