YOU.. yes you.. Have just been made honorary NFL commissioner for 24 h

[ThurmasThoman]

And can make 3 changes to the league. What would they be and why?

 

Just a fun thread to take our minds off how terrible the Bills are. A lot of times I read things like this, and get a new perspective on the game I had never had before. Years ago, someone on here said they would make overtime "first to score 6 points," and that sticks with me to this day as the most eloquent solution to the puzzle that baffles everyone.

 

But moving on with the thread: (oh, and PS: please try to stay away from force ralph to sell, liquidate the bills roster, ban gailey from the league, and every other lame attempt at humor that is surely forthcoming. We get it, the Bills are awful, move on, lets talk football.)

 

 

Rule 1) From this point forward, instant replay is hereby banned from any NFL event.

GMS draft the wrong players and hire the wrong coaches. Coaches call the wrong plays and make the wrong substitutions. Players run the play wrong or turn the ball over. Error is a part of sport--it is the opposite of success. Or, worded differently, success is just the elimination of error. Why then are referees held to a level that literally no other human being on the planet is held to? It is impossible for them to ever meet this criteria, so instead of trying to get their success rate as close to 100% as possible, let's let them make errors in the heat of the moment.

 

"Momentum" is a notoriously difficult concept to quantify (read: it's bullshlt) but there are plays in a game, (last sunday, the colts punt returner getting sent to the locker room and losing the ball) where what you SEE with your eyes: "WOW!!! that guy just got knocked into next week! OF COURSE HE FUMBLED! GO BILLS!" is then reviewed, negated, and the feeling, the excitement of the moment, is just... gone.

 

 

 

 

Rule 2) Any player who lingers by a group of officials as they are discussing the call on the field is assessed a 15 yard delay of game penalty. Multiple infractions will result in suspensions without pay.

 

I can't stand seeing a ref throw a flag, huddle up with several other officials, wes welker walks into the frame, screams something, and suddenly what may have been a flag being picked up results in a pass interference. This one shouldnt even take me being comish to enact. If the league continues to bill itself as the "made for tv" sport that it claims to be, it should realize that seeing an offensive lineman for the ravens signal what the penalty is before the ref looks ridiculous. Stay away from the refs while theyre debating the merits of a call.

 

 

 

Rule 3) The scheduling will be changed to "punish" good teams.

 

We will use our own AFC east as an example.

What it is now:

(6) games against your division

(4) games against one division within your conference

(4) NFC games

(2) games within your conference, based on last years standing.

 

What I am changing the schedule to:

(6) games against your division (remains the same)

(6) games against your conference, based on last years standing - (3rd and 4th place teams play all 3rd and 4th place teams, 1st and 2nd place teams play all 1st and 2nd place teams)

(4) games against NFC teams who finished in the corresponding slot in their division the previous year (AFC east champ plays NFC east, NFC south, NFC north and NFC west champs)

 

BASED ON CURRENT STANDINGS, next years patriots schedule would be:

bills (2x)

jets (2x)

dolphins (2x)

giants

bears

falcons

49ers

ravens

steelers

texans

colts

broncos

chargers

 

While the Bills would have a lineup of:

patriots (2x)

jets (2x)

dolphins (2x)

eagles

lions

panthers

cardinals

bengals

browns

titans

jaguars

raiders

chiefs

 

Winning your division would still come down to beating the teams in your division - but the wild card would become a TRUE wild card.

 

 

YOUR TURN!

[pkwwjd]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

2. PATs from the 20 (or 25) ... It's not a free throw kind of situation. That point shouldn't be almost guaranteed.

 

3. Unnecessary roughness penalties for hits when a player is already down ... I know this adds a judgment call into the hands of the refs, but what happened to the day when a defender would simply tag down a WR who had caught the ball as he fell and was now laying on the turf? That is the pure definition of 'unnecessary roughness' ... No roughness is necessary to tackle the receiver, just tough him.

