Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Competition committee & possible rules changes
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February 20, 2015 at 3:32 pm #18772
znModeratorJeff Fisher: Competition committee will look at “numerous proposals” to expand replay
by Josh Alper
Earlier Friday, we shared some comments from Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew about proposed changes to what can be reviewed via replay in future seasons.
Mayhew wants coaches to be able to challenge penalty flags thrown by officials if they believe that no penalty has occurred and he’s not the only person who wants to see replay expanded into this area. During his Friday appearance on PFT Live, Rams coach and longtime competition committee member Jeff Fisher said there are “numerous proposals” in that area that the group will look at when they start their meetings next weekend.
Fisher said that “if we go down that path is be very specific on what’s reviewable and what’s not,” something that Mayhew addressed in his comments by saying he’d like the replay option to exist only after a referee has thrown a flag. The committee will eventually decide whether to recommend a change to owners, who would then vote on a possible change to the system.
Fisher said that the committee will also be looking at issues involving taunting and sportsmanship as well as an annual look about the rules governing what constitutes a catch while adding that he felt player safety rules appear to be “real good.”
March 2, 2015 at 8:42 pm #19358znModeratorJeff Fisher not in favor of changing extra point
By Nick Wagoner
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As a member of the NFL’s competition committee, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher is often a go-to guy for media looking for answers about potential rule changes in the league.
That’s always abundantly clear at the NFL scouting combine and this year was no different. Fisher was asked about a variety of things that might be under consideration for the committee this year, including the possibility of moving the extra point from being snapped from the 2-yard line to the 15.
The NFL experimented with that change in the 2014 preseason with the idea being to make a play that had become a foregone conclusion something with a little more pressure involved.
In the first two weeks of exhibition games, teams attempted 141 extra points with kickers missing eight times for a percentage of 94.3 percent from the new distance. During the regular season, kickers also missed eight extra points, though those misses came on 1,230 attempts for a conversion rate of 99.3 percent.
So while the preseason experiment offered a much smaller sample size, it did come with a bit more variance in terms of makes and misses. It’s a variance that Fisher said in Indianapolis he’s not OK with and he made a solid analogy to illustrate his argument.
“Personally I don’t want to kick a 19-yard field goal to win a game, and then miss a 35-yard extra point in Green Bay when it’s 20 degrees to lose a game,” Fisher said. “So that’s my position. I think it would be too drastic of a change, me personally.”
Dean Blandino, the NFL’s head of officiating, previously said he expected the extra point to change in the “near future.” Those discussions figure to be ongoing but given the amount of concern around the league about things like the “completing the catch” rule and the matter of managing the inflation process of the balls, it’s possible the extra point conversation could take a backseat.
March 3, 2015 at 1:37 pm #19386
rflParticipantMayhew wants coaches to be able to challenge penalty flags thrown by officials if they believe that no penalty has occurred and he’s not the only person who wants to see replay expanded into this area. During his Friday appearance on PFT Live, Rams coach and longtime competition committee member Jeff Fisher said there are “numerous proposals” in that area that the group will look at when they start their meetings next weekend.
Mixed feelings here. Slippery slope arguments are generally silly, but not here. Open the door to questioning penalties and you honestly run the risk of drowning the game in 2nd guessing.
Yet something needs to be done. I don’t think it should be in the game. But m,aybe there needs to be some sort of post-game review with teeth.
Which would of course undermine the authority of the officials. You know, the age-old idea that the official’s decision must be final has a lot going for it. The old umpire Bill Klem used to say “he ain’t safe or out til I say so” and he mad a lot of sense.
If you think about it, replay was added to “correct errors.” But it has led to more controversy than ever. Replays invite criticism and rarely result in universal agreement. I think replays have made things worse than they were before.
In the end, what you need are well-trained, capable officials. And most professional leagues fail at this. Replays and challenges don’t solve the problem.
By virtue of the absurd ...
March 3, 2015 at 3:45 pm #19393
bnwBlockedReplays should exist to assist the officials in getting it right. Too many exclusions for replay now that alter games. Everything should be subject to replay. Getting it right is what it should be about.
The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.
Sprinkles are for winners.
March 3, 2015 at 4:39 pm #19394
wvParticipantI am waiting for the day
fans in the stands can challenge
a coach’s playcall.Ya know. And if more than, say
three-fourths of the fans push a button
challenging the playcall, the coach
would automatically be jettisoned from
the stadium. Literally. Maybe some sort
of catapult could be used.I think the fans would like that.
Pete Carroll would still be in orbit.…at any rate, I’m all for expanding replay
to penalties. It would correct a few big
mistakes every year. That would be worth the
annoyance I would think.w
vMarch 3, 2015 at 5:06 pm #19396
NERamParticipantI am waiting for the day
fans in the stands can challenge
a coach’s playcall.Ya know. And if more than, say
three-fourths of the fans push a button
challenging the playcall, the coach
would automatically be jettisoned from
the stadium. Literally. Maybe some sort
of catapult could be used.I think the fans would like that.
w
vLOL. I can just see it now- current stadiums retro fitted to resemble Coliseums. Hand held devices for the fans could be equipped with sensors that determined if the thumb was pointing up or down …
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