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Coin toss switch tops list of NFL rule changes - USATODAY.com
PALM BEACH, Fla. — NFL coaches are going back to school on the coin toss.
League owners adopted the college rule that allows the option to decide whether to kick off or receive the football until the second half after winning the pregame toss.
"It just gives you another option," said Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio.
Under the previous rule, NFL coaches almost always elected to receive the ball after winning the toss. College coaches defer more than 90% of the time.
Del Rio thought the new rule will prompt NFL coaches to defer more than half of the time.
"But if you have Peyton Manning," he said, "you might take the ball and get up seven."
Added Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel: "College coaches defer all the time. I don't think I'd defer a lot because I like my offense; I want them to have the ball as many times as possible."
Owners also adopted the college rule that eliminates the forceout on catches and interceptions.
It simplifies the officiating, with possession and the ability for a player to get two feet inbounds as the sole criteria. Of roughly 33,000 plays last season, just 15 involved calls that applied the forceout rule.
Other measures that passed allowed an offense to decline a defensive penalty on multiple-foul plays when the offense is flagged for delaying the game with a spike, and erased a quirk that didn't allow the defense to recover muffed illegal forward handoffs.
Also, field goals are now allowed for instant replay reviews and the 5-yard facemask penalty was abolished.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — NFL coaches are going back to school on the coin toss.
League owners adopted the college rule that allows the option to decide whether to kick off or receive the football until the second half after winning the pregame toss.
"It just gives you another option," said Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio.
Under the previous rule, NFL coaches almost always elected to receive the ball after winning the toss. College coaches defer more than 90% of the time.
Del Rio thought the new rule will prompt NFL coaches to defer more than half of the time.
"But if you have Peyton Manning," he said, "you might take the ball and get up seven."
Added Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel: "College coaches defer all the time. I don't think I'd defer a lot because I like my offense; I want them to have the ball as many times as possible."
Owners also adopted the college rule that eliminates the forceout on catches and interceptions.
It simplifies the officiating, with possession and the ability for a player to get two feet inbounds as the sole criteria. Of roughly 33,000 plays last season, just 15 involved calls that applied the forceout rule.
Other measures that passed allowed an offense to decline a defensive penalty on multiple-foul plays when the offense is flagged for delaying the game with a spike, and erased a quirk that didn't allow the defense to recover muffed illegal forward handoffs.
Also, field goals are now allowed for instant replay reviews and the 5-yard facemask penalty was abolished.
, I can't believe that passed.