[ThurmasThoman]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

2. PATs from the 20 (or 25) ... It's not a free throw kind of situation. That point shouldn't be almost guaranteed.

 

3. Unnecessary roughness penalties for hits when a player is already down ... I know this adds a judgment call into the hands of the refs, but what happened to the day when a defender would simply tag down a WR who had caught the ball as he fell and was now laying on the turf? That is the pure definition of 'unnecessary roughness' ... No roughness is necessary to tackle the receiver, just tough him.

 

amazing idea!

 

within the last 2 minutes of a half, any play that does not result in positive yards results in a stoppage of the clock, just like an incomplete pass.

 

would add so much intrigue.

 

god, pure genius my friend, better than any of my ideas (except for the scheduling one.)

[papazoid]

#1- eliminate the Pro Bowl game and replace with an Awards show the week prior to Super Bowl where all can attend.

 

#2- eliminate "tie" games in regular season.

 

#3- increase active game day roster to allow for a third QB

[vincec]

#1) Offensive players can move as much as they want before the snap as long as they're not moving towards the line of scrimmage. No more false start penalties because some offensive tackle's ear twitched. If they aren't moving forward then no advantage is gained.

 

#2) The zone in which contact with an offensive receiver is allowed is increased to 10 yards. Time to give the DBs a chance again to cover people.

 

#3) Touchbacks from kickoffs start at the 35 yard line. I know that the league is trying to eliminate contact and all but touchbacks are boring. Kick it in play or give up decent field position.

Edited November 29, 2012 by vincec

[marauderswr80]

Move the kickoffs back 5 yards i want to see returns all the time! With lindell it dont make a difference...

[Dr. Trooth]

1) Any team not making the playoffs in 10 years receives no revenue sharing until they do.

 

2) Any team in the bottom third of the league on offense or defense for 4 consecutive years must forfeit $5M, and $6M for each consecutive year after that.

 

3) Any team that has the option to sell the naming rights to their home stadium but does not own the stadium, and does not sell the naming rights, the naming rights revert to the stadium owner.

[snafu]

If a player is called for offensive pass interference then the offense loses as many yards as the infraction occurred downfield, just like defensive PI calls.

[Stealth]

1. Get rid of the hit on defenseless receiver rule- The NFL is becoming to much like arena football. A lot of these calls are so borderline anyway.

 

2. Move the kickoff back to the 30

 

3. Allow tackles on qbs below the knees. Defensive linemen lbs and bltizing players are very limited as to where they can tackle a quarterback. I enjoy defense. Linemen on occasion are going to be low coming in on a qb. Let it slide.

[JPS]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

2. PATs from the 20 (or 25) ... It's not a free throw kind of situation. That point shouldn't be almost guaranteed.

 

3. Unnecessary roughness penalties for hits when a player is already down ... I know this adds a judgment call into the hands of the refs, but what happened to the day when a defender would simply tag down a WR who had caught the ball as he fell and was now laying on the turf? That is the pure definition of 'unnecessary roughness' ... No roughness is necessary to tackle the receiver, just tough him.

 

Your #1 is inspired. I love it.

[BigdaddyinOrlando]

1. Widen the field by 5 yards eachside. Players are to big and fast and miss the old days of a toss sweep. Plus might help in some injury prevention.

2. Increase game day roster by three players so there might less chance of having your stars have to play special teams and possibly risk injury, ala Gronkowski.

3. Use that thing that holds the ball for practicing field goals into a net mandatory for kickoffs to stop the wind blowing off twice before they kick crap!

[Roger Goodell]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

2. PATs from the 20 (or 25) ... It's not a free throw kind of situation. That point shouldn't be almost guaranteed.

1) Any team not making the playoffs in 10 years receives no revenue sharing until they do.

 

2) Any team in the bottom third of the league on offense or defense for 4 consecutive years must forfeit $5M, and $6M for each consecutive year after that.

 

3) Any team that has the option to sell the naming rights to their home stadium but does not own the stadium, and does not sell the naming rights, the naming rights revert to the stadium owner.

If a player is called for offensive pass interference then the offense loses as many yards as the infraction occurred downfield, just like defensive PI calls.

3. Allow tackles on qbs below the knees. Defensive linemen lbs and bltizing players are very limited as to where they can tackle a quarterback. I enjoy defense. Linemen on occasion are going to be low coming in on a qb. Let it slide.

