The Committee Approach
July 9, 2008 at 1:05pm by Walking on Sunshine
Filed under Arkansas Razorbacks, Football, NCAA
This is the second post of a two-part series detailing the more significant NCAA football rule changes for 2008.
Someone once said, “A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee.” More times than not, that’s true…especially when it comes to the NCAA.
For example:
“All [NCAA Football Rules Committee rules proposals] will be sent for membership comment and considered by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel before taking effect.”
So these have gone through not one…but two committees at the NCAA? Ever get the feeling these people have too much time on their hands?
We discussed some of the rule changes in part one of this series. Here are a few more to chew on:
Rule Change #6: The 5-yard ‘incidental’ face mask penalty has been eliminated. All face mask infractions (twisting, turning, or pulling of the mask) are 15-yard penalties now.
Our Take: If the NCAA is all about player safety, why would they remove the 5-yard face mask penalty? Guaranteed…it will be tougher now on the officials to determine the severity of the infraction before throwing a flag. Look for this rule to cause many disputes this year now that a face mask is an ‘all or nothing’ foul.
Rule Change #7: No player shall initiate contact and target a “defenseless” opponent above the shoulders. No player shall initiate contact and target an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet.
Our Take: Further defines personal fouls related to unnecessary roughness and, for the first time, defines a “defenseless” opponent. We like this rule, especially now that we expect the Hogs to have a few more “defenseless” receivers catching passes across the middle.
Rule Change #8: Any block below the waist is now considered a “chop block” and is illegal. A 15-yard penalty will be enforced.
Our Take: Long overdue…and we wish they would have included ejection as one of the possible penalties. With the size and speed of these athletes, any low block could result in a career-ending injury like the one that Glenn Dorsey almost suffered last year.
Cheap Shot on LSU’s Glenn Dorsey
And as you can see below, Auburn has been a notorious repeat offender of this rule.
Rule Change #9: In the wake of the NFL ‘Spygate,’ no teams will be allowed to tape sideline signals given by an opponent.
Our Take: If you’re going to steal signs, you gotta do it the old fashioned way…without a camera.
Rule Change #10: Sideline infractions (previously warnings) will now result in a 5-yard penalty for the first two times during a game. After that, it will be a 15-yard penalty. This rule covers any bench player, coach or sideline personnel who cross the sideline during a game.
Our Take: The ‘Get Back Coach’ — the assistant coach that yells “get back” 500 times during the game — looks to be due for a raise now that his job is a little more important.
It’s not safety first, but the integrity of the game. Any rules changes should first and foremost be to keep subjectivity out of the hands of the officials. Safety of the players is enormously important, but what use if the fans don’t trust the honesty of the game. I believe changing the face mask rule was designed to keep the refs from slanting their officiating and changing the outcome of a game. Incidental face mask inside the 5 was an invitation for mischief, considering that the ratio of players per unit of field increased the probabilty of “incidentlal” contact,. Now it will be obvious or not. Incidental face mask was designed so the players would practice keeping their hands from going into a more serious infraction, and possibly injuring the player. We’ll see if the new rule works, There are always unintended consquencess lurkiing in the shadows of any decision. The use of TV replay has made a big difference in the game today and I tjhink it should be expanded.. It would have won a Liberty Bowl against Tennessee and may have given the Razorbacks a shot at a national title. The interference call in the SMU game was one of the worst in NCAA history for a major contest. (I know, pass interference is not reviewable – they need to tackle that problem next). The NFL is very well officiated and the replay rule has led to it’s reputation for fair play (to a certain extent – at least during a game)
If they want an all or nothing approach to the face-mask rule change, then make it 10 yards. At least that way the officials won’t penalize a team 15 yards for a flagrant foul. Officials will always be in controll of a game’s outcome no matter what you change. Also, I agree that the interference call should be reviewable. What make’s it so different than any other call that could be made. The coaches should have a limitation of 3 reviews per game, in which if the call is over-turned, the review doesn’t count against him. Sound’s pretty simple to me.