Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't look too pleased with some of the interpretations Grier gave him as they watched film clips from previous games and discussed how a given rule would be applied. Grier said things like, "Well, I would do such-and-such," implying that there's a measure of subjectivity.
Let's start with the changes spelled out in the league's official release.
Spiking of ball: It will now be a 5-yard penalty for a player to spike or throw the ball after a down has ended, except for after a touchdown. "We did not think this type of spiking was good for sportsmanship or the administration of the game by officials," said Rich McKay, co-chair of the NFL Competition Committee.
Sounds pretty straightforward and clear, right? Alas.
One of the coaches asked if spinning the ball would be a penalty. "Spinning the ball. No problem," Grier said. It has to be a "blatant spike in the field of play," which implies that spiking out of bounds might be OK.
Oh, yeah. I see this being applied fairly and evenly. "Well, he didn't really spike it." "It looked like a spike." "It's hard to tell if that was a spike." "Well, he actually spiked it on the sideline, so it wasn't technically in the field of play."
I've always been an advocate of handing the ball to the official or just leaving it on the ground. Flipping the ball away (usually forward) in an effort to make the ball harder to spot, or emphatically placing the ball away from an official in some childish power play slows the game down and is done with unsportsmanlike intentions.
I'm sure some nitwit will appeal to the players' union and try to make it a nonsensical freedom of expression issue.
If what we saw between Belichick and Grier was accurate, this rule likely will have to be changed again in 2008. Let's just hope the league finds a way to call this evenly before the season starts. And let's hope the Patriots coaching staff just eliminates player behavior that could result in potential infractions.
Player safety: It will now be a 15-yard penalty (rather than 5 yards) for a player to make a block below the waist against an eligible receiver while the quarterback is in the pocket. Also, when a player who receives the snap fumbles or muffs the ball, the restrictions on the defensive team relative to illegal contact and an illegal cut-block will end.
That sounds like two completely separate issues to me, but I obviously don't write up these things for the league.
The first part sounds straightforward and involves no change beyond the severity of the penalty. I don't remember seeing many calls for this, so it will be interesting if we notice more calls or just think there are more because of the 15-yard punishment.
I didn't think the second part included a change, but the implication is that if a quarterback muffs a snap, then defenders will have more leeway in pass coverage and will be able to chucking and block potential receivers downfield, whether the quarterback is in the pocket or not. I'll try to get some clarification on this.
Two-Minute Warning/10-Second Runoff: The requirement that the offense has to be behind in the score or the score has to be tied for a 10-second clock runoff to be exercised against the offense for an excess timeout with two minutes to go in the first half or in the game has been eliminated. Now a 10-second runoff will take place no matter what the game situation. Any possible advantage for the offense (e.g., the old rule would not require a 10-second runoff if it were ahead) has been eliminated. The defense has the option to decline a 10- second runoff (which will give it more time should it get the ball back).
This makes a lot of sense and is a long time coming. Basically, there will be a 10-second runoff of the game clock if the offense tries to take more than three timeouts, regardless the score and time on the game clock; and the defense can decline the runoff if their team would benefit from the extra time.
The only little glitch I see in there is "for an excess timeout." I remember last year something about a player calling for a timeout, but the officials didn't actually grant it (even though they stopped the game) and so it wasn't a penalty. Seemed a little thin, and I don't see how the above language avoids that, but we'll see.
Clock Stoppage: Two exceptions were added to the rule that dictates that the play clock be restarted at the time at which it was stopped prior to the snap. Now an instant replay review prior to the two-minute warning will reset the clock at 25 seconds (as has been the case with other stoppages such as a penalty), as will an instant replay review after the two-minute warning that results in a reversal. These changes will make the administration of the rule more consistent.
Pretty minor, but I expect Randy Cross will take about 10 minutes explaining this if and when it happens.
Pace of Game: The foul for unintentional touching of a forward pass by an interior lineman has been eliminated. It was felt that no advantage was gained by the offense on such a play, and elimination of the rule would speed up the game.
This is actually a pretty significant change, and I see a couple problems. Previously, if a lineman was the first player to touch forward pass -- intentionally or not -- it was a penalty. Now, from my interpretation, it says that if the lineman has no intent to touch the ball (i.e.: tries to catch the pass), it's no longer a penalty. But what if the quarterback has intent by drilling the lineman to cause an incomplete pass and avoid a sack? The lineman has no intent; he's probably not even looking. Another judgment call?
Instant Replay: Made a permanent rule. Also, high-definition replay equipment will be installed in NFL stadiums. Also, "down-by-contact" as a reviewable play and limiting reviews to a maximum of 60 seconds were made permanent additions to the replay system.
Nothing shocking here, and nothing new.
Crowd Noise: The five-yard penalty against the defense for excessive crowd noise has been eliminated. The penalty had not been called in many years.
This was kind of nonsensical, even more so with every team pretty easily executing silent snaps. Some teams have more of an advantage. Oh well. It might be less than fair, but it's stupid to try to legislate, and inane to penalize the players.
