signonsandiego.com
Sez Me . .
Despite its reputation as being Mensa-eligible, the NFL often does and says silly things.
For instance(s):
It places a Super Bowl in Jacksonville, a so-called one-horse town (I say "so-called" because I couldn't find the horse).
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announces he would like a Super Bowl played in New York or Washington, D.C., in the great outdoors (the idea flew like an ostrich).
Tagliabue announces he would like to see a regular-season game played outside the country, say Mexico City. (Voila! The Cardinals, who couldn't draw ants if they smothered the seats and themselves with honey, foolishly agree to relinquish a precious home game.)
But, every so often, NFLians at least think about doing something right, and now are considering changing an unjust rule I've criticized as long as I've vainly lobbied to get phony 40-yard dash times out of this sports section.
This week, at their spring meetings in Maui, The League's bosses will consider adopting the college rule on pass interference, limiting the penalty to 15 yards. Tremendous idea.
The NFL infraction for pass interference always has been far too drastic. For one thing, it assumes the player fouled – the foulee – actually is going to catch the ball. A 50-yard penalty should not be based on an assumption. They do not assume a lineman was holding – or shouldn't.
And the 5-yard bump rule, now stringently enforced, doesn't help matters any. If The League is going to change the law, at least it can change the punishment.
According to the NFL, 202 pass interference penalties were called last year (not all of them on Quentin Jammer, if that's what you're thinking). Of those more than 15 yards, three of them covered 46-50 yards, seven 41-45 yards, 17 were 36-40 yards, 11 were 31-35 yards, 14 were 26-30 yards, 17 were 21-25 yards and 31 were 16-20 yards.
Many of those penalties were blown calls by officials, and instant replay isn't used on them. These are killer, often game-altering, infractions.
Meanwhile, The League also plans to discuss whether the "ground can't cause a fumble" rule should be reviewable, which it currently is not. If the replay showed the ball wrongly had been ruled dead despite a whistle being blown, it would be overturned.
To me, a fumble caused by a hit, a strip or the ground is a fumble. Period. Changing these rules is more sensible than playing a February Super Bowl in the Meadowlands.
Sez Me . .
Despite its reputation as being Mensa-eligible, the NFL often does and says silly things.
For instance(s):
It places a Super Bowl in Jacksonville, a so-called one-horse town (I say "so-called" because I couldn't find the horse).
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announces he would like a Super Bowl played in New York or Washington, D.C., in the great outdoors (the idea flew like an ostrich).
Tagliabue announces he would like to see a regular-season game played outside the country, say Mexico City. (Voila! The Cardinals, who couldn't draw ants if they smothered the seats and themselves with honey, foolishly agree to relinquish a precious home game.)
But, every so often, NFLians at least think about doing something right, and now are considering changing an unjust rule I've criticized as long as I've vainly lobbied to get phony 40-yard dash times out of this sports section.
This week, at their spring meetings in Maui, The League's bosses will consider adopting the college rule on pass interference, limiting the penalty to 15 yards. Tremendous idea.
The NFL infraction for pass interference always has been far too drastic. For one thing, it assumes the player fouled – the foulee – actually is going to catch the ball. A 50-yard penalty should not be based on an assumption. They do not assume a lineman was holding – or shouldn't.
And the 5-yard bump rule, now stringently enforced, doesn't help matters any. If The League is going to change the law, at least it can change the punishment.
According to the NFL, 202 pass interference penalties were called last year (not all of them on Quentin Jammer, if that's what you're thinking). Of those more than 15 yards, three of them covered 46-50 yards, seven 41-45 yards, 17 were 36-40 yards, 11 were 31-35 yards, 14 were 26-30 yards, 17 were 21-25 yards and 31 were 16-20 yards.
Many of those penalties were blown calls by officials, and instant replay isn't used on them. These are killer, often game-altering, infractions.
Meanwhile, The League also plans to discuss whether the "ground can't cause a fumble" rule should be reviewable, which it currently is not. If the replay showed the ball wrongly had been ruled dead despite a whistle being blown, it would be overturned.
To me, a fumble caused by a hit, a strip or the ground is a fumble. Period. Changing these rules is more sensible than playing a February Super Bowl in the Meadowlands.
