{"id":23794,"date":"2016-03-18T08:02:58","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T15:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/extra-point-chop-block-on-nfl-agenda\/"},"modified":"2016-03-18T08:02:58","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T15:02:58","slug":"extra-point-chop-block-on-nfl-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/extra-point-chop-block-on-nfl-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"Extra point, chop block on NFL agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014<\/strong> The NFL\u2019s powerful competition committee is recommending making permanent extra-point kick snaps from the 15-yard line, eliminating all chop blocks and ejecting a player for twice receiving certain unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game.<\/p>\n

When NFL owners meet next week in Florida, they also will consider such proposals as moving the line of scrimmage up 5 yards to the 25 on kickoff touchbacks, allowing coaches and players to use video rather than just photos on sideline tablets, and expanding the penalties on horse-collar tackles to cover the nameplate on the uniform.<\/p>\n

Among the rule proposals that teams will present Monday through Wednesday are several involving video review: allowing three coaches\u2019 challenges instead of two even when one challenge fails, expanding what can be challenged to include everything but turnovers and scores, and eliminating overtime in preseason games.<\/p>\n

Not being altered is what constitutes a catch, a subject that often infuriates players and fans but is not part of any proposals this year.<\/p>\n

Instead, according to Troy Vincent, the league\u2019s football operations chief, the emphasis will be on education and enforcement of the three current catch rule considerations: gaining possession, getting two feet down inbounds, and player safety.<\/p>\n

After Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested during Super Bowl week that player ejections for two egregious fouls would be considered, the committee is suggesting that specific unsportsmanlike conduct penalties could lead to expulsions. Those are:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Throwing a punch or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Using abusive, threatening or insulting language, or gestures to opponents, teammates, officials or representatives of the league.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Using baiting or taunting acts or words that engender ill will between teams.<\/p>\n

Under such changes, Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. wouldn\u2019t automatically have been ejected despite drawing three unnecessary roughness calls in scuffles with Panthers All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman late last season.<\/p>\n

But officials don\u2019t need to judge fouls as flagrant for an automatic disqualification. And it won\u2019t necessarily take two fouls for a player to be tossed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do believe officials should be empowered and should not feel ejection is not an appropriate remedy … when there is a flagrant foul,\u201d said committee co-chairman Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons.<\/p>\n

\n

Extra points<\/strong><\/p>\n

The league was so satisfied with moving the line of scrimmage on PAT kicks to the 15 that the committee now wants to remove the temporary tag.<\/p>\n

The rate of success dropped from 99.3 percent to 94.2 percent in 2015, with 71 misses during the regular season. A miss by New England All-Pro Stephen Gostkowski in the AFC championship game was costly in the Patriots\u2019 loss.<\/p>\n

\n

Chop blocks<\/strong><\/p>\n

McKay noted a complete elimination of the play is warranted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t get a lot of injuries per year, but we think the (vulnerable) position the player is in doesn\u2019t appear to be fair, that he is subject to a low block when he is engaged with a player,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t see this as something that will drastically affect the rushing game.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKay noted that eliminating chop blocks in college football in 2008 did not negatively impact running attacks.<\/p>\n

\n

Touchbacks<\/strong><\/p>\n

As it continues attempts to curtail kickoff runbacks, which the league considers a particularly injury-prone play, the committee seeks to encourage downing the ball in the end zone on kickoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think colleges have done this very successfully,\u201d McKay said. \u201cIt sends the right motivation to when the ball is 9 yards deep, maybe take a knee\u201d and get the ball at the 25 instead of the 20.<\/p>\n

\n

Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

The use of game photos on Surface tablets on the sidelines has worked so well that the next logical step could be letting players and coaches review videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows for more efficiency to evaluate opponents\u2019 positions and schemes during games,\u201d McKay said. \u201cWe\u2019ve slowly introduced this technology with our partner, Microsoft. Now we are moving to on-field video.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Coaches challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several teams have dived into this area with proposals. Minnesota and Washington want an increase to three challenges, Baltimore is seeking three challenges and expansion of what is reviewable, and Buffalo is suggesting challenges to any official\u2019s decision except scoring plays and turnovers.<\/p>\n

Washington also want personal foul penalties to be reviewable.<\/p>\n

\n

Also<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chiefs want the NFL to emulate the college rule that prohibits quarterbacks from falling to the ground, getting up and throwing a forward pass, as Peyton Manning successfully did in a playoff win over Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Carolina seeks an expansion of what constitutes intentional grounding.<\/p>\n

The competition committee proposes allowing offensive and defensive play callers to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches\u2019 booth. Now, they must be on the sideline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 The NFL\u2019s powerful competition committee is recommending making permanent extra-point kick snaps from the 15-yard line, eliminating all chop blocks and ejecting a player for twice receiving certain unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in a game. When NFL owners meet next week in Florida, they also will consider such proposals as moving the line […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-23794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23794"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=23794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}