Phil Stuczynski’s 3 NFL Rule Changes To Think About

If you have been keeping up with the NFL news lately, then you might have heard some of the rule changes that are either being proposed or implemented Tuesday. I would love to see all of these players remain healthy and the games to be played on the same principles … but are we really going to allow the rules to completely change over a few big hits?

The kickoff has been moved up 5 yards which will result in less returns and less blindside hits.

Plays may be whistled dead when a QB is grasped or touched by a defender (protect the investment).

So, as long as we are into the craze of changing the rules for some combination of safety and entertainment, here are a couple more ideas that I wanted to throw out there.

Rule Change 1:  No “Free” Yards on Forward Progress

If you get the first down but then are thrown backwards, why should it count as a first down? The play doesn’t end just because you crossed some imaginary line, nor does it end if a pile of defenders is throwing you backwards. If you want to keep the yards that you picked up, you need to either fall down or go out of bounds. Too many times you see the defensive players coming in to make a great play from the other side of the field, yet the play is whistled dead because the ball carrier is going backwards. If he isn’t down, then the play shouldn’t be dead.

Rule Change 2: Increase the Value of the PAT.

If the game awarded more points for “going for two” after a touchdown (like say, a 3 point conversion), the entertainment factor would sky rocket. Part of the reason that teams don’t try for 2 more often, is the risk outweighs the reward.

You know that feeling of your team on 4th and inches, or with only 12 seconds left on the clock. That’s exactly what could happen when a team trots out to get extra points instead of just one point, from a kicker who rarely misses. The fans would love it as it would mean there was one chance for a team to get three points in addition to the six that they just scored. Talk about the ultimate nail biting experience. Bit of a stretch, but I’m just tossing out ideas here.

Rule Change 3: No Helmets.

Joe Paterno himself suggested that too many players use their helmets as weapons and it allows them to lead with their head on violent collisions. If the players played with only mouthpieces and no longer had helmets, you would soon see a lot less players leading with their heads and a lot less players taking head shots.

The downside would be that we could see a lot more concussions, a lot more broken jawbones, and potentially a lot less guys willing to run it up the middle. But, the game could become a lot more finesse and would be built around speed. Although, receiver vision would get better on tracking the ball, hopefully improving a teams drops.

Keep in mind that these are just a few suggestions on how we could improve the game we love. So, I challenge the readers, if YOU could make a change,  what would YOU do to change the rules? It doesn’t matter how crazy of an idea it is, just be sure to list them below.