NFL Approves Five Rule Changes

The 2014 NFL owner's meetings are now over and the voting results on new rule proposals has been revealed. BGN detailed these proposals last week. The NFL passed a total of five rule changes. One bylaw proposal was also passed. Everything else was either tabled for discussion next year or failed. Here's how it all shaped up, with help from PFT.

Passed

Extend the uprights to make them five feet taller.

Protect players from getting the sides of their legs rolled up on — the rule already says a blocker can’t hit an opponent in the back of the legs, this proposal will add "or side" to the rule.

Allow the referee to consult with members of the NFL officiating department during replay reviews. The referee would be able to speak with the command center in New York to help in reviewing a play

Re-organize the rules about what can be reviewed and what cannot be reviewed, including making the recovery of a loose ball in the field of play reviewable. (This is referred to as the NaVorro Bowman rule, after a controversial call in the NFC Championship Game.)

Enforce defensive fouls behind the line of scrimmage from the previous spot, rather than from the end of the run or from the spot of the foul.

Don’t stop the clock on a sack.

Adjust the time of the roster reduction from 53 after the fourth preseason game from 6 p.m. Eastern to 4 p.m. Eastern. All teams would have to have their list of final cuts in by 4 p.m.

Tabled

Eliminate overtime in the preseason.

Move the line of scrimmage for one-point extra point kicks to the defensive team’s 25-yard line. Two-point conversion attempts would still be snapped from the 2-yard line. (NFL will experiment with longer extra point attempts in the preseason.)

Put six cameras on all boundary lines — sideline, goal line, end line, to guarantee coverage for replay reviews.

Modify pass interference so that it can be called within one yard of the line of scrimmage.

Raise the number of active players on game day from 46 to 49 for regular-season games played on a day other than Sunday or Monday, excluding Week One.

Raise the practice squad limit from eight players to 10 players.

Permit each club to time and test up to 10 draft-eligible players at its facility, and allow any club that wishes to attend timing and testing at another team’s facility.  [BLG Note: This is the bylaw that the Eagles proposed.]

Permit a home team with a retractable roof to open or close its roof at halftime, instead of having to determine at the start of the game whether it is open or closed.

Failed

Move the kickoff to the 40-yard line.

Expand instant replay to include personal foul penalties.

Permit a coach to challenge any official’s decision, except scoring plays which are automatically reviewed.

Eliminate the cut-down to 75 players during training camp and instead just have one cut-down from 90 players to 53 players.

Permit more than one player to return to the active list from injured reserve so that any player on injured reserve could return after six weeks.

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As for my thoughts on the changes here, I have no major complaints. Making the uprights taller won't matter anyway because (Alex Henery joke). The NaVorro Bowman rule is too little, too late. The New York Giants wouldn't have won the Super Bowl in 2011 if that rule had existed back then, as it should have. (Video Proof: Part One | Part Two)

The NFL should have passed the tabled "no preseason overtime" bylaw. Who wants to see that? I also like the idea of expanding the practice squad roster by two players in the future.

I'm OK with seeing the material that failed.

What are your thoughts on all of the changes?