NFL Owners Meetings: Rule Changes In Focus On Final Day In Florida

NFL owners on the final day of their annual meeting today will "resolve the status" of two rule changes: one to automatically eject players for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game and another to place the ball on the 25-yard line for touchbacks on kickoffs. Both changes "met with some unexpected opposition Tuesday by NFL coaches." Giants President & CEO John Mara said that owners "could vote on the proposals or table them until their May meeting" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/23).

Owners yesterday approved a "series of minor rule changes," including the "elimination of all chop blocks, an expansion of the horse collar rule to include instances in which defenders grab the nameplate of the jersey and a permanent approval of the 15-yard line as the line of scrimmage for extra points" (ESPN.com, 3/22).

Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE  headline: "Not All NFL Rule Changes Are Bad, But Some Are Just Plain Confusing."