Photo: Rick Doyle / The Image Bank Unreleased / Getty Images
One day after effectively moving to the Flag Football Era of Pro Football, by outlawing traditional hip-slide tackles in the open field, the NFL competition committee has unanimously a change to the NFL Hybrid Kickoff Rule. The change will make touchbacks that fly into the end zone on kickoffs be brought out to the 30 yard line rather than the customary 35-yard line. This week is the annual NFL owners meetings or as I call it: rich guys on vacation and figuring out ways to make more $. The elimination of hip-slide tackles, the art of a defender wrapping his arms just below the midsection to upend the offensive runner or pass catcher to me seems to takes away a clean offensive tactic by a elite, top of the line professional. Flag Football? Why not. It debuted at The Pro Bowl Games this past February. High paid jocks wearing their brims backwards and skillfully grabbing for flags makes sense to me. Thinking about it, it would take extra fitness goals to grab a flag than to just barrel into a guy. The players would need the motion and flexibility of a dancer to take down or evade a tackler on any given play?? Yes, macho displays of brute strength would be removed but maybe fewer cases of CTE development later? Other rules that need to be changed:
Catching the ball on one bounce is a catch!" Image the high level of skill it would take to do this. Forget the nonsensical review of "ball hitting the ground." So what? It just makes the game longer.
"Knee down" HUH? If a knee touches the ground on the three yard line but a shoulder rolls over the goal line with the ball, it's a damn touchdown. A roll over the chains for a first down would also encourage more high scoring that owners want to accomplish for "excitement factor" ($)
That weird End zone ball "swipe of the marker" for a TD. What is that? So, a guy can be pushed out of bounds, (knees and all) but a "swipe over the corner flag counts as crossing the plane? IF his body is pushed out of bounds, it should be like the "knee rule". He is down. Try again.
Did I miss anything? I DO love the game. It just seems like SO much nonsense and politics involved. AND lets face it, we are all hating politics about now!"