SVite
03-30-2006, 10:10 AM
ORLANDO, Florida - Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens can
forget about any more flamboyant touchdown celebrations.
The NFL meetings concluded Wednesday with owners approving up to
15 playing rules proposals by the competition committee,
including limiting end-zone demonstrations.
When it came to excessive TD celebrations, owners voted 29-3 to
curtail them.
Johnson, the entertaining and outspoken wide receiver of the
Cincinnati Bengals, picked up a pylon in the end zone and used
it to putt the football from the back of the end zone in a game
last season. He also proposed to a cheerleader on the sideline
and gave CPR to a football.
The controversial Owens has had a variety of end zone
celebrations and once took a marking pen out of his sock to sign
a football.
Under the new rule, officials now have the power to penalize a
team 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff for excessive celebrations
anywhere on the field. Spikes, dunks, leaping into the crowd,
spins, dances and simple celebrations still will be allowed.
One of the biggest victories for the competition committee was
the inclusion of down-by-contact plays on replay challenges.
After falling four votes shy of passing last year, owners voted
27-5 to approve it this year.
A slight modification to the replay system is the time a referee
has to review a play. The review time goes from 90 seconds to
60 seconds from the time the referee begins looking at the
monitor.
There were a host of other rule changes, mostly having to do
with safety.
"The competition committee did a terrific job and that showed
with the endorsements that they had on their recommendations,"
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.
Among the new rules for safety is that a rushing defensive
player no longer will be allowed to forcibly hit a quarterback
below the knee. Any such act would result in a 15-yard penalty.
The horse-collar tackle rule that came into play last season
also was modified. It now bans tacklers from taking down
ballcarriers from the rear by tugging inside their jerseys.
Last year's rule required that the tackler's hand got inside the
runner's shoulder pads. Only two horse-collars were called in
2005.
There also is a new rule prohibiting defensive players from
directly lining up over center on field goal and extra-point
attempts to avoid injuries to long snappers.
There also were changes made to the roster cutdown before the
start of the season and one after the one final cutdown.
Teams now will be able to keep 75 instead of 65 players on their
roster in the first cutdown, which annually is the Tuesday
after the third preseason weekend.
The second part of the roster proposals is that the eight-member
practice squad was extended four years to 2009. Before last
season, teams were only able to keep five players on the
practice squad.
A pair of recommendations failed to pass.
Owners voted against allowing a defensive player to wear a radio
helmet connected to coaches on the sideline similar to the one
worn by quarterbacks. Also failing was an effort to cut down
the increasing number of false-start penalties against receivers
who flinch at the line of scrimmage.
The Kansas City Chiefs proposed to expand the playoffs from 12
to 14 teams. That was tabled until May but is not expected to
pass since the exiting Tagliabue is not a supporter.
forget about any more flamboyant touchdown celebrations.
The NFL meetings concluded Wednesday with owners approving up to
15 playing rules proposals by the competition committee,
including limiting end-zone demonstrations.
When it came to excessive TD celebrations, owners voted 29-3 to
curtail them.
Johnson, the entertaining and outspoken wide receiver of the
Cincinnati Bengals, picked up a pylon in the end zone and used
it to putt the football from the back of the end zone in a game
last season. He also proposed to a cheerleader on the sideline
and gave CPR to a football.
The controversial Owens has had a variety of end zone
celebrations and once took a marking pen out of his sock to sign
a football.
Under the new rule, officials now have the power to penalize a
team 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff for excessive celebrations
anywhere on the field. Spikes, dunks, leaping into the crowd,
spins, dances and simple celebrations still will be allowed.
One of the biggest victories for the competition committee was
the inclusion of down-by-contact plays on replay challenges.
After falling four votes shy of passing last year, owners voted
27-5 to approve it this year.
A slight modification to the replay system is the time a referee
has to review a play. The review time goes from 90 seconds to
60 seconds from the time the referee begins looking at the
monitor.
There were a host of other rule changes, mostly having to do
with safety.
"The competition committee did a terrific job and that showed
with the endorsements that they had on their recommendations,"
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.
Among the new rules for safety is that a rushing defensive
player no longer will be allowed to forcibly hit a quarterback
below the knee. Any such act would result in a 15-yard penalty.
The horse-collar tackle rule that came into play last season
also was modified. It now bans tacklers from taking down
ballcarriers from the rear by tugging inside their jerseys.
Last year's rule required that the tackler's hand got inside the
runner's shoulder pads. Only two horse-collars were called in
2005.
There also is a new rule prohibiting defensive players from
directly lining up over center on field goal and extra-point
attempts to avoid injuries to long snappers.
There also were changes made to the roster cutdown before the
start of the season and one after the one final cutdown.
Teams now will be able to keep 75 instead of 65 players on their
roster in the first cutdown, which annually is the Tuesday
after the third preseason weekend.
The second part of the roster proposals is that the eight-member
practice squad was extended four years to 2009. Before last
season, teams were only able to keep five players on the
practice squad.
A pair of recommendations failed to pass.
Owners voted against allowing a defensive player to wear a radio
helmet connected to coaches on the sideline similar to the one
worn by quarterbacks. Also failing was an effort to cut down
the increasing number of false-start penalties against receivers
who flinch at the line of scrimmage.
The Kansas City Chiefs proposed to expand the playoffs from 12
to 14 teams. That was tabled until May but is not expected to
pass since the exiting Tagliabue is not a supporter.