NFL calls a truce in its war on defenses
posted at 3:31 pm on April 7, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
For those of us who enjoy defense in professional football, the NFL has made a rare rule change that allows for defensive backs to break up pass plays. For decades, pushing a receiver out of bounds while catching the ball in the air resulted in a reception, especially on the goal line, as referees ruled that the receiver would have come down in the field of play otherwise. Now the quarterbacks will have to make sure that the ball stays in bounds as the force-out has become legal:
Hallelujah.
The NFL finally broke with tradition — tradition being, “Let’s torture the defensive players again” — by making a rule change that could actually prevent some touchdowns.
They did it by rescinding one of the more ludicrous and aggravating rules in the history of professional sports — the dreaded force-out.
Until now, a referee could declare a pass complete if he determined that an airborne receiver would have landed with both feet in-bounds if only he hadn’t been knocked out of bounds before he landed. … Now, you have to be in-bounds to be considered in-bounds.
The NFL has gradually turned pass defense into an Ivy League debating society. They can’t touch the receivers past five yards from the line of scrimmage, the refs call them for any contact initiated while the ball is in the air, and the force-out rule essentially gave QBs an extra yard on either side of the field outside of the defense’s control. It produced acrobatic toe-tapping catches made possible by the force-out rule.
Finally, DBs get a break. It comes as a bit of a surprise, since the league likes high-scoring games and usually errs on the side of points. Not only does it make the fans happier to see shoot-outs, but it also produces more advertising spots to sell, which makes the games almost interminable. Corners and safeties will get more of an opportunity for interceptions as the rule change will take away that outside pass, and receivers will have to refine their skills to establish position on the sideline routes.
Pittsburgh and other defense-oriented teams will love it. Cleveland and Cincinnati will have one more reason to cry in the fall. (via Fraters Libertas)
Blowback
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Finally. This is good news. I can’t imagine Bill Polian is taking this well.
It makes up for the awful “illegal contact” penalty in a very small way.
This will be especially helpful on the sides and back of the endzone.
reaganaut on April 7, 2008 at 3:39 PM
That’ll free up a lot of penalties.
Geronimo on April 7, 2008 at 3:41 PM
This is great news! And this guy with yahoo sports called it on April,4. I hope he gets some of the other onew on his list taken care of as well!
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Any word on the hair thing? I wish , when I played in college on defense, they had worn such long locks… I coulda been a star!!!!!! Just grab hold and yank…. what a game!
MNDavenotPC on April 7, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Thank goodness. That rule was terrible.
awake on April 7, 2008 at 3:42 PM
God that picture for the story is so funny! It looks like the guy is getting a call on his Football-phone! “Can you hear me, guy? You look like a moron!”
Viscount_Bolingbroke on April 7, 2008 at 3:43 PM
I love Rodney Harrison. Not in a gay way, but if he’s open…
fluffy on April 7, 2008 at 3:44 PM
Cool. This is the best news in sports since the NHL went to penalty shot tie-breakers.
Tony737 on April 7, 2008 at 3:49 PM
i like that they got rid of the 5 yard facemask rule too. That rule was a POS.
lorien1973 on April 7, 2008 at 3:49 PM
All this will also change each team’s 2 min. drill. No longer will a high, over the outside shoulder pass be viable against teams that have good corners. Plus, it is going to be great to see a receiver go up for a pass five feet in bounds only to be hit so hard that he is forced out of bounds. Oooooh, its going to be a fun season!
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 3:50 PM
I like the change!
Grafted on April 7, 2008 at 3:50 PM
Next item: breaking the plane.
mymanpotsandpans on April 7, 2008 at 3:51 PM
On the down side (no pun intended) though, most teams have one or two good receivers, and you’ll see a lot more of ‘em getting hurt.
And as a long time Jets fan *sigh* losing one starter can ruin the entire season.
JetBoy on April 7, 2008 at 3:52 PM
I don’t know who these mythical “fans” are that drives the rule changes in every major sports league, but I’d like to meet one someday.
There’s not enough a distinction made by the marketing hacks that push policy in the leagues between “points” and “action.” Any football fan will tell you that a sack is more exciting and satisfying than anything an offense can accomplish on a given play, save a touchdown. 5-4 and 4-4 hockey is more exciting then those obscene compound 5-3/4-3/3-3 setups where there’s nowhere for the puck to go and the penalties overlap randomly. Basketball foul shots are the most boring, stupid, excitement-killing mechanism in sports. Et cetera.
More action does not necessarily mean more points on the board, a distinction the leagues have trouble making.
