Owners Endorse Goodell's Cheating Crackdown, Reject Reseeding Proposal
PALM BEACH, Fla.--The owners passed a resolution endorsing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's measures for cracking down on cheating within the league.
The measures didn't need the owners' approval but the owners offered their support anyway. Goodell said that the measures--which include unannounced inspections by league officials of teams' locker rooms, stadium press boxes and in-game communication equipment, and a lowering of the standard of proof required to impose discipline--will go into effect immediately.
The owners rejected a proposal to change the formula for seeding playoff teams. There was no official vote on the proposal, made by the competition committee, because a show of hands demonstrated that it had far too little support.
"It went down in flames," New York Giants co-owner John Mara said.
The owners approved proposals to eliminate the "forceout" rule, to make field goal attempts subject to instant replay review, to eliminate the five-yard version of the facemask penalty and to give the team that wins the coin toss before the game the option to defer its choice and receive the second-half kickoff if it wants.
By Mark Maske |
April 2, 2008; 11:42 AM ET
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Posted by: M Street | April 2, 2008 3:47 PM
The facemask "touches" will be no penalty at all. You have to grab and twist to get a penalty, and all of those are 15 yards.
Posted by: Mark Maske | April 3, 2008 12:09 PM
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I'm concerned about the elimination of the 5 yard facemask. Making all facemask touches 15 yards is too much, IMO. It gives an official too much power to change a game or swing momentum because he saw a hand touch a facemask.
At the very least, I hope that the league makes clear to officials that slight touches should not be called for 15 yards.