Now you know why we don't have a real 'Commissioner for a Day' contest. These are just horrible ideas.

[jr1]

The Charleston is the only acceptable end zone dance

[pkwwjd]

 

 

 

 

Now you know why we don't have a real 'Commissioner for a Day' contest. These are just horrible ideas.

That's also why they don't let the commissioner make changes to the rules and instead use a competition committee ... One man's idea of a terrible idea is often exactly what is needed for progress and improvement ...

[Captain Hindsight]

#1- eliminate the Pro Bowl game and replace with an Awards show the week prior to Super Bowl where all can attend.

 

#2- eliminate "tie" games in regular season.

 

#3- increase active game day roster to allow for a third QB

Thats already a rule...

[Rico]

If the commissioner has the power to kick Ralph out of the HOF, that would be first move.

 

After that, my next two moves would involve getting rid of parity as we now know it, I'd have to think a bit on how I would do it. The league is too watered-down anymore, it's been a long time since I looked at a Super Bowl winner & said "Now that is a great team."

[ThurmasThoman]

If the commissioner has the power to kick Ralph out of the HOF, that would be first move.

 

After that, my next two moves would involve getting rid of parity as we now know it, I'd have to think a bit on how I would do it. The league is too watered-down anymore, it's been a long time since I looked at a Super Bowl winner & said "Now that is a great team."

 

packers 2 years ago?

 

they won the super bowl with the best qb in the league, then went 15-1 the following year.

 

dynasties are rare, a football game between 2 great teams is a 50/50 bet--thats what the super bowl is.

 

packers could win one this year, that would give them 2 titles in 3 years, with a 15-1 record in the middle of that.

 

would that not be a GREAT team?

 

christ, if the bills one 2 superbowls with a 15-1 season sandwhiched between, i would legally change my name to Buffalo F. Bills and tattoo the standing buffalo on my face.

[Phil Hansen Forever]

#1 Get rid of the PAT. It's worthless and not very much of a challenge.

 

#2 Change the way pass yardage and receiver yardage is computed. The QB throws a pass and where it is caught is the total distance of the pass, the rest falls into the receivers yardage following the successful completion. No way should a QB be given credit for a 95 yard touchdown when he only threw a five yard checkdown. The receiver did the rest and should receive his fair compensation for his efforts.

 

#3 Investigate the Patriots and comments made by other NFL coaches about hidden microphones in the opposing teams locker rooms. Cheating is still cheating even if you aren't caught doing so.

[Rico]

packers 2 years ago?

 

they won the super bowl with the best qb in the league, then went 15-1 the following year.

 

dynasties are rare, a football game between 2 great teams is a 50/50 bet--thats what the super bowl is.

 

packers could win one this year, that would give them 2 titles in 3 years, with a 15-1 record in the middle of that.

 

would that not be a GREAT team?

 

christ, if the bills one 2 superbowls with a 15-1 season sandwhiched between, i would legally change my name to Buffalo F. Bills and tattoo the standing buffalo on my face.

They were pretty damn good at the end of the season & their playoff run... but they just barely made it in. Not a great team in my eyes.

[Just Jack]

Only idea I can think of at the moment...

 

- The first three and last three games of the season are against you division teams. This should make the final standings much more interesting and have playoff implications. And avoid situations like this year where the Steelers play the Ravens twice in three weeks.

[Mark Vader]

1. Simplify the Overtime period even more. Play the Overtime like a regular quarter. Both teams will get at least ONE offensive possession, even if the team who receives the ball first scores a TD. If neither team has scored after said possession, then it will be "Sudden Death". If both teams score and the game is still tied, it will become "Sudden Death". If the game ends in a tie, it's a tie.

 

2. Eliminate the inactive list. Each team should get to use as much of their roster as possible.

 

3. No more TV timeouts after a kickoff. When a team scores, there is a TV timeout and the players have waited 3-4 minutes to rest, strategy, etc. But after a kickoff, the players do not need another 3-4 minutes of rest & strategy, because they have already done that. This will keep the game moving at a steady pace.

