NFL referee Walt Anderson and his crew are on hand at the Russell Training Center this week to meet with Rams players and coaches about rule changes, many of which center around the league’s focus on making the game a safer one for its players.

During a 30-minute presentation to the media Saturday, Anderson and his group showed a video that provided a rundown of the changes that take effect this season.

The changes that will perhaps be the most noticeable for fans revolve around the kicking game.  Starting this season, kickoffs will occur from the kicking team’s own 35-yard line rather than the 30. With the ball five yards closer to the end zone, there will likely be more touchbacks, which would mean a reduction in the number of the mass collisions that kickoff returns often produce.

“At this level, the guys are so big and so strong and so fast, a lot of guys get hurt on those plays,” said linebacker Bryan Kehl, who had 11 special teams tackles for the Rams last season.

“Kickoff, I love it and it’s fun, but the impacts that come on kickoffs are the biggest in the whole game of football. I think they’re just trying to be smart and minimize the number of those impacts. I think it’s an example of the league trying to look out for us.”

In addition, all players on the kickoff team, with the exception of the kicker, must line up within five yards of the ball before it is kicked. That means coverage players won’t have as large of a window to build up speed, which in turn means the collisions are likely to be less violent.

“Whereas before you could get to full speed before you hit that line, now you’ll be just under it,” Kehl said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

The officials are taking part in practice this weekend and instructing the team on how the rules will be implemented. Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo sees the changes as positive ones.

“I figure it’s a good thing for the players and the game,” Spagnuolo said. “I think you can play the game physical and fast and it can be an exciting, entertaining game. Play within the rules, I’ve always said that. So whatever the rules are we are going to play by them.”

As another safety emphasis, the NFL has also tweaked a rule to prohibit defenders from “launching” into defenseless opponents. Players may not leave the ground with both feet prior to contact in order to leap forward and use their helmet to strike an opponent. Such fouls will penalized 15 yards.

Also, an amendment was made to the rulebook that incorporates all rules regarding “defenseless players” into a new article and standardizes their protection. The article extends the protection for a receiver who has completed a catch so that he is a defenseless player until he has had time to protect himself or has clearly become a runner.

The changes protect such players from hits to the head and neck area.

Other changes include:

-Hits to the head of a passer by an opponent’s hands, arms or other parts of the body will not be fouls “unless they are forcible blows.”

In the past, a defender could be called for a foul for simply touching a passers helmet or facemask, even if the act was unintentional.

-A replay official will initiate the review of all scoring plays, meaning if a play is called a touchdown, the coach on the wrong end of the score cannot challenge the play. The replay official must buzz the on-field referee to initiate the review.

In the past, if a coach was out of either timeouts or challenges when a key play occurred, officials didn’t have the opportunity to correct calls on plays that could significantly impact the outcome.

The rule may lengthen games a bit as officials wait for a signal from upstairs before proceeding after a score, but Anderson explained that the rule was changed so that key plays such as touchdowns and PATs are always subject to review.

-For kickoffs that go out of bounds, the receiving team may elect to take the ball 25 yards from the spot of the kick.

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St. Louis Rams : News

NFL referee Walt Anderson and his crew are on hand at the Russell Training Center this week to meet with Rams players and coaches about rule changes, many of which center around the league’s focus on making the game a safer one for its players.

During a 30-minute presentation to the media Saturday, Anderson and his group showed a video that provided a rundown of the changes that take effect this season.

The changes that will perhaps be the most noticeable for fans revolve around the kicking game.  Starting this season, kickoffs will occur from the kicking team’s own 35-yard line rather than the 30. With the ball five yards closer to the end zone, there will likely be more touchbacks, which would mean a reduction in the number of the mass collisions that kickoff returns often produce.

“At this level, the guys are so big and so strong and so fast, a lot of guys get hurt on those plays,” said linebacker Bryan Kehl, who had 11 special teams tackles for the Rams last season.

“Kickoff, I love it and it’s fun, but the impacts that come on kickoffs are the biggest in the whole game of football. I think they’re just trying to be smart and minimize the number of those impacts. I think it’s an example of the league trying to look out for us.”

In addition, all players on the kickoff team, with the exception of the kicker, must line up within five yards of the ball before it is kicked. That means coverage players won’t have as large of a window to build up speed, which in turn means the collisions are likely to be less violent.

“Whereas before you could get to full speed before you hit that line, now you’ll be just under it,” Kehl said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

The officials are taking part in practice this weekend and instructing the team on how the rules will be implemented. Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo sees the changes as positive ones.

“I figure it’s a good thing for the players and the game,” Spagnuolo said. “I think you can play the game physical and fast and it can be an exciting, entertaining game. Play within the rules, I’ve always said that. So whatever the rules are we are going to play by them.”

As another safety emphasis, the NFL has also tweaked a rule to prohibit defenders from “launching” into defenseless opponents. Players may not leave the ground with both feet prior to contact in order to leap forward and use their helmet to strike an opponent. Such fouls will penalized 15 yards.

Also, an amendment was made to the rulebook that incorporates all rules regarding “defenseless players” into a new article and standardizes their protection. The article extends the protection for a receiver who has completed a catch so that he is a defenseless player until he has had time to protect himself or has clearly become a runner.

The changes protect such players from hits to the head and neck area.

Other changes include:

-Hits to the head of a passer by an opponent’s hands, arms or other parts of the body will not be fouls “unless they are forcible blows.”

In the past, a defender could be called for a foul for simply touching a passers helmet or facemask, even if the act was unintentional.

-A replay official will initiate the review of all scoring plays, meaning if a play is called a touchdown, the coach on the wrong end of the score cannot challenge the play. The replay official must buzz the on-field referee to initiate the review.

In the past, if a coach was out of either timeouts or challenges when a key play occurred, officials didn’t have the opportunity to correct calls on plays that could significantly impact the outcome.

The rule may lengthen games a bit as officials wait for a signal from upstairs before proceeding after a score, but Anderson explained that the rule was changed so that key plays such as touchdowns and PATs are always subject to review.

-For kickoffs that go out of bounds, the receiving team may elect to take the ball 25 yards from the spot of the kick.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters featured article: A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.

St. Louis Rams : News