Football Rule Changes to Improve the Game

As a lifelong football fan I watch every college and professional foot ball game available to me. I see as many games as possible as a fan in the stadium and the rest on my large screen Television set. While I am somewhat reluctant to admit it my entire fall schedule is made around the starting time of "must" games that I absolutely would not miss.

Having declared my undying loyalty to the game there are several things about the game as played in the National Football League (NFL) that I would recommend changing to make the game not only more interesting, but also more competitive. Some of these involve rule changes while others are more administrative in nature. All are an effort to make the game more exciting and reward play excellence.

The first of many rule changes I would suggest is remove the penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds on a kickoff. The current rule requires that any ball kicked out of bounds results in an unduly severe penalty under which the receiving team is given the ball on its' own forty yard line. This penalty makes no sense. Why should the team receiving the ball be rewarded for a kick that happens to go out of bounds?

This rule should be changed to place the ball at the point at which it goes out of bounds. This would give the receiving team more incentive to return the ball and it would reward the kicking team for a well placed kick that goes out of bounds inside the opponent's ten yard line.

Another kicking rule change that would increase the fan excitement in the game would involve requiring the receiving team to return balls received in the end zone. No longer would the receiver of a kick be allowed to take a knee in the end zone rather than risk being tackled short of the twenty yard line.

This change would reward the kicking team for placing the ball deep in the end zone and for having kicking coverage that quickly closes on the receiver. It makes no sense to allow the receiving team to negate these achievements by kneeling in the end zone.

Similarly, players who intercept passes in the end zone should not be allowed to take a knee and be subsequently awarded the ball on the twenty yard line. The interception of the ball has already rewarded the defensive team by preventing the opponent's touchdown. In order to prevent the touchdown the defensive player who intercepts a pass should be required to advance the ball as far as he can. The ball would then be given to the intercepting team at the point to which it was advanced. If the player who intercepts the ball is tackled in the end zone the result should be a safety. This is the risk the player takes in order to prevent a touchdown.

No rule should automatically place the ball on the twenty yard line. The football should always be marked at the point of advancement by the team possessing the ball. This should be true on kickoffs, punts, interceptions and fumbles.

All penalties should be limited to 5, 10 or 15 yards relative to the severity of the offense. No penalty should award one team a 30, 40 or more yard advancement of the ball as some pass interference penalties do under the current rules.

If instant replay is used to pass judgment on previously made referee calls these should be limited to three minutes each. If officials using magnified, slow motion video can not make a decision relative to a play in three minutes then the play should stand as called on the feel. Reviews longer than three minutes take away from the momentum of the game.

While many may disagree, the pre-planned end zone demonstrations in which members of a team dance, climb goalposts, pull cell phones from helmets to call home, do chicken dances , etc in celebration of a score should be banned and penalized. This should not be part of a sporting contest.

Finally, football games (college and professional) should be played in an outdoor stadium on natural turf. Field conditions and weather should be part of the game.