[transient]

1) Realignment with Bills, Browns, Jags, Chiefs, Raiders making up a JV division that plays a "pseudo-season" amongst themselves. At the end of the season, the GM of the division champion will select an all-star team comprised of the division's best players to be coached by the head coach of the division champion. This all-star team will play the lowest seeded wild card team in the NFL playoffs with the opportunity to advance in place of the wild card in the unlikely event that they win. This will give the long suffering fans of the "not quite ready for the NFL" teams something to cheer for after the regular season ends. Assignment to this JV division will be on a rotating basis just in case one of the JV teams starts to dominate the division too much and a varsity NFL team starts to suck too much.

 

2) Eliminate the **Patriot specific exceptions from the rule book

 

3) Banish all of Buddy Ryan's kin from the league while lobbying world leaders to expand this ban to include the planet. I would include Ndamukong Suh in this exile, but I fear getting kicked in the balls before he's actually launched into space.

[KD in CA]

1) Outlaw replay.

2) OT is simply a 5th quarter; ties are fine. Makes playoff senarios easier to figure out.

3) Call PI for flagrant fouls only; call minor infractions as defensive holding, regardless of when the ball was thrown.

[justnzane]

1. Take away most of the protective rules and let defenders play the game the way it was meant to be played. Consequently, NFL will pay more % to its retirees including medical bills.

 

2. The injury list should be more like hockey/baseball where you can activate a player off the injury list after a certain time.

 

3. Roster size should be expanded to 60 players to reduce wear and tear on starters and keep Special Teams for the backups. Game Day roster should also be all active players. No healthy scratches, if you can play, you suit up.

[Mark Vader]

Rule 3) The scheduling will be changed to "punish" good teams.

 

We will use our own AFC east as an example.

What it is now:

(6) games against your division

(4) games against one division within your conference

(4) NFC games

(2) games within your conference, based on last years standing.

 

What I am changing the schedule to:

(6) games against your division (remains the same)

(6) games against your conference, based on last years standing - (3rd and 4th place teams play all 3rd and 4th place teams, 1st and 2nd place teams play all 1st and 2nd place teams)

(4) games against NFC teams who finished in the corresponding slot in their division the previous year (AFC east champ plays NFC east, NFC south, NFC north and NFC west champs)

 

BASED ON CURRENT STANDINGS, next years patriots schedule would be:

bills (2x)

jets (2x)

dolphins (2x)

giants

bears

falcons

49ers

ravens

steelers

texans

colts

broncos

chargers

 

While the Bills would have a lineup of:

patriots (2x)

jets (2x)

dolphins (2x)

eagles

lions

panthers

cardinals

bengals

browns

titans

jaguars

raiders

chiefs

 

Winning your division would still come down to beating the teams in your division - but the wild card would become a TRUE wild card.

 

 

YOUR TURN!

Unless you are being sarcastic, which I doubt you are, I think this is a bad idea. Schedules should not be made more difficult or easy for teams.

 

The current scheduling system is fine.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

1.vacate all Pats spy gate era Super Bowl wins, and find some more reasons to remove draft picks.

 

2. Lock the bills into WNY

 

3. Provide instant reply for refs on jumbo tron and give refs 10 seconds from start or the replay to overturn a call.

 

Thats the morning, since i have all day,

 

4. Ban those bumblebee steelers unis

 

5. Allow com link to connect all players on the field simultaneously, not just QB and coach per snap.

 

6. Send all illegal hit fines to a fund for development of a conclusion proof helmet

 

7. Hire a private investigator to find out how else the pats cheat

 

8. Lets go all grass or all turf, but make it the same

 

9. Get box seats for the remaining games

[Buffalo Barbarian]

1. already started a thread on eliminating kicking for points and punting http://forums.twobil...-too-and-punts/

 

2. offense - allow picks, more than one in motion, illegal formations (but still need 5 O-line at line of scrimmage), blocking down-field before pass is thrown, holding only 5 yd penalty, only one foot in bounds, holding outside of shoulders allowed ...

 

3. Defense - if the ball doesn't get beyond the line of scrimmage it's a fumble regardless of forward pass, tuck rule or whatever; college rules for passing game - bump and run all the way down the field till pass thrown, face guarding, only 15 yds for PI but NO AUTOMATIC FIRST DOWN,

 

bonus - college rules for overtime.

