psjordan wrote:C'mon Man. This team has zero meaningful experience blowing out another team. We have no idea how to do it, what it feels like or when or why it should be done.
That's because we haven't had an aggressive coach in how long? Maybe Tice? Chilly and Frazier are about as soft and conservative as a coach can get. To me it just feels like one of those games where we'll overcome our overly conservative coaches and accidentally blow the Browns out. But like I said, I felt that way about the Bucs game last year too and the Bucs destroyed us.
Eli wrote:Somebody list all of the significant changes to pass interference rules from the past (say) twenty years.
I collected from the wiki what I deemed to be rule changes that benefited offenses. To be fair I saw quite a few rule changes that benefited the defense as well, but this is about offense. And some I just threw in there for fun xD.
The league passed major rule changes to encourage offensive scoring. In 1977 -- the last year of the so-called "Dead Ball Era" -- teams scored an average of 17.2 points per game, the lowest total since the 1940s.
1978 - To open up the passing game, defenders are permitted to make contact with receivers only to a point of five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. This applies only to the time before the ball is thrown, at which point any contact is pass interference. Previously, contact was allowed anywhere on the field. This is usually referred to as the "Mel Blount Rule"
1978 - Double touching of a forward pass is legal, but batting a pass towards the opponent's end zone is illegal. Previously, a second offensive player could not legally catch a deflected pass unless a defensive player had touched it. This is usually referred to as the "Mel Renfro Rule". During a play in Super Bowl V, Baltimore Colts receiver Eddie Hinton tipped a pass intended for him. Renfro, the Cowboys defensive back, made a stab at the ball and it was ruled that he tipped it ever so slightly (which he denied) into the arms of Colts tight end John Mackey, who ran for a touchdown. Later, this rule was also the one in question during the Immaculate Reception in 1972. But despite these two incidents, the rule change did not occur until this season.
1978 - The pass blocking rules were extended to permit extended arms and open hands.
1978 - The penalty for intentional grounding is reduced from a loss of down and 15 yards to a loss of down and 10 yards from the previous spot (or at the spot of the foul if the spot is 10 yards or more behind the line of scrimmage). If the passer commits the foul in his own end zone, the defense scores a safety.
1978 - Hurdling is no longer a foul.
1978 - A seventh official, the Side Judge, is added to the officiating crew to help rule on legalities downfield. The addition of 15 officials (one per crew) forced three-digit numbers to be used for the first time.
1979 - The zone in which crackback blocks are prohibited is extended from 3 yards on either side of the line of scrimmage to 5.
Players cannot use their helmets to butt, spear, or ram an opponent. Any player who uses the crown or the top of his helmet unnecessarily will be called for unnecessary roughness.
1979 - Players cannot use their helmets to butt, spear, or ram an opponent. Any player who uses the crown or the top of his helmet unnecessarily will be called for unnecessary roughness.
1981 - The penalty for illegal use of hands, arms, or body (including holding) is reduced from 15 yards to 10 yards.
1981 - The penalty for intentional grounding is modified: loss of down and 10 yards penalty from the previous spot, or if the foul occurs more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, loss of down at the spot of the foul.
1984 - Leaping to try to block a field goal or an extra point is illegal unless the defensive player was lined up at the line of scrimmage.
1987 - If a defensive player commits pass interference in his own end zone, the ball is placed at the 1-yard line, or if the previous spot was inside the 2-yard line, the penalty is half the distance to the goal line.
1987 - In order to stop the clock, the quarterback is permitted to throw the ball out of bounds or to the ground as long as he throws it immediately after receiving the snap.
1994 - The "Neutral zone infraction" foul is adopted. A play is automatically dead before the snap when a defensive player enters the neutral zone and causes an offensive player to react.
1995 - An eligible receiver forced out of bounds by a defensive player may return to the field and automatically become eligible to legally be the first player to touch a forward pass.
1995 - Quarterbacks may now receive communications from the bench from a small radio receiver in their helmets, partly repealing a rule that had been in force since 1956
1996 - In order to reduce injuries, hits with the helmet or to the head will be personal fouls and subject to fines.
1998 - A defensive player can no longer flinch before the snap in an attempt to draw movement from an offensive linemen.
1999 - "Tuck rule" is implemented
2000 - The "Bert Emanuel" rule was implemented. A receiver has to have possession of the ball and control of the ball. If when making a catch and falling to the ground, the ball is allowed to touch the ground and still be considered a catch if the player maintains clear control of the ball.
