Good Tuesday to you Steelers fans.
Football as I know it is very different from football as I knew it. I’m not going to go on a rant because I’ve done that many times before and likely will again. At some point however it just seems futile. With the Owners Meeting in Orlando that also means the Competition Committee meets as well and they’ve already made several decisions to change the game and I’ll get to those below. My comment right now is that football continues to change. I’m not using the term “evolve” because it doesn’t feel right. In the last 15 years football has largely changed because of safety concerns but if you pay close attention you’ll also notice that most of these changes favor the offense. The mantra that ‘offense wins games and defense wins championships’ is still largely true but offense is what puts butts in seats, eyes on TVs and perhaps most important, money in hands. I’ll let you figure out what that means. On to the changes…
Hip-Drop Tackle
Due to the rise in rugby style tackling which increased after players could no longer “go high,” the hip-drop tackle emerged. The problem is that defenders would often fall across the back of the ball carrier’s lower legs leading to injuries. The NFL has now made this a 15-yard penalty. It’s currently believed that it will be enforced similarly to how “use of helmet” calls are made so once again, the subjectivity will increase and fans’ ire will too.
Addendum: The NFLPA is not supportive of this. Many players took to social media suggesting that the level of defensive play is going to suffer even more while guys like D.J. Reader and J.J. Watt suggested they play two-hand touch or flag football.
The Kickoff Rule
Teams will still kick from their own 35 but the other ten players will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team can have nine players minimum lined up between their 30 and 35-yard lines. The play will not actually begin until the ball either hits the ground (or touches a player) between the 20 and the goal line. The ball MUST BE RETURNED if it is caught or lands in the landing zone. Should the ball land in the landing zone and then roll into the end zone the player may kneel for a touchback and the ball moves to the 20-yard line. Should a kick not reach the landing zone the receiving team gets the ball at the 40. If the ball enters the end zone on the fly the player can return it or down and receive the ball at the 35- yard line. Any kick going out of bounds places the ball immediately at the 40.
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No fair catches
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Onside kicks only in the fourth quarter.
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Set up and landing zones do not change following penalties or safeties. Only the spot of the kick changes.
If you saw the XFL last year this is extremely similar.
New Challenge Rule
Coaches may now receive a third challenge if they’ve been successful on one of the previous two challenges. This used to be if the coach was successful on BOTH of his previous challenges.
Sprechen sie Deutsch?
The Steelers were awarded branding rights by the NFL for the nation of Germany. They join Ireland and Mexico as countries where the Steelers have primary branding rights.
Trade Deadline
The Steelers were big proponents of moving the trade deadline back at least a week and that’s exactly what the NFL approved this morning. The NFL Trade Deadline will now be week nine rather than week eight.