HitNRun on April 7, 2008 at 3:53 PM
They ought to do away with that dumba$$ “bobble” rule too. If the ball does not hit the ground, it’s a caught pass even if a receiver is bobbling the thing as he goes out of bounds but doesn’t drop it.
BacaDog on April 7, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Doesn’t it suck that, at times, teams feel more like a millstone than a beloved team?
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 3:56 PM
That totally needs to be fixed. I think your whole body needs to be across, not just the ball. Make goal line defensive stands mean something.
lorien1973 on April 7, 2008 at 3:56 PM
How about letting the DB celebrate a little after a big hit? Not that he *should*, but he should be free to decided.
kirkill on April 7, 2008 at 3:58 PM
Catch him 3 yards and carry him out before his feet touch.
roux on April 7, 2008 at 3:58 PM
I think celebrating hits, tackles, sacks, etc is stupid. I really hate the whole “hey look at me!!” culture we are in right now. Do your job; everyone saw you do it – no one was watching the commercial, believe me. Now do it again.
lorien1973 on April 7, 2008 at 3:59 PM
the Break the plane, I don’t think your whole body needs to go across, but either the ball or some part of your body needs to come down and touch the endzone turf. This is why it’s called, “touchDOWN” in the first place.
kirkill on April 7, 2008 at 3:59 PM
I watched a game where the blessed Ed McCaffrey went up for a ball in the middle of the field, and had his leg busted clean through. He missed only one season, came back and started the following year.
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 4:00 PM
Did you have to put that idiot Anthony Smith on the front page…
He totally disappointed me this year…but he did beat the living crap out of Houshmanad for the Bungles.
benrand on April 7, 2008 at 4:02 PM
If for no other reason than the silly way it’s signaled by a ref.
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 4:03 PM
As a Super Steelers Fan, I love the rule change and the screen cap.
Zorro on April 7, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Cool.
Also, please change:
The standard that breathing hard on the QB within a millisecond of his throwing the ball is “roughing the passer”. Butch up, QB’s.
The rule that if the QB fumbles the ball with even the most imperceptible “forward movement” of the QB’s arm it’s a “incomplete pass”. It’s not an incomplete pass when the ball doesn’t actually go anywhere and wasn’t actually passed- it’s a fumble.
Hollowpoint on April 7, 2008 at 4:07 PM
…the blessed Ed McCaffrey went up for a ball in the middle of the field, and had his leg busted clean through. He missed only one season, came back and started the following year.
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 4:00 PM
…But was never the same again. He retired the next year. Man, I miss Eddie. Some of the hits he took were just vicious. Side note, the date of his injury- Sept 10, 2001. NOTHIN’S been quite right since…
Rhinoboy on April 7, 2008 at 4:10 PM
They’re referring to the very casual fans of the sports who don’t understand the finer points – all they know is they’re supposed to be happy when the score for their team increments in some fashion. They’re also the people that get bored and fidgety while attending events on their company’s or some vendor’s dime and start doing the dreaded wave. These people are definitely numerous and out there, but I have no idea how many there are in relation to the more serious fans. I have a bad feeling that the outnumber us significantly.
ErikTheRed on April 7, 2008 at 4:11 PM
I don’t see this rule being a big deal, as it’s basically the same as the college rule (except for in college you only need to get one foot in).
All this will do is to reduce the amount of judgment calls (would have he come down in bounds), which is always good.
Football refs have enough to deal with, without having to decide whether a player would have come down in bounds. The ref has to have a perfect angle to do so and they aren’t always in position to do so.
NoDonkey on April 7, 2008 at 4:13 PM
Sigh. Me too. Me too.
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 4:13 PM
“How about letting the DB celebrate a little after a big hit?”
Only if the guy he’s showing up gets a free shot at him afterwards.
I did this in a game once, laid the guy out and got a penalty. I wasn’t all that good, but I’m not going to take some idiot showing me up in front of the crowd.
NoDonkey on April 7, 2008 at 4:15 PM
This is a really great move. I like all of the rule changes this year, actually.
The NFL has indeed gotten too carried away with making it an offensive game. The interference penalty rule change a few years back was absurd and even worse than that are the rules that involve hitting QBs (cant touch them anywhere but middle of the jersey).
Anyways, hopefully my team has a successful NFL Draft and we can be on our way to the Super Bowl this year. GO EAGLES!!!
PaulD on April 7, 2008 at 4:17 PM
Although this rule was only an issue on 25 plays last year, it was a stupid rule and its demise will be unlamented in this quarter. The DB’s job is to stop the receivers from catching the ball in bounds!
