With the NFL offseason comes potential rule changes. Last year, we of course saw the move to the dynamic kickoff, as well as the league awarding a third challenge to a team following one successful challenge. We also saw the hip-drop tackle “outlawed,” although it was more often fined after the fact than called on the field.
What rule changes could be coming down the line this year? First of all, the proposed changes have to be approved by 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners to go into effect, and those votes could take place at the NFL’s owners meeting next month in Palm Beach, Florida. Let’s take a look at some of the issues being raised around the league.
Virtual measurement
The chain gang could become a thing of the past. Well, it will still be on the sidelines, but not the main authority when it comes to ruling first downs. According to CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones, the NFL plans to recommend the use of virtual measurement as the primary way to determine first downs beginning in the 2025 regular season.
Sony Hawk-Eye’s SkeleTRACK system is the future, and the NFL has been working with this technology since 2021. Jones actually detailed this a couple weeks ago at the Super Bowl. Check out his article, here.
“… A 14-camera system that specifically monitors more than two-dozen skeletal points on a player’s body. That system, along with the chips in the footballs and the 18 other specific cameras strategically placed around the stadium, can all be combined to harvest a fully computerized model that potentially tracks where the ball is when players are down, if someone has achieved a first down or if they have scored.”
‘Tush Push’
One of the main takeaways from the NFL Scouting Combine is that other NFL teams still hate the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Tush Push.” The Green Bay Packers, who lost to the Eagles in the playoffs this year, issued a proposal to the league’s competition…
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