2001 - Roughing the passer will be strictly enforced.
2002 - A player who touches a pylon remains in-bounds until any part of his body touches the ground out-of-bounds.
2002 - Hitting a quarterback helmet-to-helmet anytime after a change of possession is illegal.
2002 - The home team must determine whether their retractable roof is to be opened or closed 90 minutes before kickoff
2004 - Due to several instances during the 2003–04 playoffs, officials are instructed to strictly enforce illegal contact, pass interference, and defensive holding.
2004 - Timeouts can be called by head coaches.
2004 - In addition to the numbers 80–89, wide receivers will now be allowed to use numbers 10–19.
2005 - The "horse-collar tackle," in which a defender grabs inside the back or side of an opponent’s shoulder pads and pulls that player down, is prohibited.
2005 - During field goal and extra point attempts, the defensive team will be penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct if it calls consecutive timeouts in an attempt to "ice" the kicker.
2005 - If the defensive team commits a dead ball foul following the end of the half, the offensive team may choose to extend the period for one more play. Previously, the half automatically ended without the defensive team being penalized.
2006 - End zone celebrations became more restricted. Players cannot celebrate by using any type of prop, or do any act in which they are on the ground. Players may still spike, spin the ball, or dunk it over the goal posts. Dancing in the end zone is also permitted as long as it is not a prolonged or group celebration. The Lambeau Leap, though, is still legal.
2006 - Defenders were prohibited from hitting a passer in the knee or below unless they are blocked into him.
2006 - The "horse-collar tackle" rule enacted during the previous 2005 season was expanded. Players are now prohibited from tackling a ball carrier from the rear by tugging inside his jersey. Previously, it was only illegal if the tackler's hand got inside the player's shoulder pads.
2006 - To reduce injuries, defensive players cannot line up directly over the long snapper during field goal and extra point attempts.
2007 - Forward passes that unintentionally hit an offensive lineman before an eligible receiver will no longer be an illegal touching penalty, but deliberate actions are still penalized
2007 - A completed catch is now when a receiver gets two feet down and has control of the ball. Previously, a receiver had to make "a football move" in addition to having control of the ball for a reception.
2009 - The initial contact to the head of a defenseless receiver is also prohibited.
2009 - Clarified the 2006 rule about hitting passers below the knees; a defender on the ground cannot lunge or dive at or below the passer's knees.
2010 - During field goal and extra point attempts, defenders cannot line up directly across from the long snapper.
2010 - Punt returners who make a fair catch signal but then muff the ball are now entitled with the opportunity to catch the ball before it hits the ground without interference. If there is interference during such a scenario, the receiving team would be awarded the ball at the spot of the foul, but no penalty yardage would be assessed.
2011 - players on the kickoff coverage team cannot line up more than 5 yards behind the kickoff line, minimizing running starts and thus reducing the speed of collisions.
2011 - Nicknamed the "Boise State Rule", all playing fields must remain green, and not be in another color like the blue turf at Boise State's Bronco Stadium, unless approval is granted by the league. This was passed in response to a few sponsors who requested to change the colors in a few stadiums.
2011 - Players will be prohibited from "launching" (leaving both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into an opponent or using any part of the helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of the opponent’s body) to level a defenseless player, as well as "forcibly hitting the neck or head area with the helmet, facemask, forearm or shoulder regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him.", and lowering the head and make forcible contact with the top/crown or forehead/"hairline" parts of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body. Offenders will be penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness and ejected from the game if the contact is deemed flagrant. The league has instructed game officials to "err on the side of caution" when calling such personal foul penalties, and that they will not be downgraded if they make a mistake so that they will not hesitate on making these kinds of calls.
2012 - The penalty for 12 men on the field (not in the huddle) is changed from a live-ball foul to a dead-ball foul, with the whistle being blown if the defense has 12 men on the field and the "snap is imminent".
2012 - Last names on uniforms can now include generational suffixes such as Roman numerals (in the case of Robert Griffin III), Junior (Jr.), and Senior (Sr.) designations.
2013 - On field goal attempts, long snappers will now be considered defenseless players, the defense can have no more than six players on one side of the ball at the snap (5 yard penalty), and players not on the line cannot push teammates into blockers (15 yard penalty).
2013 - Any player at least three yards downfield or outside of the "tackle box" will be penalized 15 yards for leading with the helmet on hits.
"Our playoff loss to the Vikings in '87 was probably the most traumatic experience I had in sports." -- Bill Walsh
