"Oh, Great..."--New (supposed) Safety-First rules from the NCAA

[DRU2012]

The Kick-Offs are moved up to the 35, touchbacks bring it out to the 25, cover-guys get just a 5-yard running start before the ball is kicked...all designed to "encourage touchbacks", by the NCAA's own admission--and thus intentionally rendering one of the most exciting plays in football, the KO-run-back-for-TD, and already one of the rarest, even rarer, less likely--all in the name of "safety".
What do y'all think?
There are a slew of others (eg. if your helmet comes off during play you must sit the next play out before returning, THAT sort of thing), but the one that got to me, strikes me as emblematic of the whole misguided effort, is this one:
No leaping over a blocker by a rusher trying to block a kick (!).
Again: they are purposefully removing a rare and amazing athletic effort by penalizing the athlete showing great skill and determination--whether he gets there or not, this turns a 4th-down change-of-possession into an extended drive.
Along with most of the others, this penalty is in the same class of extreme asininity as the judgment call handed to officials that can turn a big touchdown into a ?-and-long if one thinks a player showed too much excitement and/or enthusiasm while running free to the endzone, or right after making a "circus catch" there ("Excessive-Celebration", indeed...just plain ridiculous!).
Is there a college football player, coach or fan who thinks ANY of this is a "good idea"???

 

[Escambia94]

Just play two hand touch if you care that much about safety. Meanwhile, the tough guys are out playing hockey, lacrosse, and rugby and getting hurt just as bad, with fewer people paying attention and caring.

 

[Leakfan12]

The offense better be better because Andre Debose can't take it to the house anymore (well the decrease chance of that now).

 

[DRU2012]

The offense better be better because Andre Debose can't take it to the house anymore (well the decrease chance of that now).

Good point--I hadn't even thought of all the specific implications...between run-backs and blocked punts (now ALSO curtailed by making the leap-over-down-lineman move on-the-way to the punter illegal as well), a large part of our scoring and opportunity to score (by handing that inept Weis-offense a short field, often already in range of our fine FG-kicker, at least) has been cut away...Hell, it was why we WON our bowl game!
Fortunately, I AM cautiously optimistic regarding our improvement on offense this coming year--for a LOT of reasons we don't have to go into here...but that doesn't change the stupidity and outright foolishness of trying to augment some misguided and unreachable concept of safety by removing excitement from the game--OR it's direct effect on some of the most effective areas of our attack.
The first time we block a punt and it gets called back, the opposing team getting a 1st-and-10 well up the field instead of us having it in the redzone, we are ALL going to go NUTS--and if it costs us a game, as it could well do, where do we turn? Maybe we should start thinking about that--or better yet, begin to raise the point NOW, with "the-powers-that-be", if only to lay the ground work for our furious protest and argument for change (change-back, really, at that point). I don't know how this was passed so quietly, but it makes me suspicious...it should never have happened in the first place.

 

[Escambia94]

Any rule can be passed in the name of safety.

 

[FrozenGator]

Know what's awesome? Watching special teams in the CFL: the 5-yard "halo" on punts makes every kick returnable.

These rules are stupid. And I'm very succinct.

 

[DRU2012]

Know what's awesome? Watching special teams in the CFL: the 5-yard "halo" on punts makes every kick returnable.

These rules are stupid. And I'm very succinct.

In this case, you have a right to be smug: these rules ARE stupid. We pretty well all agree.
Of course, the whole kicking game is more important in the CFL, and has been kept a large part of the excitement.
For the benefit of the uninitiated: ALL kicks are returnable, punts and missed FGs into the endzone that AREN'T run out score 1 point (a "rouge") for the kicking team, and there is that "5-yard halo" rule (penalty for "no yards" if you fail to give the receiver that room, tacked onto the end of the run, correct FG?)...There's also 12 men-per-side, a wider, longer field--and THREE downs to get ten for a first, so there tends to be even MORE kicking in that league. Add in motion towards the line by offensive backs allowed before the snap of the ball, and you have a more wide open game than ours from the get-go, one of constant motion, where legislating the excitement out of it in the name of "safety" just isn't in the plans.

 

[FrozenGator]

In this case, you have a right to be smug: these rules ARE stupid. We pretty well all agree.
Of course, the whole kicking game is more important in the CFL, and has been kept a large part of the excitement.
For the benefit of the uninitiated: ALL kicks are returnable, punts and missed FGs into the endzone that AREN'T run out score 1 point (a "rouge") for the kicking team, and there is that "5-yard halo" rule (penalty for "no yards" if you fail to give the receiver that room, tacked onto the end of the run, correct FG?)...There's also 12 men-per-side, a wider, longer field--and THREE downs to get ten for a first, so there tends to be even MORE kicking in that league. Add in motion towards the line by offensive backs allowed before the snap of the ball, and you have a more wide open game than ours from the get-go, one of constant motion, where legislating the excitement out of it in the name of "safety" just isn't in the plans.

Naw, man. Didn't mean to be smug. I'm just a shameless shill for my favourite league, is all (Go Bombers!).

I DO think, though, that getting rid of special teams play is disappointing. Those all have awesome potential to change the whole game with a quick score. I also have no idea how to reason out the "no jumping over a defender" thing. That seems ridiculous.

As for the CFL's "no yards" rule, 5 yards gets tacked on if the ball bounced before it's touched and a player is within 5 yards, or 15 yards if the ball is touched in the air and a player is within the 5 yards. I think the CFL's rules about kicks make every single kick playable in some way, and I always like when the ball is playable...

 

[InkedAdrenaline]

I'm all for safety but c'mon this is a little out of hand.

 

[DRU2012]

Naw, man. Didn't mean to be smug. I'm just a shameless shill for my favourite league, is all (Go Bombers!).

I DO think, though, that getting rid of special teams play is disappointing. Those all have awesome potential to change the whole game with a quick score. I also have no idea how to reason out the "no jumping over a defender" thing. That seems ridiculous.

As for the CFL's "no yards" rule, 5 yards gets tacked on if the ball bounced before it's touched and a player is within 5 yards, or 15 yards if the ball is touched in the air and a player is within the 5 yards. I think the CFL's rules about kicks make every single kick playable in some way, and I always like when the ball is playable...

No, man--I MEANT it--y'all have it RIGHT up there--it's the same in hockey, where some misguided idea among some American PR-shills working for the NHL (and owners in some of the less well-run American franchises) want to take enforcement (which has traditionally moderated dirty play), fighting (which is an effective safety valve, a certain amount of entertaining fun for the fans, I'll admit it--and anyway looks a lot worse than it is, on skates) and clean, hard checks right out of the game.
I'm telling you, if these namby-pamby, supposed "do-gooders", who don't understand or like these sports to begin with have their way, we'll all be watching some pale, watered-down version of our respective "favorite game", where neither flying bodies nor joyful victories are allowed to even be shown, should they somehow "accidently" occur on the field of play.

 

[totenkopf13]

I am disappointed, but not surprised. I wonder what will be next?