The NFL voted this week to approve billionaire David Tepper as the second owner of the Carolina Panthers, but the decisions made about what happens on the field may have even farther reaching consequences about the way the game is played.
When Damiere Byrd took a kickoff 103 yards for a touchdown against the Bucs on Christmas Eve last season, it was only the tenth time in Panthers franchise history that the team’s special teams unit had produced a touchdown on a kickoff – it will also be the final time that the team will return a kick for a touchdown under the kickoff rules as we all know them after the NFL owners voted Tuesday in Atlanta to adjust the kickoff play rules during their annual Spring League Meeting.
The adjustments to the kickoff rules are expected to limit high-speed collisions during the plays, (hopefully) bringing the number of injuries suffered during kickoffs down as concerns over concussions and life after the NFL continue to affect the game.
Some key points of the new rule, per the NFL:
- Players on the kicking team cannot line up more than one yard from the point of the kickoff. The previous rule allowed players to line up five yards from the restraining line (typically 35-yard line), allowing them to have more of a running start before the kick.
- The wedge block has been eliminated. Only players who line up in the setup zone (between their own 40 and opponents’ 45-yard line) can put together double-team blocks.
- Until the ball is touched or hits the ground, no player on the receiving team may cross the restraining line (typically its 45) or initiate a block. This forces blockers on the receiving team to run back and block, which greatly decreases the chance of an “attack” block that can result in a high-speed collision.
- When the ball hits the end zone, it’s immediately ruled a touchback. There is no need for a player to down the ball in the end zone to initiate a touchback.
The NFL has made almost 50 rule changes since 2002 to protect players, better educate players and personnel on concussions, improve practice methods and strengthen the league’s medical protocols – the NFL utilizes 29 medical professionals on the sidelines for every game and has enforced the concussion protocol that, while occasionally maligned, has helped to identify and diagnose concussions and other head-related injuries.
Following today’s vote at the @NFL Spring League Meetings, here’s everything you need to know about the new kickoff rules for the upcoming 2018 season. The rule will be reevaluated next offseason. pic.twitter.com/YubLyMBR4g
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) May 22, 2018
The owners also voted to approve ejection standards to go with the league’s “Use of Helmet” AKA “targeting” rule – the rule states that a player lowering his head to “initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent” will be considered a penalty. The player committing this penalty will be ejected if the following criteria are met:
- Player lowers his helmet to establish a linear body posture prior to initiating and making contact with the helmet;
- Player delivers the blow had an unobstructed path to his opponent
- Contact was clearly avoidable; Player delivering the blow had other options
The rules are open to referee interpretation, and much like the ‘catch rule’ before it, surely questions about what constitutes an ejectable offense will fly as soon as the first player is ejected. As United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said about what constitutes obscenity, one assumes it will be an “I know it when I see it” type situation.
Today owners approved the ejection standards to go along with the Use of the Helmet rule. Here’s the rule explained with video examples from the 2017 @NFL season. pic.twitter.com/Dzs4EWGVdx
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) May 22, 2018
Finally, the league has enacted a new policy regarding the protests that occurred during the National Anthem over the past few seasons.
“The policy adopted [Wednesday] was approved in concert with the NFL’s ongoing commitment to local communities and our country — one that is extraordinary in its scope, resources, and alignment with our players. We are dedicated to continuing our collaboration with players to advance the goals of justice and fairness in all corners of our society,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “The efforts by many of our players sparked awareness and action around issues of social justice that must be addressed. The platform that we have created together is certainly unique in professional sports and quite likely in American business. We are honored to work with our players to drive progress.”
“It was unfortunate that on-field protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic. This is not and was never the case. This season, all league and team personnel shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem. Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room until after the Anthem has been performed.”
“We believe today’s decision will keep our focus on the game and the extraordinary athletes who play it—and on our fans who enjoy it.”
The policy is as follows:
- All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
- The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the Anthem.
- Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed.
- A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
- Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
- The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
During the 2017 season, Julius Peppers remained in the locker room during the anthem before a September game against the New Orleans Saints at Bank of America Stadium.
“It was about a man making a decision on my own two feet…I thought it was appropriate to stay in,” Peppers said at the time, emphasizing that the act was not about disrespecting the military, the police or first responders. “I am doing things that I feel like are right and things that I believe in – there are only a few times in a man’s life where you have a chance to stand up for something you believe in and make a statement so today I thought that was that chance and I took it.”
