New rules in 2014

The NFL season is a 24-7 event 365 a year and I love it. The NFL Network never gets boring to watch with ongoing news with free agents or draft talk. As a diehard football fan I just can’t get enough.

The owners meetings are ongoing and on Tuesday some rules were changed which will affect not only football players but also the fans.

I love touchdown celebrations, seeing how clever players can be after they score. One of the best ever I thought was when Terrell Owens scored took a sharpie out of his sock and autographed the football and handed it to a fan. Do you remember when Antione Winfield returned a ball for a touchdown and did his impression of Spiderman sliding down the goal post? These days are gone and after Tuesday another touchdown celebration was voted to do away with. Yes, the dunking over the goal post will no longer be allowed.

There already was a rule in place against using the football as a prop in celebrations. Penalizing dunks is an enforcement of the existing rule, as opposed to a new rule on the books.

"We grandfathered in some, the Lambeau Leap and things like that. But dunking will come out," Blandino said. "Using the ball as a prop or any object as a prop, whether that's the goal post, the crossbar, that will come out and that will be a foul next season."

The other rule has to do with the review of a play in question. I love this change making in hopes that it keeps the game a little more on track. In reading the article things should be a little clearer before the referee gets to the replay booth.

The league announced owners voted to pass Rule Proposal 9 at the NFL Annual Meeting, which says that referees can consult with the officiating department in New York during replay reviews. This proposal always had a wide swath of support throughout the league because there is belief it will improve accuracy and speed during replay reviews. The existing NFL Officiating Command Center in New York immediately will begin to review replays after the call is challenged. By the time the referee gets to his "booth," the command center can advise the referee on what to look for in the play. The referee ultimately makes the final choice on the play.

Thanks for reading

Purplestick

Sources:

Greg Rosenthal, Around the League Editor

Chris Wesseling, Around the League Writer