America can’t get enough of what the NFL has to offer, whether it’s their merchandise, games, or the draft. They have become the Midas of sports because it seems like everything they touch turns to gold.
But even though they are great now, they can still get better and change. So we came up with rule changes the NFL should enforce next season. Some are more subtle than others, while some are wholesome modifications to the norm. But they are all worth the debate.
1. The Fourth-and-15 Rule
We gave the NFL credit for bringing this pipe dream as far as they did and smacked them in the back of the head when they fumbled at the 1-yard line. The anonymous NFL people who said that this proposal, which would let teams try a fourth-and-15 conversion from their 25-yard line instead of kicking a useless (and almost impossible) onside kick, would be tabled for discussion in the future, are like parents who tell their kids, “Maybe you could ask Santa for the toy for Christmas,” and then forget about it.
The fourth-and-15 rule was eventually thrown out because special teams coaches feared it wouldn’t matter. About 20 NFL owners were worried they wouldn’t have Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, or Lamar Jackson. So, as fans, we don’t get to see a 14-point game with five minutes left turn into anything other than a space that Joe Buck fills with ads.
2. Timeouts Should Carry Over
We’ve never understood why coaches save up timeouts for the end of the first half. It’s like how squirrels save energy for the long, cold winter. Timeouts shouldn’t be half-dependent because a team is more likely to need them at the end of a game. Bad coaches waste timeouts for all sorts of wrong reasons, like needing clarification about the formation, being unable to communicate a play, being caught off guard by the opponent’s personnel grouping, etc.
They should get in trouble for not being ready. At the end of a game, a team ahead by a score often wins if it can outlast the opponent’s limited number of timeouts. But if an opponent has played well up to that point at the end of the fourth quarter, it should get more chances to stop the clock and get the ball back for another possession.
3. Modified XFL Extra Point Rule
We think that moving the extra point back has given a play that used to be meaningless a little more style. We also believe that teams should be able to keep kicking the extra point for one point even if they don’t want to pay attention to the analytics. The league should do more, though, to set up a risk/reward system for teams that are either:
A) willing to take a considerable risk at the start of the game or
B) willing to make a miracle play at the end of a game when they are down by more than one definitive score.
That’s why we’d like to see parts of the XFL’s extra point rule, which got rid of the kick and replaced it with a series of one-, two-, and three-point tries at different yardages, brought over. Teams should still be able to kick, but they should also get two or three points if they score from, say, the 7-yard line or the 15-yard line.
The NFL’s argument that they don’t want to make it easy for the other team to come back at the end of a game doesn’t make sense to us. During a game, you don’t get anything until time runs out. If a coach is upset that a fourth-and-15 conversion or three-point conversion shook the foundation of a lead he thought was unbeatable, he should have done a better job of preparing for that situation.
4. College/AAF Overtime Hybrid
The Alliance of American Football was only around for a short time. It had a quick overtime system where each team got one shot from the 10-yard line, and there was no way to kick an extra point. Ties can happen. College teams take turns starting at the 25-yard line until a winner is decided.
To get the best of both worlds, each team should be guaranteed a possession from the 10-yard line, and they should switch until a winner is decided. This makes it more likely that the game will end quickly and adds to the drama because coaches can choose from one of three ways to score an extra point. When a team scores first and the coach kicks an extra point, the door is open for the other team to try for two points, and so on and so on.
5. Eliminate The Coach-To-QB And Coach-To-Green-Dot-Defensive-Player Radio
Chaos. Strange symbols and pictures were drawn on big signs that looked like Chip Kelly made them. QBs are pressured to read and react to the defense based only on non-verbal cues and vice versa. We want to live in this NFL world. IT workers will no longer be made fun of by arrogant quarterbacks slamming on the sides of their helmets because the communication ran out. People can no longer blame the noise on the crowd. We can all break codes now.
6. Challenge Flag
Many NFL fans have strong feelings about the way games are called. No matter who is playing, fans of both teams feel like the refs are taking too much control of the game. For example, many coaches don’t like it when they get called for pass interference. Some of the worst calls in the league are personal fouls. The offense receives a first down and the ball in the place of the foul when called on a defensive player.
In the NFL, coaches are not allowed to argue against calls of pass interference or other judgment calls like holding or roughing the passer. This should be an obvious step if the league wants to improve its product.
Who’s with us on these? And which rule is your favorite?
