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A proposed change to the seeding rules could allow wild card teams to host division winners in the playoffs.
Says Patriots LT Matt Light of the Super Bowl, “Obviously, it didn’t work out very well in that game. We just didn’t perform well. I’m not going to go back and bring up every last detail. We didn’t execute the way we normally do.”
Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney says he knew from the outset of free agency that he wanted to stay in New England even if other teams offered more money.
The Bills have re-signed three restricted free agents.
The Giants are short on parking while construction goes on at their new stadium site, but they worked out a deal with local businesses to provide parking for the Thursday night opener.
A deal that will make WR Laveranues Coles happy with the Jets could be finalized by Friday.
Says new Eagles FB/TE Kris Wilson of his versatility, “I’ve made a living knowing how to do a number of things. We all know that in this business, the more you can do, the better off you are. For me, it’s just another tool in my belt.”
The NFL is considering changing the force-out rule.
The Browns have re-signed one of their top special teams players, LB Kris Griffin.
New Steelers C Justin Hartwig says he tries to emulate former Steelers C Dermontti Dawson.
Steelers president Art Rooney II says of a proposed rule change to allow a defensive player to have a radio in his helmet, “I think it’s a good move.”
Says Lions QB Jon Kitna of former offensive coordinator Mike Martz, “I loved Mike. We had a great relationship — better than any relationship I’ve ever had in sports, period, not just in the NFL. And so it was awesome that way.”
The Texans are expected to sign free agent S Nick Ferguson.
Instant replay could be used next season to determine whether field goals made it over the cross bar.
The Vikings have signed free agent DB Benny Sapp to a one-year contract.
Says Jaguars CB Drayton Florence of playing for Gregg Williams, “The defensive coordinator is very good. I did my history on him. My research showed he’s one of the best in the league.”
Falcons RB Michael Turner had “Turner The Burner Hot Sauce” bottled in his honor prior to his senior year at Northern Illinois.
The Titans made a move to bolster their special teams.
Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher says of possibly drafting a running back, “We’ve got a guy going into his second year, a guy going into his third year then if you had a rookie you’d have a good mix.”
The Broncos have offered a contract to K Olindo Mare.
Broncos S Hamza Abdullah isn’t worried about the competition at safety the team has signed in free agency.
The total value of the contracts for the four big-name players the Raiders have signed this off-season is $178 million.
March 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Tucked away in the article about the force out rule is a proposition to abolish the 5 yard facemask violation all together. If all facemask penalties were to result in 15 yard penalties, it would hurt the integrity of the game. This isn’t basketball, where brushing a guy’s wrist while he’s shooting draws a foul. If a tackler grabs a player by his shoulder pads and his hand washes across the facemask for half a second the offense shouldn’t benefit in the same way as if the ball carrier was clearly yanked down by his facemask. There are too many scenarios that can be imagined where a “ticky-tack” penalty could greatly sway the outcome of a game. Defenders will have no incentive to remove their hands from a facemask if they will draw a 15 yard penalty either way. I would be shocked if this passed.
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March 27th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I hope the NFL does reseat for the playoffs. It is more fair to the wild card teams that win in a hard devision. It would make a lot more games meaningful at the end of the year.
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March 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
This article about the force out rule really got me thinking about all the things that bug me about NFL officiating. When instant replay was first instituted I was completely against it, thinking that judgemnt calls were always part of the game and so on and so on………..
Well, it didn’t take long to see the value in it.
Now that replay is a part of the game and relied upon to correct those inevitable mistakes……why the hell can it not be used to correct a bad pass interference penalty??
Out of all the penalties that are considered to be judgement calls; this one can absolutely change the entire landscape of the game. This should be the number 1 priority of the competition committee. I don’t know how many times that a questionable call like this has caused a 30 or 40 yard penalty. Also, how many times have you seen disagreements between refs on calls like this….it happens all the time.
If I’m the NFL, I ‘d stop worrying about players hair length and concentrate on stuff like this that can actually ruin a teams chances.
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March 27th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I really hope that the NFL does implement instant replay for field goals as it seems like a smart thing to do. Question though at what point does a field goal count is it the second it passes through the upright or does the ball have to go all the way over for it to count?
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