It's official: New rules to take effect
Owners vote to crack down on low hits to the quarterback, celebrations
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->ORLANDO, Fla. - NFL owners voted Wednesday to adopt rules that protect quarterbacks from low hits, limit excessive end-zone celebrations, protect long-snappers, expand the horse-collar rule and speed up the game.
Owners also voted against proposed rules changes that would have allowed wide receivers to re-set - in an effort to reduce the number of false start penalties - and would have placed an electronic communicator in a defensive player's helmet. The league also tabled a proposal to expand the playoff field from 12 teams.
QUARTERBACK HITS
Though the measure would not have protected Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer from the knee-level hit he took in the playoffs, the league voted 25-7 to prohibit low hits on a passer who has one or both feet on the ground.
Only if a pass rusher is thrown into the quarterback would such a hit not be penalized. Defenders are not prohibited from hitting a quarterback in the knees or lower if the defender cannot avoid such contact.
"I was glad the things that got through did get through," Bengals president Mike Brown said after the vote, which concluded the league's annual meeting. "It's a start on the quarterback thing; I don't think the whole story has been written on that one. We were glad we took a step forward."
CELEBRATIONS
The league voted 29-3 to prohibit excessive or prolonged displays after a touchdown.
A player no longer may use an artificial prop, such as Chad Johnson's use of a pylon to putt the football, or employ the football as a prop. Johnson gave the ball CPR in Jacksonville last season.
Players also may not go to the ground to celebrate, such as the snow angel gesture made by Carolina's Steve Smith last year. Such displays will draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing kickoff.
SNAPS
Centers who snap the ball on extra points or field goals no longer will face defenders directly over them. Game officials will move defenders away from the center before the snap in an effort to protect the center from injury, such as his head whipping back from contact. The change passed 32-0 to penalize the defense with a 5-yard illegal formation ruling.
HORSE-COLLAR TACKLES
Otherwise known as the Roy Williams rule - after the Dallas safety that injured then-Eagles receiver Terrell Owens with a horse-collar tackle in 2004 - it was expanded to include the jersey. By a vote of 25-7, the league ruled to also prohibit grabbing the collar of the jersey as well as the underside of the shoulder pads.
REPLAYS
Game officials now may not spend more than 60 seconds "under the hood" watching various angles of challenged calls. The previous limit was 90 seconds, and the effort is to cut the average challenge time down from 3 minutes, 17 seconds.
FALSE STARTS
The flinch rule was a surprising loss. It would have allowed wide receivers to re-set to reduce the record number of false start penalties (852 in 2005),
"The argument would be a rule is a rule, so just stay pat," Brown said. "But we do have the issue of too many penalties and too much time being spent extending the game needlessly. These plays don't impact the game. I hope our (coaches and players) can stay at it and come around.
DEFENSIVE COMMUNICATOR
Technology would have allowed for a specific defensive player to be equipped with an in-helmet electronic communicator - like the ones worn by quarterbacks.
The idea was voted down.
"The question came up what if it malfunctions," said Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher, co-chair of the league's competition committee. "There's more work that needs to be done. It is a competition issue (because some teams take video of opposing defensive coaches sending in signals and try to steal signs.)"
EXPANDED PLAYOFFS
The Kansas City Chiefs' proposal to expand the playoff field was tabled, not so much out of objection but to allow the league to work out potential scheduling issues with television networks.
