Celebrate good times – NFL fun police loosen rules
Pressure cooker:
Troy Vincent has heard, far too often, the No Fun League reference to his sport. While he finds it an inaccurate description, Vincent is confident the NFL will be more entertaining in 2017. Why?
“Two topics that I have spent most of the off- season on: pace of play and celebration,” says the league’s executive vice- president of football operations and a former defensive back with the Dolphins and Eagles.
“The commissioner and myself spoke to over 200 players about celebration — the majority active, our legends, Hall of Famers, fans, officials — which was critical in our decision. It’s one thing to make an adjustment, then can you teach it, can a player apply it, then can an official officiate it? That’s what you have to look at when you change rules or policies.
“Some of the players’ reactions were, tell me what is wrong with me using a ball as a prop? They simplified things and made us think. Over time, we’ve seen something is happening and we’ve responded and reacted, and put restrictions on what our fans have grown to love and appreciate: this spontaneity, creativity, and innovation of celebration, and when a great play is made.
“It was a great process. Because it was a good process, we were able to make an informed decision. All stakeholders had a say.”
There will be limits to what players can do. Don’t look for any soccerstyle, full- team scrums on the sideline or end line. Nothing demeaning or provocative when using the ball as a prop. No dunking over the crossbar, which apparently has been deemed dangerous ( Tony Gonzalez would argue otherwise).
And all of these prop celebrations are allowed only after a touchdown or a change of possession. That’s with the intent to stick to speeding up play, eliminating as much dead time as possible.
Fans at the games will notice that even more than those watching on TV or other devices — particularly fans in frozen stadiums in December.
“That was so important, that we had to make sure we had clarity around dead time,” Vincent said.
“The last thing you want is a player, coach or fan thinking we are trying to disrupt the game. Ball run out of bounds, time after a touchdown, changing of possession, all of this is dead time. When you start analysing all of the mechanics of that, we realise we need to be much more efficient.”
So the ball will be brought back into play quicker by officials. Players will be pushed to set up more quickly for the next play, especially after scores.
Gone is the dreaded double commercial break; when a team scores, the TV ads follow, then that team kicks off, and the TV ads immediately follow again.
Vincent and other NFL executives got plenty of feedback from players and coaches on that.
“When we analysed it, we realised that they were absolutely right and everyone is affected,” he said. “The player, the game, the coach, the fans that are watching in the stadium, as well as the fans watching from home.”
As a former cornerback and safety charged with ensuring opponents don’t complete passes, Vincent should find it somewhat ironic that incompletions contribute to the added length of games. As do injuries and lots of penalties.
He also has to feel some pangs when he sees how expedient many offences are these days.
“Those are the things that can extend the game, but some teams are so efficient,” he said.
“They complete all their passes, they run the ball on the third down, there are not a lot of penalties. Those games are moving at a really good pace, typically.”
Quicker officiating decisions also make a game smoother and faster.