NFL to implement 11 rule changes for next season

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...?urn=nfl,150662

The link contains the details of each, but here they are

Loose balls that could have been the result of a fumble or an incomplete pass are now subject to video review. Or, as it will forever be known, "The Hochuli Rule."

Video replay can be used to determine if a loose ball stayed in bounds or hit the sideline

No more rekicks after an illegal onsides kick (someone on the kicking team touches the ball before it travels the necessary 10 yards, etc.). It immediately becomes the other team's ball

The draft order has been reworked to reflect playoff results, not regular-season results.

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's the Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl

If a fumble or lateral goes out of bounds, the clock will stop only until the referee signals ready for play.

Forming a "wedge" on a kickoff return is no longer legal. If three or more players line up shoulder-to-shoulder within two yards of each other, it will be a penalty

On onside kicks, the kicking team can't have more than five players bunched together

A blindside block cannot be delivered with a helmet, shoulder or forearm to an opponent's head or neck. That'll be a 15-yard penalty

Contact to the head of a defenseless receiver will also draw a 15-yard penalty

A defensive player on the ground may no longer lunge or dive at the quarterback's lower legs. And last but not least, "The Brady Rule,"

[roscoe6 1]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...?urn=nfl,150662

The link contains the details of each, but here they are

The draft order has been reworked to reflect playoff results, not regular-season results.

I was wondering what was going to happen if the Cardinals would have won the Super Bowl. I guess by the old rules their 9-7 regular season record would have earned them the 24th overall pick, even though they won the Super Bowl.

[Jason Harris 31]

No, the SB participants are being treated the same way as with the old rules: winner picks last, loser picks second-to-last. The change seeds the non-playoff teams 1-20, while the remaining playoff teams will be seeded according to the round they were knocked out (and, presumably, by record within that round). The Pats would pick two or three spots sooner under the new rules, since they missed the playoffs; under the current rules, teams with lesser records, yet who made the playoffs, are drafting in front of the Pats.

The one rule change I find interesting is disallowing the wedge. I'm assuming they consider this a safety issue, because I imagine the NFL prefers big returns since they lead to more offense.

[shooter27 116]

I read somewhere that the wedge change was a safety issue. Something about juiced up 300 pound guys running 70 yards at full speed into basically a wall of other 300 pound guys was considered a more dangerous part of the game.

[RecLeagueHero 0]

Well, you have to keep in mind the guys forming the wedge on 300 pound offensive linemne. But the guys on the kicking team are much smaller speed and hands guys, the third string receivers and such. That said, the kick off is just a dangerous part of the game, I don't think outlawing the wedge is going to significantly change that.