 

extra bonus - Defensive players have to practice tackling (wrapping up with their arms not just hitting) during the week

 

man only 3 things, I could go all day on this.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Buffalo Barbarian

[Buffalo Barbarian]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

 

1) Any team not making the playoffs in 10 years receives no revenue sharing until they do.

 

2) Any team in the bottom third of the league on offense or defense for 4 consecutive years must forfeit $5M, and $6M for each consecutive year after that.

 

 

I see your point but I would rather have positive effects like;

 

We get extra draft picks or fans get the right to buy the team like the packers.

[judman]

Reopen the spygate investigation.

[Wayne Cubed]

I'd say the point after should become more like Rugby..

 

-Where ever the TD is scored, horizontily in the end zone, the kicker kicks the point after from that spot(horizontally) on the 25 yard line.

Example: the Bills score a TD with a fade to the corner. The kicker must now try to kick from the 25 near the sideline. I'd remove blockers and rushers as well, its practically pointless. It would challenge the kickers much more. The skill i've seen from Rugby kicker is much better than NFL kickers. Imagine trying to kick an angled kick through the uprights? Wouldn't be a gurantee everytime, even though you've removed the the other team rushing the kick.

[birdog1960]

require an ownership change if a team doesn't make the playoffs for 10 consecutive years.

[dave mcbride]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

 

 

That is a great idea.

[Mark Vader]

3. Defense - if the ball doesn't get beyond the line of scrimmage it's a fumble regardless of forward pass, tuck rule or whatever; college rules for passing game - bump and run all the way down the field till pass thrown, face guarding, only 15 yds for PI but NO AUTOMATIC FIRST DOWN,

I like the thought of 15 yards for pass interference, but how would that not be an automatic first down?

[LeviF]

1. Ban Fireman Ed from all NFL venues.

2. Move the Oakland Raiders to Mexico. Fan base wouldn't change anyway.

3. Suspend Roger Goodell for a year without pay. Then he can appeal to me if he wants.

[l< j]

1. Go into the vault in the back, the secret one behind the wet bar--stop and grab a scotch on the way to steel my nerves--and pull out the spygate tapes. You know they're in there.

 

2. Get another scotch.

 

3. Upload the tapes to YouTube.

 

4. Have the staff ship some scotch to my house, cuz I am not going to make it to noon on my first and only day on the job.

[billykaykay]

Go to college rules for the last 3 minutes where the clock stops after a first down. This would make for more "fantastic finishes".

Get rid of the rule where you have to make a "football move" in order for a catch to become, er, a catch. Possession with 2 feet down used to work fine.

Pass interference penalties are way too loose where teams are able to move half the field just because the ref thought he saw something. Penalties ought to be either 10 or 20 yards depending on the length of the pass.

[Maddog69]

1. No victory formation ... If you want to run down the clock at the end of a game, you must get positive yards. A tackle in the backfield amounts to an extra timeout for a defense that is trailing.

 

 

I absolutely love this idea.

[Maddog69]

Pass interference penalties are way too loose where teams are able to move half the field just because the ref thought he saw something. Penalties ought to be either 10 or 20 yards depending on the length of the pass.

Then DBs would simply tackle any receiver who is about to make a catch more than 20yds down field and just take the penalty. I like the current PI rules. Most of the calls that are called are accurate. My problem is that this rule is not called enough. If it was called every time it happened, teams would need to change the way to cover WRs to eliminate the illegal contact and open up the game

[qwksilver]

1) Everyone has to wear those Kazoo helmets. So sick of the consussion issue.

 

2) HGH testing imediately. Remember 220 Lb's or skinny WR's? Hell even some of the ref could be juicing! This is not WWE!

 

3) 15 yard penalty for lobbying the official for the PI call... Just stop. I even saw the damn waterboy on the sidelines doing this.

[CodeMonkey]

1) No !@#$ing blackouts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

2) No false starts unless a players feet move. I am so sick of false start after false start because a linemans fat roll jiggles.

 

3) No !@#$ing blackouts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!