(1) R protected on juggled fair catch until he secures.
No. I think this will create countless judgment calls as to whether the player was juggling the ball or in the act of securing it, and may create more injuries rather than reducing them.
(2) Invalid fair catch = no penalty, but no fair catch.
No. Same. Creates more opportunities for players to "light up" the receiver and claim they thought the signal was invalid.
(3) B or R can score on a PAT
No. Absolutely agree that this will create editorial nightmare that will take a decade to sort out. There's no need for it. All our players know they can't return a PAT - and my routine is to announce "This is the untimed try for point - only the offense can score on this play" which makes it clear.
(4) Leaping to block kick =
I'm seeing more of this, so I'm not opposed but if the committee can't recommend a clear, well-defined rule that's easy to administer, vote no.
(5) No 5-yard facemask foul
No. Occasionally there's a clear quick-grab of a facemask that everyone sees (and coaches scream for) that you need to put a 5-yard flag down for. It's rare, but still needed.
(6) Must wear proper equipment during warm-ups
I get what you're going for - allowing umpires to correct equipment problems in pregame rather than on the field - but this just won't work in real life.
(7) Remove knee pad requirements
I hate letting the NCAA-parroting high school players win on this, but like most, I've given up the fight. Will be interesting to see if injuries related to knees and players getting hit by knees increases over the next 5 years.
(8) Head items extending below helmet illegal (ski masks etc.)
This is really a rule change in search of a problem. We have no issues with that in our state. (And it's so frikking cold you think we'd see a lot of it!)
(9) Can wear sweatbands anywhere
Indifferenct. I've never heard of a player being injured by a sweatband, so as long as there's no hard surfaces, hey, sure.
(10) IP with 12 = IS, 5 yards
No. While the yardage may be determined by how fast we count, the penalty isn't. It's determined by whether a team puts 12 players on the field or not. If teams run hurry-up and can't count to 12, then sorry coach, you get to count to 15.
(11) Feet-first slide kills play
There's no need for this to be in the rules. As soon as the runner's leg above the ankle hit the ground, the play is dead and that's the spot - where he was holding the ball.
(12) 2 DB/PFs =
No. Agree sometimes things happen. If a player continues to be a problem, the flagrant foul designation allows for ejection. And I don't want to go down the NFL route of mixing up UNRs & UNS's.
(13) Full yardage on a flag all the way down to 1
No. No need to change it.
In fact, I want the committee to NOT change ANY rule unless there's been numerous incidents and there's a demonstrated need to protect player safety or there's clear inequity. Otherwise, the default setting should be: No Rule Change.
