New NFL rules for 2024

NBC Sports wrote:NFL owners approved a new trade deadline for the 2024 season.

Teams will now be able to make trades until Tuesday following Week 9 games. The deadline had previously been the Tuesday after Week 8. The one-week change could make a big difference for teams whose seasons are circling the drain and leave the front office looking to deal valuable players as part of a rebuild. It could also benefit teams coming on around mid-season and looking for ways to shore up weaknesses headed into the season’s second half.

4h ago
Source: Kevin Seifert

Good! The deadline was too early. The extra week helps.

NBC Sports wrote:NFL owners voted to adopt the XFL’s kickoff rules for the 2024 season.

Twenty-nine of the league’s 32 teams approved of the change, with the Niners, Packers, and Raiders voting against the rule adoption. Under the new rules, any kickoff that ends up in the “landing zone” — between the goal line and the 20 yard line — must be returned. The changes will essentially stop touchbacks, which would award the ball at the 35 yard line. Once implemented, the hybrid kickoff will make kickoffs a far more important part of the game. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said NFL officials hope the rule change can “will yield what it wants: fewer injuries and more returns” in 2024 and beyond.

5h ago
Source: Tom Pelissero

I like this a lot. Kickoffs were almost meaningless last season, and this will add excitement to the game.

NBC Sports wrote:NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the NFL Competition Committee has now been “permitted to correct certain types of incorrect calls for roughing the passer and intentional grounding.”

According to Pelissero, the use must be “purely objective” and can be used in manners such as to determine whether or not a quarterback was hit in the head, in or out of the pocket on an intentional grounding, etc. This should help with correcting calls that can result in a significant gain/loss of yards for both the offense and defense. The review of these calls will be done by the replay assistant and should not require a challenge flag from a coach to be reviewed.

Mar 25, 2024, 12:11 PM EDT
Source: Tom Pelissero

This is great news...assuming it works. I have my doubts.

NBC Sports wrote:NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports the league has voted to ban the hip drop tackle.

Shortly after Pelissero posted that the league voted to ban the now infamous tackle, Ian Rapoport chimed in to report the ban received a unanimous vote from the competition committee. The movement to ban the tackle picked up steam in recent years after several players suffered devastating injuries as a result of the hip drop. Pelissero said we can “expect more fines than flags as the league and coaches work to remove the technique.”

Mar 25, 2024, 10:52 AM EDT
Source: Tom Pelisseero

Another gray-area judgment call for the refs to make? What could possibly go wrong?

That was perfect!

I'm all for eliminating dangerous hits that are unnecessary, but in this case - the more I think about the hip-drop tackle rule, the more I see potential for disaster...both because of the refs not knowing how to call it and because it will make already-poor tackling technique even worse as defenders struggle to know how to tackle legally.

JMP wrote:I'm all for eliminating dangerous hits that are unnecessary, but in this case - the more I think about the hip-drop tackle rule, the more I see potential for disaster...both because of the refs not knowing how to call it and because it will make already-poor tackling technique even worse as defenders struggle to know how to tackle legally.  

the NFLPA came out against the ban due to the lack of clarity - as did the Dolphins Jevon Holland

Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland also criticized the decision, posting on X: “Breaking news: Tackling Banned.”

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/26/sport/nfl-owners-hip-drop-tackle-ban-spt-intl/index.html

side note: Jevon is turning into one of those guys that feels the need to comment on everything. right or wrong, i don't care - i just wish he would let his play do the talking for him.

but i agree with JMP in that i am concerned with how this will or won't be called. i wonder, will refs have the opportunity to review ala targeting (probably not - as the game is already slow enough). i mean the refs can't even seem to get the obvious and flagrant horse collar tackle stuff correct...see, the blatant one on which Tyreek Hill got hurt - no call. some are saying the NFL may not throw many flags for the hip drop tackle but rather try to deal with it by fines after a film review. i don't know, its kind of a judgement call. what happen when in the process of making a tackle a defender gets blocked into a position such that a hip tackle occurs (like when guys get blocked into the QBs knees - sometimes called, sometimes not)...is that a foul?

