The NFL Competition Committee Convenes

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=packhowonemanwouldchange&prov=tsn&type=lgns

So the NFL Competition Committee is currently meeting in Los Angeles (Go Rams?) to discuss possible rule changes. Undoubtedly they have been vigorously reading this blog and are thus ready to cave into my demands.

The man who's article is linked directly above stands opposing to this superior mind of thinking. No wedge on kickoffs? A) how are you going to enforce that? B) how are kickoff teams going to block? C) Is the NFL going to pay for their players' tampons?

The Houchuli incident does need fixing, but officiating isn't something I am looking to involve myself in as of the moment. Maybe tomorrow.

The situation with roughing the passer has not, and does not look like it is going to be addressed. Defenses need to be able to play competitively, and not look around constantly to see if there's a striped fool ready to throw a flag at a moment's notice. Last time I checked, Quarterbacks also wear football pads, often times covering more than other players.

The situation with numbers also looks like it is not going to be addressed. Sadly the only exceptions to this rule seem to remain wide receivers who are mainly return specialists. When will justice be paid, so any non-offensive lineman can be declared an eligible receiver (if properly aligned, of course) without having to report to the referee first. Its bull shit. Numbers 1-19, among the most prized for High School and College Students (for all positions) are limited to Quarterbacks, Kickers, and Punters. Wide Receivers occasionally can done 10-19. That's still far too narrow. Too many players are simply football players first, position second (Anquan Boldin comes to mind, imagine what they can do with him if they don't have to lock him so obviously to one dimension).

Really, it looks like the NFL is busying itself to fix non-existent problems. Which is sad.

There are two things that the NFL can fix, that they should. Sadly it only looks like one will be used.

1) Get rid of blind blocks downfield.

Sometimes this is referred to as a crack block. This rule might actually get enforced. It is the rule that allowed a wide receiver (Hines Ward) to break the jaw of a linebacker on the Bengals. Yeah, the jaw. Football players wear facemasks. Their jaw should largely not be at risk. A player needs to be able to defend himself against anything coming at him. It's the very reason punt returners can fair catch the ball.

2) Get rid of helmet to helmet hits.

This, sadly, is not going to happen. And the culprit for this, ESPN. In it's attempt to find something highlight worthy for the defense, it turned to the pick and the huge hit. Interceptions happen, but not with enough frequency to consistently make highlights, quarterbacks are throwing fewer and fewer, and alot of them are simply unreturnable, which is where the highlight really is. So what they have left is the big hit. Since most viewers don't know what to look for in a big hit, they listen. The pop, that loud crunching noise of plastic hitting plastic. That is what they look for. 9 times out of 10, that is the result of the tackler's helmet smashing into the other players helmet or straight into the shoulder pads. Safety's seem to be the biggest culprit, though it is increasingly happenning with linebackers, who getting smaller and faster, don't get as much practice with form tackling, and resort to trying to make highlights (think of the speedy contact hitter trying to swing for the fences to try and prove he can drive the ball long).

It's a big mess, and they need to clean that up, especially since they already supposedly have rules about this. Fines after the game do nothing, since most players will do anything, dirty and clean, to try and win the game in that moment. Making the hit actually illegal on the field, and doing something about it on the actual field, will significantly reduce helmet to helmet hits. The league doesn't need any more Dirty Waterses committing suicide, or Ted Johnsons being forced to play and practice through unnecessary concussions.

They have a long ways to go.

-- Knuttel