Proposed Changes Only Weaken NFL

While most NFL pundits are either focusing on the impending 2005 draft or debating the best free agency signings for the umpteenth time, there are a couple of stories that have come and gone without getting the attention they deserve.

No, I am not talking about China's furtive and intrepid path to bombing Taiwan or the addition of two more bird flu fatalities. I am focusing on two recently debated rule changes designed to further marginalize what kind of contact a defensive player can have, and to take even more control of the game out of the on-the-field official's hands.

Recently, the NFL owners debated the down-by-contact rule and whether to allow instant replay to judge fumbles after the whistle blows, but before a player is down. Is the NFL worried about renegade refs trying to impose their will on the game? Soon, the only thing referees are going to be needed for is counting to make sure there are 11 players on each side of the ball. Hell, 10-year-olds can do that. Maybe the NFL can team up with local school districts and have honor students count the players from a remote site.

Really, what is the point of having an official, who is supposed to have the final say, constantly being challenged either by coaches or a man in a booth? Technology is a great thing, but if my wife wants to get it on, I am not going to refer her to a mechanical copulating device that can automatically adjust to her specific wants and needs. Sometimes a man's best shot is good enough.

This proposed rule change is not about fairness, it is all about gambling. But remember that gambling is all about judgment. Whether judgment is riddled with error or infinite is what gambling is all about. It is about taking a chance and hoping (not replaying over and over to get it right) fate is on your side.

For now, the rule change failed to get passed by four votes, but most insiders feel confident that sometime in the near future the change will become law. The end result will be an increase in personal fouls when players stop adhering to the law of the whistle because they know they still have a chance to loosen the ball. More injuries will occur when the ball carrier gets whacked after the whistle. There will be more official huddles, red flags, and even more replays lasting longer than the loosely allotted two minutes, further slowing down the tempo of the game.

Further, the NFL reviewed whether to penalize the horse-collar tackling technique which has become infamously associated with Cowboys safety Roy Williams. The tackle is made by grabbing the player behind the neck and pulling back on the shoulder pads. If passed, the move would draw a 15-yard personal foul. Coupled with last year's more stringent defensive contact rule interpretation, the barring of this tackle will only further dilute a defense's chance of being successful. This is another clear case of professional football wishing to turn their sport into an offensive juggernaut. A vote on the rule change is expected in May.

Every year, more rules are tweaked for the sake of giving defenses less options. As in baseball, soon enough the sport will become just a spectacle of offensive records being shattered. Last year, Peyton Manning broke the record for most touchdown passes in a season. In total, four quarterbacks hit for 30 or more TDs compared to only one (Brett Favre) in 2003 and none in 2002.

Right now, the NFL has the best sports product around. If it continues to water down defenses, however, all we will be left with is 45-40 shootouts with no drama, just up and down the field offenses and bewildered defenses trying to figure out how they are supposed to stop anyone when they can't get anywhere near the ball carrier.