Stole The Idea; Here’s How I’d Fix The NFL
October 19, 2019 at 5:25 a.m.
Stole The Idea; Here’s How I’d Fix The NFL
By Mark Howe-
Turns out, it's kind of a long list. So let’s start with professional football and we’ll work from there.
First of all, I'd make professional officiating a full-time position under my benevolent regime. It's inconceivable a $15 billion business would allow its most critical, spur-of-the-moment decisions to people who are moonlighting. Granted, there aren't a lot of part-time jobs paying $80-100k a year, but the NFL (and NCAA's FBS) can afford to double that, to make it attractive to candidates.
Much of the work can be done from home. Refs would report to a local gym and be able to study game film from just about anywhere.
There would be referee training camp and OTAs, very similar to what the teams do. There would be significant time off in the spring and summer, because once July rolls around, it's go time.
College football needs to join that enterprise. There's too much at stake to risk a college or professional football outcome on the call of a lawyer, a teacher, a plumber, a disc jockey, a salesman, an engineer and a cashier from Taco Bell.
It's not my intent to disparage anyone's livelihood, but to illustrate a point. All of those people, including the cashier, are professionals. Game officials need to be full-time professionals and do what they do on a full-time basis.
And I'd make their jobs easier by changing offensive and defensive holding.
Offensive holding, behind the line of scrimmage, will be a 5-yard penalty from the previous spot on plays where a defender gets loose and a blocker grabs him to protect his quarterback from a massive hit. Quarterbacks are far too important an asset, financially speaking, to be in rehab. (Most teams with an elite quarterback are spending upwards of 20 percent of its salary cap on one player.)
Within 10 yards of the snap, the penalty will be five yards from the spot of the foul, and beyond the chains the penalty for holding will be five yards from the yard to gain for a first down. If a wide receiver is holding 40 yards from the snap, the team shouldn't lose the entire gain but also shouldn't be able to get a first down.
The key is a blocker must stay between the defender and the ball carrier. If he does, he can grab as much jersey as he wants
Defensive holding is a 10-yard penalty, but the first down is not automatic. If a receiver is between the thrown ball and the defender, and defender uses his downfield hand or arm to break up a pass, that's interference and a spot foul. The defender must get between the ball in the air and the receiver.
Horse collar penalties can be called when shoulder pads are grabbed under the chin.
I wrote an entire column earlier this year on overtime rules, and I’ve settle on a simple plan. Alternate possessions each beginning at midfield. In the regular season, each team gets up to two possessions. Still tied? Call it a day.
In the postseason, starting with the third overtime, we will move the ball 15 yards closer and no kicked extra points.
Turnovers on two-point conversions can be returned the other way for four points. This way, if a team has the ball last and gets that return, they can win with a field goal on their possession. By using this special rule, special teams still matter in most important OT of the season.
I'm making the NFL an 18-game schedule, with each team hosting a scrimmage/fan festival to male up for the lost gate. I'll let the teams get creative with it, but if you ask Snoop Dogg to perform, I'm stepping in because he ain't gonna put on a family-friendly show.
Ain't that right, Jayhawks?
Last, as least for this column, is I'm giving teams playing on Thursdays the roughly 10 days before and 10 days after the game off. The four-day turnaround is too short and most Thursday games the play is sloppy, lethargic or both.
Note: this column was Thursday afternoon, before the game between Kansas City and Denver. Frankly, it only strengthened my case; the Broncos looked flat, and maybe Patrick Mahomes doesn’t get hurt if all the players around him have proper rest. I commented more on that game on my blog.
For the next column of my friendly dictatorship, I'm going to go fix baseball.
No, Mr. Rose, not that kind of fix.
Turns out, it's kind of a long list. So let’s start with professional football and we’ll work from there.
First of all, I'd make professional officiating a full-time position under my benevolent regime. It's inconceivable a $15 billion business would allow its most critical, spur-of-the-moment decisions to people who are moonlighting. Granted, there aren't a lot of part-time jobs paying $80-100k a year, but the NFL (and NCAA's FBS) can afford to double that, to make it attractive to candidates.
Much of the work can be done from home. Refs would report to a local gym and be able to study game film from just about anywhere.
There would be referee training camp and OTAs, very similar to what the teams do. There would be significant time off in the spring and summer, because once July rolls around, it's go time.
College football needs to join that enterprise. There's too much at stake to risk a college or professional football outcome on the call of a lawyer, a teacher, a plumber, a disc jockey, a salesman, an engineer and a cashier from Taco Bell.
It's not my intent to disparage anyone's livelihood, but to illustrate a point. All of those people, including the cashier, are professionals. Game officials need to be full-time professionals and do what they do on a full-time basis.
And I'd make their jobs easier by changing offensive and defensive holding.
Offensive holding, behind the line of scrimmage, will be a 5-yard penalty from the previous spot on plays where a defender gets loose and a blocker grabs him to protect his quarterback from a massive hit. Quarterbacks are far too important an asset, financially speaking, to be in rehab. (Most teams with an elite quarterback are spending upwards of 20 percent of its salary cap on one player.)
Within 10 yards of the snap, the penalty will be five yards from the spot of the foul, and beyond the chains the penalty for holding will be five yards from the yard to gain for a first down. If a wide receiver is holding 40 yards from the snap, the team shouldn't lose the entire gain but also shouldn't be able to get a first down.
The key is a blocker must stay between the defender and the ball carrier. If he does, he can grab as much jersey as he wants
Defensive holding is a 10-yard penalty, but the first down is not automatic. If a receiver is between the thrown ball and the defender, and defender uses his downfield hand or arm to break up a pass, that's interference and a spot foul. The defender must get between the ball in the air and the receiver.
Horse collar penalties can be called when shoulder pads are grabbed under the chin.
I wrote an entire column earlier this year on overtime rules, and I’ve settle on a simple plan. Alternate possessions each beginning at midfield. In the regular season, each team gets up to two possessions. Still tied? Call it a day.
In the postseason, starting with the third overtime, we will move the ball 15 yards closer and no kicked extra points.
Turnovers on two-point conversions can be returned the other way for four points. This way, if a team has the ball last and gets that return, they can win with a field goal on their possession. By using this special rule, special teams still matter in most important OT of the season.
I'm making the NFL an 18-game schedule, with each team hosting a scrimmage/fan festival to male up for the lost gate. I'll let the teams get creative with it, but if you ask Snoop Dogg to perform, I'm stepping in because he ain't gonna put on a family-friendly show.
Ain't that right, Jayhawks?
Last, as least for this column, is I'm giving teams playing on Thursdays the roughly 10 days before and 10 days after the game off. The four-day turnaround is too short and most Thursday games the play is sloppy, lethargic or both.
Note: this column was Thursday afternoon, before the game between Kansas City and Denver. Frankly, it only strengthened my case; the Broncos looked flat, and maybe Patrick Mahomes doesn’t get hurt if all the players around him have proper rest. I commented more on that game on my blog.
For the next column of my friendly dictatorship, I'm going to go fix baseball.
No, Mr. Rose, not that kind of fix.
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