The following is a special presentation prepared by the “Ref,” who authors our "Ask the Official" column. In this piece, the Ref looks at the new rule changes for 2009, with special attention on the points of emphasis. Anyone who has any questions about these points isinvited to send them to the Ref for clarification. -- PT
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It’s been awhile since we took a look at the new NFL rules for the 2009 season, so with training camps set top open I a matter of weeks, we thought it was a good time to take another look at them as well review the “Points of Emphasis: to which the officials are supposed to pay special attention.
Starting with the 2009 season:
* A blindside block cannot be delivered to an opponent's head or neck with a helmet, shoulder or forearm. This will be a 15-yard penalty. This should take away some of the blindside shots that evoke ‘oohs and aahs’ from the fans, but leave a player lying on the ground. Expect this foul to be called early and often until the players get the message.
* Contact to the head of a defenseless receiver will draw a 15-yard penalty. The rule-makers are intent on taking the cheap shots out of the game. It may take awhile, but eventually the players will get the message.
* A defensive player on the ground may no longer lunge or dive at the quarterback's lower legs. This will probably become known as the "Brady Rule." If you're going to sack a quarterback, you have to do it while you're standing. It means that once a DL is knocked down, his primary goal must be to get back to his feet, not to continue to go/crawl after the QB. This is going to be a tough one for the Referee to call. The main issues will be how upright the DL will need to be and whether the DL is still in contact with the ground. This rule change may cut down on QB sacks and make it easier for OL to block the DLs. Expect to see more DLs pushed to the ground as they go after the QB.
* Forming a "wedge" on a kickoff return is no longer legal. If three or more players line up or attack shoulder-to-shoulder within two yards of each other, it will be a penalty. Traditionally, kickoff return teams lined up to four guys in a wedge in front of a kick returner. Meanwhile, the kicking team sent one or two players down the field, running as fast as they can, with instructions only to hit the players in the wedge as hard as they can. The owners determined this tactic was causing too many injuries. This is going to be a tough call on the part of the officials and it will likely bring back a number of long kick-off returns. The premium will now be on speed and elusiveness of the returner with blocking secondary.
* On onside kicks, the kicking team can't have more than five players bunched together on one side of the kicker. Too many players were getting hurt on onside kicks when you had seven attacking seven. Now the numbers will be less and the likelihood of injuries lessened. Probably fewer onside kicks will be recovered as well. Look for more “pooch” kicks and/or kickers changing direction just before the kick and less chaos on this type of play. This will be a five-yard penalty.
* Loose balls that may have been the result of a fumble or an incomplete pass are now subject to video review. This will probably be known forever as "The Hochuli Rule." The key things to remember here are that: a) the defense needs to recover the ball virtually immediately; and b) no advance can be made with the ball even if it is subsequently ruled that it should have been called a fumble rather than an incomplete pass. Expect the Referee to hold his whistle a bit longer than was the case in the past, which could result in additional late hits on the QB. Remember, there still needs to be indisputable evidence for the call to be over-turned. This is one of, if not the, hardest calls made by the Referee, and I don’t expect that the new rule will result in too many overturns during the season
* Video replay can be used to determine if a loose ball stayed in bounds or hit the sideline. This one stems from a play in the NFC championship game when the view of the deep official was blocked and a kickoff was ruled to have gone out of bounds when it didn’t. This one has hardly ever come up in the past and I don’t expect it will come up too often in the future.
* No more re-kicks after an illegal onsides kick (i.e., kick goes out of bounds or someone on the kicking team touches the ball before it travels the necessary 10 yards, etc.). It immediately becomes the other team's ball. In the past, the kicking team got a second chance and there was an additional train wreck while the kicking team attempted to recover the ball. This one is common sense. Why reward a team’s failure to make a legal kick?
* If a fumble or lateral goes out of bounds, the clock will stop only until the referee signals ready for play. In the past, the clock started on the snap in these situations possibly rewarding a team that forced the ball out of bounds on purpose.
Administrative rules changes include:
* The draft order will include playoff results as well as the regular-season records. So the more wins a team has, the lower it will draft.
* There's a new waiver period during the first two weeks of training camp, and the postseason waiver period will begin after the NFL's final game, whether it is the Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl.
Mike Pereira, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and the two heads of the competition committee -- Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher – have repeatedly emphasized that the players sought many of the rule alterations.
Pereira, who is retiring after this season, indicated that one major concern is the lack of progress in curbing horse-collar tackles. There were 24 called in 2008, up from 12, but there also were 47 league fines handed out for them.
"That's just too high a number," Pereira said. "We have not been effective in terms of stopping the tactic." Such tackles will be a point of emphasis with officiating crews in 2009 and expect this foul to be called more often. It needs to be remembered that the tackled player must go immediately to the ground for it to be a considered a “horse collar” tackle.
Holding penalties will be another “Point of Emphasis.” The variance of calls from crew to crew has been too great as far as the league is concerned. A tape has been compiled by the league office that will be shown to officials, coaching staffs and players. I expect that there will be more Offensive Holding penalties called, especially early in the season.
Other Points of Emphasis will continue to be safety related violations and Unsportsmanlike Acts by players including demonstrations following touchdowns, sacks, etc.
In the ratings for each crew last year, the officiating crews averaged 98.1 percent accuracy, down slightly from 98.3 in 2007. Given that there are typically about 120-150 plays per game, this means that after careful review of the tapes, the Supervisors determined that no more than 1-2 plays were being “miscalled” in each game.
That includes calls that should have been made, the majority, and calls that should not have been made. As one goes across an entire season, the calls (or missed calls) typically tend to even out. As was previously indicated, Ed Hochuli’s crew had the highest overall rating of any crew last season.
Before anyone starts complaining about the NFL turning into a “flag football” league, I would point out that: a) the Players Association participated in the discussions of the new rules and supported them whole-heartedly; and, b) there are no officials on the Rules Committee, which consists solely of Coaches and GMs, with the Owners approving the recommended changes. It is their game, their money, their assets, and, in the case of the players, their bodies. They want them protected and that is what the Rules Committee is doing.
It’s easy to watch the game and criticize how a game is officiated , but until you are willing to put your body and future on the line, I would hold the criticism. The NFL is no longer the same game played by Dick Butkus, Jack Tatum, Sam Huff, and others that played in the 50’s through the 70’s. Given the exorbitant salaries of the players (including upfront bonuses), the litigious nature of the U.S., the size of today’s players, and the role of the Players Union, the game will never be that way again.
