Rams Fans United - Los Angeles Rams Fan Discussion Forum

Wrapping up NFL competition committee meetings on potential rules changes, per league officials including executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent …

• Special teams coordinators will meet Saturday and try to craft modified kickoff rules that deliver an acceptable injury rate. Hope is to have a formal proposal to discuss by middle of next week. Multiple onside kick options, including uneven formations and the 4th-and-long alternative, are under discussion.

• No changes expected to the rule on a fumble through the end zone being a touchback. Only happened four times in over 40,000 snaps last season and the feeling is it’s a product of poor technique.

• QB push play is still a concern for the health and safety committee, but injury rate is low. There were 299 sneaks last season — most in modern NFL history — and success rates were actually slightly higher without a push.

• A rule proposal will be written on outlawing the hip-drop tackle, defined by three components: grab, swivel and dropping weight on the back of the ankle. Only to be called when it’s clear and obvious that all three components are present, and officials are confident they can see it. There is support for outlawing it.

• Intentional grounding fouls are way up (59 in 2023) and take a long time to administrate. There should be a rule change proposal aimed at reducing fouls and protecting QBs.

Any votes could happen at next month’s annual meeting.

Elvis wrote:

Elvis wrote:A needed change but i think i'll miss the pageantry and absurdity of the chain gang:

Intentional grounding fouls are way up (59 in 2023) and take a long time to administrate. There should be a rule change proposal aimed at reducing fouls and protecting QBs.

Elvis wrote:A needed change but i think i'll miss the pageantry and absurdity of the chain gang:

ramsman34 wrote:It’s about damn time.

rams74 wrote:I'm all in favor of making it easier to ground the ball. The fact that we have certain areas of the field, and certain circumstances, in which grounding is legal, and others where it's not, is absurd and ridiculous. What's the problem? If a QB grounds the ball under any circumstances, he's throwing away a play. That's penalty enough for me. Just let it go.

Elvis wrote:I hear you. The thing you want to prevent, IMO: QB is about to be sacked, just throws the ball straight down (like stopping the clock) and now it's an incomplete instead of a sack. Maybe just give the refs more leeway to call a play like that a sack?

But the thing where there's a miscommunication, the QB throws the ball to an empty spot on the field and they call grounding, that's more than maddening...