Great point, merc.

Holland makes a great point. What if you are a smaller DB chasing a big TE who is running at max speed? The TE's momentum is carrying him forward, and you need to stop him - how can you can get enough leverage to bring him down if you can't use the hip-drop? It's pretty difficult, purely from a physics perspective. Certainly that type of tackle can cause injury, but I'm just not sure what the alternative is, other than just letting the ball carrier rumble all the way to the endzone.

Just more idiocy from the NFL IMO.  It seems that the NFL is turning into the US Congress somehow... everything they do is wrong and instead of fixing it, they just amend it, prolong it, or make it worse!

Some of these penalties on the QB hits are just out and out subjective nonsense and now they have injected even more subjectivity into tackling penalties.

But as long as they keep raking in billions...

Edit to add: I was concerned with Holland before the draft for his wokeness cause supporting. He apparently headed some petition thing in college to get an old white guys name taken off a building that had been there for decades, because... who knows and who cares...

finfanatic wrote:Edit to add: I was concerned with Holland before the draft for his wokeness cause supporting. He apparently headed some petition thing in college to get an old white guys name taken off a building that had been there for decades, because... who knows and who cares...  

again, i don't begrudge Holland his politics. he can feel anyway he wants to. but when he becomes more known for his X takes (Fangio, tackling, etc.) than for his actual performance on the field, then maybe he needs to put down the phone and focus a little more on his play. he's got all the tools to be excellent. the only thing standing in his way, right now, is himself.

used to be, the only buildings that were named after people were mostly on college campuses cause they left a huge endowment to get their name over the door. but as an old fuddy duddy, i wish we could just go back to the days of when things were named for the attributes or locations (Orange Bowl, Three Rivers Stadium, Astrodome, Superdome, LA Coliseum etc.) instead of sponsors or some guy that later generations will revolt against even though nobody even remembers exactly who he was or what he did.

Talking about the Kickoff Rule I was wondering if You can Punt The Ball which will make it easier to keep between the 20 and the goal line plus You can kick it higher and make it harder to catch, Our Coverage Units need as much help as possible.

finskev wrote:Talking about the Kickoff Rule I was wondering if You can Punt The Ball which will make it easier to keep between the 20 and the goal line plus You can kick it higher and make it harder to catch, Our Coverage Units need as much help as possible.

That's a great question! My guess is no, but who the hell knows.

JMP wrote:I'm all for eliminating dangerous hits that are unnecessary, but in this case - the more I think about the hip-drop tackle rule, the more I see potential for disaster...both because of the refs not knowing how to call it and because it will make already-poor tackling technique even worse as defenders struggle to know how to tackle legally.  

and of course now offensive players want "low" tackles taken out of the game too.

He called on the NFL to address why defenders can hit pass-catchers low in those situations

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39949719/vikings-tj-hockenson-says-nfl-needs-look-low-hits

can't hit them high. can't hit them low. how about we just call the receiver down upon any type of initial contact? touch!

its a matter of physics. when a 180lbs DB takes on a 250lbs TE, his best chance of getting him to the ground is going low. otherwise it is a significant disadvantage for the defender. and even if the defender aims at the thigh pads, how many times do offensive players jump and put their own knees right in the target area?

and i wonder how the NFLPA union likes their constituents openly admitting...

Hockenson echoed other NFL players in saying that he would have preferred a concussion despite the long-term risks of head injuries.

"That puts me out two weeks or three weeks," he said. "This put me out nine months. I can't even train. ... I would have had a normal offseason getting ready for the season. I know some [concussions] are worse than others, and I don't want to go down that train of what's worse and what's better. But I've had a concussion. It took me a week. I'm just looking at it from that pure timetable."

kind of flies in the face of everything they've stood for in the last couple years, huh?

Two-hand touch, here we come...

I'm sure the league loved hearing Hock's comments! LOL I do appreciate his honesty.