[NU Sports] Potential Football Rules Changes

[Dennis W. Brandt]

They forgot some real rule changes, two of which will speed up the game by 
eliminating reviews.

1. Use the NFL rule that states that a ball carrier who falls to the ground 
without being touched may get up and continue the play.  If this rule exists 
to reduce injuries, I have seen no evidence that injuries have occurred in 
the NFL due to the absence of the rule.  It's dumb to say, "Oops!  You 
slipped.  You're down.  Play over."  The idea is for the opposition to stop 
you.

2. NFL, you also listen up:  LET THE GROUND CAUSE A FUMBLE!  It used to, and 
it worked just fine.  It is ridiculous to say that a ball carrier hits the 
ground, loses possession, but - oops! - his knee was down 3 nanoseconds 
before, or he hits the turf headfirst, the ball pops out, and voila! 
Maintain possession.  The result of the rule is to lengthen games with 
reviews because it is often impossible for refs to discern events at real 
speed and/or amid a gang of tacklers.  Either the ball carrier maintains 
possession or he doesn't.  This includes the endzone.

3. Likewise, listen up NFL:  Zap the "breaking the plane" rule.  If we 
needed yet more evidence of how dumb that rule is, think no further than 
Roethlisberger's phantom touchdown in the Super Bowl, just the last of 
thousands of such examples.  Once more, the game halted while the refs 
looked at the replays again and again and again.  If Big Ben had to have 
actually gotten a knee into the endzone, the call was easy.  No TD.  Yes, it 
contradicts the position-of-the-ball-when-the-knee-touches rule.  Use it out 
in the field, but make the ball carrier actually enter the endzone for a 
score.  Inconsistent?  I don't care.