NFL end zone celebrations and other possible rule changes

[Phlegm]

From Associated Press:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bad news might be on the horizon for Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson and the other purveyors of outrageous touchdown celebrations.

The NFL's competition committee is proposing a crackdown on rocking the baby, teeing off like Tiger and anything else that might be considered taunting.

This isn't particularly new. The league has smacked down celebrators who went over the top before. Remember T.O.'s dancing on the Dallas star in Texas Stadium? Or Johnson revealing a small sign asking not to be fined by commissioner Paul Tagliabue?

Or, of course, Joe Horn's hidden cell phone trick in New Orleans?

But committee chairmen Jeff Fisher, coach of the Tennessee Titans, and Rich McKay, general manger of the Atlanta Falcons, believe enforcement hasn't been strict enough recently.

"Individual celebration was getting out of hand," Fisher said Monday at the NFL meetings. "The players' association was unanimous in wanting to get this under control."

So spiking the ball in the end zone will be OK. And spinning it on the ground, or dunking it over the goalpost. Dancing in the end zone is fine, too, as long as it's not prolonged or a group effort.

Almost all other celebrations will be out if the committee's recommendation to clamp down further on the frivolities is passed by the owners.

The new emphasis on unsportsmanlike conduct penalties will call for a 15-yard mark-off on the ensuing kickoff against the offending team, and possible fines.

Players can't use props for any celebrations, and they can't be on the ground when they do their thing. Asked what happens if a player is tackled in the end zone and begins celebrating while down, Fisher said it would be a penalty.

"Get up and dance," he said, prompting laughter at a news conference.

"If they go to the ground to score and feel compelled to do something, get up!" McKay added.

"We've allowed those things to creep back. They are not necessary and should not be allowed."

The committee also will suggest:

• Down by contact calls be subject to instant replay review, a proposal that was voted down last year. Currently, a play is dead once the whistle blows and the ballcarrier is ruled down by the officials. McKay said that last season there were 18 to 20 plays when the ball came out of a player's grasp before he was ruled down.

The proposed change would allow any turnover to stand if replay showed the ball came loose before the whistle. No subsequent runbacks with the ball would count, however.

• Modifying illegal procedure to allow receivers to flinch if they get back into position before the play and the defense doesn't react to the move.

• Toughening enforcement on pass rushers who hit quarterbacks below the knees, as long as the defensive players could have avoided making the hit. One play that didn't prompt such a point of emphasis, McKay said, was in last year's playoffs on Cincinnati's Carson Palmer by Kimo von Oelhoffen, then with Pittsburgh, that severely injured Palmer's knee. McKay said it was clear von Oelhoffen didn't make any intentional move to hit Palmer, but simply rolled into the quarterback.

• Just like quarterbacks, one defensive player might be allowed direct communication with the coaches next season. The committee will recommend that a defense has the same option as an offense in that area. As of now, quarterbacks get instructions through a small speaker in the helmet until there are 15 seconds remaining on the play clock.

"We hope to get away from offenses -- I don't want to say stealing, so borrowing -- signals from the sideline [for defenses]," McKay said.

[Phlegm]

Chad Johnson of the Bengals response:

Chad Johnson has a message for the NFL's competition committee if it votes to curtail over-the-top touchdown celebrations: He can't be stopped.

"Of course you cannot stop someone as creative as me. How can this bother someone as creative as me?" Johnson told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Johnson is the king of outrageous touchdown celebrations, including once using the end zone pylon as a prop and putting the football after a touchdown.

"Tell the competition committee that Chad said you can't cover 85, and there's no way you can stop him from entertaining," Johnson told the Enquirer.

[Eldred]

They are fun and all, but what ever happened to just scoring a TD and going back to the sidelines w/ your team and celebrating there. And why is it that is mainly WR's that do it?

[Jay]

I liked the Tiger Wood's touchdown tee off and I understand the reason they are doing this, but I think they should take it easy on the players a bit. Those actions show genuine love for the game and I don't think anyone should be penalized for it so long as they don't take up too much time.

[Reynaldo]

they should just start the play clock right when the TD is scored and the play is over, just like every other play, and not wait for the ball to set / celebration to be over etc.

If they celebrate and get their butts off the field in time to kick the extra point, fine. If not, they get 5 yards on the kickoff. Would govern itself.

[Lyion]

they should just start the play clock right when the TD is scored and the play is over, just like every other play, and not wait for the ball to set / celebration to be over etc..

24 seconds to setup for a kickoff. Delay of game penalty if the ref doesn't get the ball in the same timely fashion as after a normal play.

I wonder why this hasn't been implemented already?

[mofish]

Celebrations should be required. Extra points should be awarded for good ones.

[Tacks]

Hell yeah, they should have online judging for TD dances and if you get a certain percentage you get a bonus check at the end of the day. The NFL is there for entertainment and TD celebrations are, for the most part, entertaining.

[Lyion]

Hell yeah, they should have online judging for TD dances and if you get a certain percentage you get a bonus check at the end of the day. The NFL is there for entertainment and TD celebrations are, for the most part, entertaining.

