Rule Changes

Today at the NFL Owners Meetings several changes were voted on and approved by the league owners. The most disturbing is the enactment of further rules to limit end zone celebrations. While the league still allows for spiking, spinning, and leaping in to the stands, it prohibits most of what the fans would consider creative dances. As one ESPN analyst put it in an inteview with Chad Johnson, basically a rule prohibiting everything he likes to do. I consider this disturbing because it again demonstrates the NFL as being the No Fun League. While Mr. Johnson often says things that do not much make sense, he did raise one solid point. There are people out there who will turn in to a Cinicinnati game just to see what he will do when he gets in the end zone. While this rule shouldn't adversely affect viewership to a large extent, it will certainly alienate a small fan base. For those who break the rule, it will result in a fine (an undisclosed amount at this time) and a 15 yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The part of the rule that bugs me is the fifteen yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. If this was just a matter of fines, these guys would certainly write a check for the opportunity to entertain. However, coaches will certainly rein in their stars when they could lose important field position in a game.

While I certainly disagree with the virtual elimination of end zone celebrations, the owners did pass some helpful rules. One in particular that stands out is allowing teams to review "down by contact" plays. The league's supervisor of officials, Mike Perreira, claims 12 plays in 2005 could have been overturned if this rule had been enacted earlier. While 12 plays over the course of an entire season seems very insignificant, any chance for officials to make the proper call on a turnover is extremely beneficial. Another rule change that I agree with is the expansion of the "horse collar rule". It became a rule last year after Terrell Owens suffered his catastrophic injury due to Roy Williams pulling him down from the neck. However, it was only called twice last year and seemed to occur far more frequently than that. They have expanded the "horse collar" from the back of the shoulder pads to also include tackles grabbing the back of the jersey.

The initial rush of NFL Free Agency has died down but many stars remain without a new team. Lavar Arrington, Ty Law, Charles Woodson, and several other standouts are still looking for new homes. Of the most interest to Giants fans is the pursuit of Lavar Arrington. With Barrett Green out the door and Nick Griesen soon to follow, the Giants need more LB depth. There are some concerns that he wouldn't fit well in to the Giants schemes, but he does bring an important element in his ability to rush the passer. Ernie Accorsi consistently defends the importance of the pass rush, which is the big reason he held on to Osi Umenyiora when San Diego asked for him (and look how smart that was). Can you imagine the headaches offensive coordinators would face having to come up with protection schemes against Strahan, Umenyiora, and Arrington? I'd also like to see them keep Antonio Pierce happy with this signing. He had a tremendous year before it was cut short by injury, and he's lobbied the front office hard for this signing. With those two and Carlos Emmons, thats a very solid LB corps. Another name that has popped up for the Giants is former Packers DT Grady Jackson. He's a space eater inside and could fill a similar role to what Kendrick Clancy did last year. However, he might not be a priority. According to Giants.com, Umenyiora feels that despite losing Clancy "we have capable players in Fred (Robbins), Willie Joe (William Joseph), (Damane) Duckett, and Kenderick Allen. I think we should be okay."

This has been a real exciting offseason in the NFL and should continue through the draft in late April. I'll be attempting a few mock drafts prior to that, should be interesting. In about half hour the McDonalds All-American game is coming on. It is always fun to see next year's top recruits, although most of them are always committed to Duke and UNC. Syracuse's top recruit, Guard Paul Harris, is not in tonight's game despite being a top 20 player. He was not invited due to past "character" issues but will participate in other high school all-star games. With the new NBA draft rules sending the elite HS players to college, the game will be of greater value. Should be an enjoyable one. That's it for now, will probably have more tomorrow.