NFL owners OK changes for safety, replay
— -- PHOENIX -- NFL owners voted to prevent another Julian Edelman situation, giving a third party power to stop a game if a player appears disoriented.
The league announced that the owners voted to allow a certified athletic trainer at each stadium to call a medical timeout if a player appears to be disoriented. During the Super Bowl, New England's Julian Edelman appeared that way after a hit by Seattle's Kam Chancellor. But Edelman remained in the game and eventually caught the winning touchdown pass.
Under the new rule, a spotter at the game would communicate with the side judge if it's determined a player is showing obvious signs of disorientation or is unstable. Neither team would be charged for a timeout -- and teams can only replace the affected player during this stoppage. The opposition would be able to substitute a player as well to match up.
NFL competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay said Monday that the Edelman situation was among those they looked at when proposing the change.
"It came a little bit from the health and safety committee just saying, 'we've got these (certified athletic trainers) spotters,'" McKay said. "'They've got a really good vantage point. They've got technology in their booth. They're communicating pretty well with our trainers and doctors, and we've got a pretty good rhythm going there.' Why would we miss a play when a player should come out?"
It was one of five safety enhancement rules approved by the owners Tuesday. They also changed the rules for a peel-back block to include all offensive players being penalized as opposed to just those inside the tackle box. They also added to the rule protecting receivers, extending the protection if the pass is intercepted and the intended receivers remain unable to defend themselves from a hit. And they made it illegal for a back to chop a defensive player engaged above the waist by another offensive player outside the tight end area. Pushing a teammate at the line of scrimmage on punts and field goals also was made illegal.
The owners also tabled a proposal to have fixed cameras positioned on the sidelines, end lines and goal lines. They're designed to supplement the broadcast network cameras, thereby guaranteeing coverage of a play no matter where the network cameras are stationed. The teams want to research this issue more before voting their approval.
They did approve the ability to review the game clock at the end of a half, game or overtime to determine if there should be more time left on the clock.