The brainbust seems to have forgotten this.

[Diekan]

Celebrations should be required. Extra points should be awarded for good ones.

agreed. end zone celebrations should be allowed and more so promoted.

now, i will say that the players, overall, are getting a little out of hand with the other-than-end-zone celebrations. i mean come on... so you bat the ball down... do you really need to celebrate that?

[mofish]

Yeah, when a special teamer makes a tackle and busts into a dance, that should be point subtraction lol.

But people like Chad Johnson, are great. Butkus and Lambert played centuries ago, this is 2006. You like lunchpail non celebratiing players? Buy a Marvin Harrison jersey. You like celebrations, buy a Chad Johnson jersey. We (used to be) a progressive society. Things change because they change. The NFL needs to fucking get over it.

The most memorable Saints TD? That's right, the Joe Horn cellphone TD. And props to him and Michael Lewis for pulling it off.

[Minrott]

hehe

We're down 42 points but I just tackled the runningback after a 4 yard gain GRAVEDIGGER ROAR

[Tuggan]

You watch alot of Lions games Minrott?

[Lyion]

A sack in a close game.. Killing an elite RB for a loss... A TD.. A bug 30+ yard play.. All should equal one doing an extra 5 seconds of oomph and aaahh..

The guys like Ray Lewis and Seau who celebrate every tackle are silly. The guys who celebrate when they are down by 10+ points need more drug tests..

[Phlegm]

The verdict is in. From Associated Press:

ORLANDO, Fla. - As a series of plays from the 2005 season flashed on the screen at the NFL meetings, people began to yawn. Examples of “down by contactâ€

[Reynaldo]

I don't agree with down by contact being reviewable. Its true they bork alot of those calls, but when the whistle blows, players stop playing, its like pavlov's dog.

If you review it, where is the cutoff point going to be of where the other team advances the ball on fumbles when the other team stops chasing him when they hear the whistle?

[Lyion]

I don't agree with down by contact being reviewable. Its true they bork alot of those calls, but when the whistle blows, players stop playing, its like pavlov's dog.

This only effects fumbles, I think.

Allowing down-by-contact calls to be reviewed by replay to determine if the ball came out before the ballcarrier was down, and who recovered it. In the past, those plays were not reviewable when officials ruled the whistle had ended the play.

This is a good change, as a ton of fumbles were ruled down by contact, and adversely effected several games. This way, they are reviewable.

[Tikker]

they're not able to see the forest for the trees


they're getting caught up in the minutae of the ruleset, and it's starting to get retarded


worst call from this past season was against the steelers, and shockingly enough, it's not even the palamalu non interception in the playoffs


it was midway thru the season, and the punt returner for the other team signaled a fair catch

he muffs the catch, it doinks off his head, right into the arms of a Steelers player, who promptly ran into the kick returner and was tackled

refs gave the other team back the ball, cause a muff means he had to have had the ball hit the ground.....

retarded~

[Lyion]

That call was overturned and changed, I thought, which is why it's not being addressed.

[labbats]

End zone celebrations are for the person's ego, not the fans or the team.

The stop all the action, eat your nachos, flip it to another channel for 3 minutes review calls are ruining the game. Last year was nice for setting the wrongs right, but you know what? It was fucking boring waiting for a verdict and watching a manly guy on the sidelines toss down a kleenex to signal his discontent.

[Reynaldo]

This is a good change, as a ton of fumbles were ruled down by contact, and adversely effected several games. This way, they are reviewable.

Right, BUT!!! Say the guy fumbles on the 50, and its ruled down by contact, but the recovering team runs it back for a TD after the whistle blows. Do they only give the recovering team possession at the 50 or do they give them the TD too?

If they only give the team possession at the 50, then THAT team throws a pick thats returned for a TD, thats a 14 point swing in the game that should have never happened.

I think they have good intentions, but it just opens another can of subjective worms of where you're going to give the recovering team the ball at. I suppose thats the whole "rub" with instant replay though, theres always going to be exceptions and extraneous circumstance.

[Lyion]

My understanding is this is solely about possession. So if its blown dead but the person fumbled before the whistle and it was recovered and run back, the team will get the ball, but not the runback or anything after the whistle.

Although since this is somewhat obfusticated, I could be wrong and you could be right. I'll see if there's more info.

[Reynaldo]

to add to bullshit rules, I HATE the punt downing rules.

Its retarted that if you tap the ball at the 10 yard line and it rolls to the 1, the other team gets the ball at the 10, BUT if you slap the ball back into play at the 1 and it rolls out to the 6, the other team gets the ball at the 6.

It should be whereever the ball gets touched first by the punting team, period, end of story.

[Tikker]

That call was overturned and changed, I thought, which is why it's not being addressed.

nope

the review gave the ball back to the other team


I'm not bitching really about the individual call, but rather the stupid detail that they're getting into

[Lyion]

Yeah, I watched that game and everyone was amazed at the call. The Refs even were unhappy but had to follow the letter of the rules.

I could've sworn it was overturned, though. That was by far the worst call of the last year.