By Bill Bradley, contributing editor
The NFL Competition Committee announced Wednesday they will consider four rule changes and one bylaw change that involve player safety, including expansion of the defenseless player rule for receivers and elimination of the peel-back block.
Among the 23 total play-rule proposals – 18 of which were submitted by teams -- the player safety issues include:
- The Committee proposed expanding the protection for receivers who are considered defenseless players. It would give the intended receiver protection following an interception, which would trigger a 15-yard penalty.
"The turnover will stay," St. Louis Rams coach and Competition Committee member Jeff Fisher said during a conference call. "It will not have an impact on that."
- The Committee proposed making the chop block illegal on all but a few running plays, resulting in a 15-yard penalty.
- The Miami Dolphins proposed the abolishment of "peel-back blocks" by offensive players. The proposal would draw a 15-yard penalty for initiating contact on a defender on the side and below the waist when two blockers are engaged with one defender.
- The Baltimore Ravens proposed that the line-overload rule expand from field-goal and extra-point attempts to punt formations. It would result in a 5-yard penalty. Also, the proposal would make it illegal to push a teammate into the line on punts as it is for place kicks.
- And a bylaw change proposed by the Washington Redskins to help player safety by allowing teams to only reduce active rosters to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET Saturday of the fourth preseason weekend, eliminating the previous cutdown to 75 players one week earlier.
The owners will vote on all of the rules and bylaw proposals next week at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. The proposals come from Committee's work as well as suggestions from owners, players and coaches as well as the NCAA.
Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said the recent player safety proposals have been crucial in helping improve the safety of pro football.
"The impact of the safety rules really show in the game," he said. "We were down 25 percent in concussions from 2013 to 2014 and we were down 36 percent since 2012.
Also, McKay said the NFL is seeing the benefits of the NCAA's targeting rule, which penalizes players for launching themselves at defenseless players.
"We now have players that have come through high school and college and have played their games under (the NCAA's) targeting rule," he said. "Those players are now coming into our league and playing under a similar defenseless player rule.
"I think it's starting to show itself in the way players have adjusted and their way they play the game."
He said there was a 63 percent in decrease of fines to players for hits on defenseless players from 2013 to 2014.
"That's a really substantial drop," McKay said. "It shows the players are conforming to rules. Part of it is they're growing up in rules that have changed the way they play the game."
