Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Lots of topics and discussion lately about how broken things seem to be and many of the flaws seem to be either showing up more frequently in the national prime time games or at least there's more of a spotlight on them since more of us are watching the same things.
Let's say you win a contest and get to be Roger Goddell's replacement for a day, and you're allowed to change any 5 things about the NFL. What do you do to fix it?
I'll go 1st:
1. Pass interference: 15 yard penalty, not spot of foul. No penalty in the NFL should be worth 20, 30, 40, 50 yards, as we see every week.
2. Pass Interference: should be a review-able penalty. Teams still only get the limited challenges per game (and per half) so it won't slow the game any more than it already does, but there are clearly defined rules for what constitutes pass interference, and as we've seen, refs are not infallible creatures.
3. Remove the on-field penalty for a coach throwing a flag for a non-review-able play.
4. Grade refs after every single game. Every ref's calls should be held under scrutiny - refs are human and humans make mistakes, which is why there are many refs, and why there's a replay system. But if a ref consistently puts in sub-par work, misses calls blatantly and repeatedly, then they cannot be allowed to be refs in professional football. As much as the refs are insinuating themselves into games these days, it's that much more apparent when they're bad at their job.
5. Tackles are tackles are tackles. There are clear rules against spearing and helmet to helmet contact. Forcing players to hit low is seemingly increasing the number of knee and ankle injuries. The rules put in for this seem like a token response to the concussion issue, and a hastily conceived one at that. They're causing more harm than good, and seemingly increasing lower body injuries while not preventing concussions.
That's my off-the-cuff list - what's yours? How do you fix the NFL?
Let's say you win a contest and get to be Roger Goddell's replacement for a day, and you're allowed to change any 5 things about the NFL. What do you do to fix it?
I'll go 1st:
1. Pass interference: 15 yard penalty, not spot of foul. No penalty in the NFL should be worth 20, 30, 40, 50 yards, as we see every week.
2. Pass Interference: should be a review-able penalty. Teams still only get the limited challenges per game (and per half) so it won't slow the game any more than it already does, but there are clearly defined rules for what constitutes pass interference, and as we've seen, refs are not infallible creatures.
3. Remove the on-field penalty for a coach throwing a flag for a non-review-able play.
4. Grade refs after every single game. Every ref's calls should be held under scrutiny - refs are human and humans make mistakes, which is why there are many refs, and why there's a replay system. But if a ref consistently puts in sub-par work, misses calls blatantly and repeatedly, then they cannot be allowed to be refs in professional football. As much as the refs are insinuating themselves into games these days, it's that much more apparent when they're bad at their job.
5. Tackles are tackles are tackles. There are clear rules against spearing and helmet to helmet contact. Forcing players to hit low is seemingly increasing the number of knee and ankle injuries. The rules put in for this seem like a token response to the concussion issue, and a hastily conceived one at that. They're causing more harm than good, and seemingly increasing lower body injuries while not preventing concussions.
That's my off-the-cuff list - what's yours? How do you fix the NFL?