Imagine the same rule on any other play: “The receiver would have caught the ball had the safety not cleaned his clock. So the play is ruled a reception. First down!”
Akzed on April 7, 2008 at 4:19 PM
Re “breaking the plane:” If it is required that the football or the player actually hits the ground inside the end zone, where do the refs place the ball after a stop in which the ball does break the plane, and why? The whole idea of football is that the ball get into the end zone, period.
Oh, and the touchdown was named before the first forward pass was ever thrown. Should we now also make that illegal? The only way I’d agree that “breaking the plane” is shinola is when a receiver fails to touch the ground inbounds after the ball has broken the plane. Just like every other such play, it should be called an incompletion.
sondiehl on April 7, 2008 at 4:20 PM
Damn straight!
E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!
Akzed on April 7, 2008 at 4:20 PM
In the old days you could push and shove the “flanker” all the way down field until the ball was in the air, too. This makes Johnny Unitas’s 40,000+ yards all the more amazing. Imagine him in today’s league where so much advantage is given to the D. He’d ahad 90k yards.
Akzed on April 7, 2008 at 4:22 PM
Still happy about my GIANTS!!!!
kcluva on April 7, 2008 at 4:23 PM
McCaffrey never dropped the ball, did he? And yeah, he came back the next season, putting up good stats with the Broncs. But still, on one side…more hitting in football sounds good. On the other side, more injuries.
JetBoy on April 7, 2008 at 4:34 PM
That picture posted for this thread shows everything that is wrong with the NFL.
Andy in Agoura Hills on April 7, 2008 at 4:39 PM
“Still happy about my GIANTS!!!!”
Me too. That was my sixth favorite Super Bowl of all time (the Steeler’s five wins being 1 through 5).
NoDonkey on April 7, 2008 at 4:40 PM
And this will be the new DB technique. The force out rule was a good one. The 5 yard rule was bad. Now what will happen is a linebacker in the middle of the field will catch a leaping receiver, carry him out of bounds and drop him. Incomplete pass. . . don’t think it can’t happen. Those linebackers are beasts.
This rule will be changed back after this year.
ThackerAgency on April 7, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Shoot, catch him at mid-field and carry him out. I think they will have to clarify a bit if they haven’t already.
easy on April 7, 2008 at 4:45 PM
The sound you hear is that of a million Colts fans weeping.
Centerfire on April 7, 2008 at 4:46 PM
A minute short.
easy on April 7, 2008 at 4:46 PM
“And this will be the new DB technique. The force out rule was a good one. The 5 yard rule was bad. Now what will happen is a linebacker in the middle of the field will catch a leaping receiver, carry him out of bounds and drop him. Incomplete pass. . . don’t think it can’t happen.”
Then why doesn’t this happen in college, where the same rule applies.
In your example, the receiver would be ruled down at the catch (forward progress).
NoDonkey on April 7, 2008 at 4:52 PM
IIRC, this rule change doesn’t mean that a defender will be allowed to carry a receiver out of bounds before he has had a chance to get his feet down. And don’t think they won’t try it … to see how far they can get.
No, that’s a good rule. The receiver has to establish possession before he makes contact with the out-of-bounds area. To change that rule would open up a can of worms and produce too many inconsistencies vis-a-vis how the sideline is treated.
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 4:52 PM
NoDonkey, great minds think alike.
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Oops, I meant ThackerAgency. Should have read more carefully.
[aunursa kicking self.]
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 4:53 PM
Ed, apparently you don’t know much about football. Pittsburgh is on the decline and Cleveland signed Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams so they will move into the top ten in defenses this year. 2 huge run stoppers on the line that also had 14 sacks between them last year. Cleveland will be estatic about the new rules!
Capitalist Infidel on April 7, 2008 at 4:55 PM
link
A receiver now must get two feet inbounds unless he actually is carried out of bounds by a defender after catching the ball.
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 4:56 PM
Other rule changes…
• The “Phil Dawson field goal rule.” Now, certain field goals can be reviewed by instant replay, including kicks that bounce off the uprights. Under the previous system, no field goals could be reviewed.
• Deferring the opening coin toss. This is similar to the college rule. Previously, the winner of the coin toss could choose only to receive or to kick off.
• A direct snap from center that goes backward will now be treated as a fumble. Previously, it was ruled a false start.
• Eliminating the 5-yard face mask penalty. Now, only the serious face mask will be called (and will be assessed as a 15-yard penalty). The major foul will involve twisting or grabbing the face mask.
