INDIANAPOLIS – Members of the NFL’s rule-making competition committee are discussing the possibility of enacting automatic ejections or suspensions pertaining to some forms of illegal hits.
Committee members are meeting here this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, and while the deliberations remain in the early stages, they could culminate in a proposal to the owners in March at the annual league meeting. Any rule changes would have to be ratified by at least 24 of the 32 owners.
A proposal for automatic ejections or suspensions would arise from a feeling that fines imposed by the league for illegal hits are not serving as a sufficient deterrent.
“One of the things we talked about is: Should certain plays, should certain hits, lead to immediate ejections or automatic suspensions?” said New York Giants co-owner John Mara, a member of the competition committee. “There were three [plays] that we saw. There was that one hit on Darren Sproles by that Redskins player [Deshazor Everett] when he was fielding a punt. One was in our game against Pittsburgh where one of our players on the kickoff return hit the Pittsburgh player up in the head area. The guy never played the rest of the season. There was another one in, I think it was Miami against Buffalo, where there was a pretty tough hit [by] the receiver against the safety.
“We just have to figure out [if] fines aren’t doing it and do we need automatic suspensions or an ejection? There’s a big discussion about which is better. . . . I think you’re looking at the play that looks like it’s a deliberate attempt to injure someone.”
It’s not clear at this point which forms of illegal hits would trigger ejections or suspensions. A hit leading to an immediate ejection from a game probably would have to be made subject to instant replay review.
“I think it’d be tough to do the ejection unless you’re going to review it,” Mara said. “I think more people just on the committee would lean toward the suspension because you’d have a chance to review it on Monday morning.”
Last offseason, the NFL implemented an automatic ejection of any player penalized twice in the same game for certain unsportsmanlike conduct infractions.
Other issues currently being discussed by the competition committee include:
– Illegal celebrations
The committee might clarify for players and on-field officials, via a point of officiating emphasis, what constitutes an illegal celebration and what doesn’t.
“It’s a hard one,” Mara said. “When we meet with the NCAA, they always say, ‘What are you guys doing? We have this well under control. There’s no celebrations. You allow all these things to happen.’ We’re trying to draw a line between not being the ‘No Fun League’ and not getting too excessive. And it’s really hard because players are creative. They always come up with these new celebrations. So I think where we’re trying to draw the line is as long as it’s done fairly quickly and it’s not offensive, we’re probably gonna let it go. But if it’s prolonged or offensive – it’s a violent gesture or something like that – then that’s gonna get flagged.”
Some players complained this past season that the league, as part of an emphasis on sportsmanship, was being too heavy handed with officials’ enforcement of on-field celebration penalties.
“I think it’s gonna clarify,” Mara said. “There may be some subtle changes. . . . It’s not my favorite discussion subject. It’s pretty tough to draw a line here that everybody understands.”
– Centralized replay
Future instant replay rulings might be made by members of the league’s officiating department, based in New York, in consultation with the referee on the field.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously mentioned the possibility of utilizing a tablet brought to the field for replay rulings, rather than having the referee walk to a monitor on the sideline. That is part of the league’s attempt to quicken the pace of games.
Now the competition committee is deliberating whether the league-office representatives should merely consult with the referee during replay rulings, or be in charge of making the decision while in contact with the referee.
“It would maybe lead to some more consistency,” Mara said.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Mark Maske