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 4:59 PM
“A receiver now must get two feet inbounds unless he actually is carried out of bounds by a defender after catching the ball.”
It still would be forward progress.
Otherwise, you could carry a guy twenty yards back and have the ball spotted there.
NoDonkey on April 7, 2008 at 5:00 PM
I could see pass interference going up as a result of this.
Chakra Hammer on April 7, 2008 at 5:01 PM
LMAO, Rogers is an unmotivated slob.
HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO
HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO
benrand on April 7, 2008 at 5:02 PM
I quoted from the ESPN.com article. The coin toss winner can choose
(a) whether to kick or receive
or
(b) which side to defend
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 5:04 PM
I’m also about fed up with hair covering up the numbers on the back. How about yanking out large patches of hair, to include chunks of bloody scalp. You want to practice Rastafarianism? Great. Get a larger helmet and tuck it inside.
I was hoping that play toward the end of that Steelers playoff game would have been called out of bounds because the guys hair was touching the ground. Get the hippies off the field and back to Berzerkley where they belong.
TugboatPhil on April 7, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Dante Hall and Asomugha are going to LOVE this…
GOOOOO RAIDUHSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Romeo13 on April 7, 2008 at 5:40 PM
link
On Tuesday, the league tabled a Kansas City Chiefs proposal to prohibit hair hanging over the back of jerseys to the nameplate, and passed a rule to allow defensive players to wear radio helmets.
aunursa on April 7, 2008 at 5:41 PM
TugboatPhil
That is exactly the play I was picturing in my mind when I wrote my statement. Out of bounds and out of a hair weave….lol
MNDavenotPC on April 7, 2008 at 6:01 PM
Sorry it took so long to respond, had to mow the stupid yard. Yes you are right, there will be more injuries, which in turn, will probably lead to a new rule to not allow that to happen. Hey look at that, I split an infinitive, and I’m not going to change it. Ha! (I digress)
Weight of Glory on April 7, 2008 at 6:20 PM
My Raiders picking up Hall and signing Aso means they should get a huge benefit from this rule change. Of course I wish we could go back to the day when Tatum, Atkinson and Brown would just rip the WR’s heads off. Stupid pansy WRs.
Benaiah on April 7, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Cleveland got jipped on the non-enforcement of the rule last year. During their Arizona game, Winslow caught the last pass of the game, near the sideline in the endzone, took two very vicious hits, and still managed to get one foot down in the field of play. Refs called him ‘out’, game over, Arizona wins. Cost the Browns a win, a playoff spot, which went to the titans when Indy tanked during the last game of the year and Indy didn’t play to win. Winslow would have clearly landed inbounds had the ‘zona players not pelted him, it was quite a feat (HAH!) to get a foot in. The refs blew that call. Cleveland never benefited from the force out, Ed. The Browns got used again by the refs not following the stupid rule. I’m glad the rule is gone. Taking away judgement calls like that one is good.
One less way to stick it to the Browns.
Micah on April 7, 2008 at 7:18 PM
This is no big deal since the rule was selectively enforced anyway. I remember the ’97 AFC play offs when a young rookie named Tony Gonzalez caught two touch downs that the officials claimed were not because he was pushed out of bounds by Bronco (blech) defenders. Of course Elway had been whining for years so, as MLB would do in ’04, they rigged it so Elway could get his ring. Doubt me, I still have the game on tape. Bronco (blech) also had an illegal substance on their jerseys at the start of the game. Official merely made them wipe it off.
Of course Schotenheimer screwed the team over by playing Grbac, instead of Gannon, in that game too.
Sorry, I still haven’t gotten over that travesty.
srhoades on April 7, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Steelers!
jaime on April 7, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Now if they can make a touchdown a touchdown, by requiring the offensive player to actually touch the ball down in the end zone. No more ‘breaking the plane!’
digitalintrigue on April 7, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Where do you live that you’re mowing already? heh…the most I’ve done is rent one of those aerator machines…won’t be mowing for about a month yet.
JetBoy on April 7, 2008 at 10:43 PM
Any rule change that helps Pittsburgh is immoral.
clark smith on April 8, 2008 at 2:16 AM
as soon as scores drop and one of the trinity of golden boys (Brady, Manning brothers) loses a high profile game because of this rule, it’ll be back.
I should be excited as a Bears fan, but since we play in a division where about 5 passes are thrown a year it probably won’t have as big an effect as the AFC/NFC West will have.
MannyT-vA on April 8, 2008 at 8:13 AM