Football Tweaks
Thursday, April 24, 2008 Filed in: Ideas
Video taped replays. Coaches challenge. It's time
once again to add a few a few more tweaks to
football. How about penalties?
I like football. Not live football from a stadium seat. Get real. How is it possible to enjoy football in a stadium full of noisy, unruly, beer-swilling maniacs? No, I enjoy live football on a 40-inch wide screen television, where God intended the sport to be viewed.
Video technology has helped to change football. Video replays are common these days as coaches challenge decisions of the referees on the field.
The basic rule is simple. If a coach challenges a decision and loses, that team also loses a time out. If they challenge and win, the on-the-field ruling overturned, they don't lose a time out.
Football has so many penalties in a game that sometimes it seems to take up more action than actual playing. It's time to stop that with a new kind of penalty.
How about instituting a penalty box, similar to that found in hockey?
If a defensive or offensive player is guilty of an infraction, a penalty that usually would cost a team five, 10, or 15 yards, how about putting the offending player in the penalty box for a play?
Or, even better, the team offended could have a choice of accepting the penalty yardage, or having the other team's offending player put in the penalty box.
If two players, one on offense and one on defense, commit an infraction, both would be put in the penalty box. It would be easy to adjust the situation, too. For example, each team could get two penalties with just yardage imposed, but the third penalty would be both yardage and the benching of a player for a few downs.
I'm willing to bet that such a penalty box rule would result in fewer penalties, especially if the Penalty Box was a real box on a stand near mid-field, close enough for fans to throw garbage at the player and hurl insults at the team.
Teams could charge more for seats near the penalty box, and vendors would be allowed to sell rotten tomatoes along with hot dogs and beer.
I would still watch football from the safe confines of home, but it would be more interesting with actual player and fan participation in the execution of penalties.
I like football. Not live football from a stadium seat. Get real. How is it possible to enjoy football in a stadium full of noisy, unruly, beer-swilling maniacs? No, I enjoy live football on a 40-inch wide screen television, where God intended the sport to be viewed.
Video technology has helped to change football. Video replays are common these days as coaches challenge decisions of the referees on the field.
The basic rule is simple. If a coach challenges a decision and loses, that team also loses a time out. If they challenge and win, the on-the-field ruling overturned, they don't lose a time out.
Football has so many penalties in a game that sometimes it seems to take up more action than actual playing. It's time to stop that with a new kind of penalty.
How about instituting a penalty box, similar to that found in hockey?
If a defensive or offensive player is guilty of an infraction, a penalty that usually would cost a team five, 10, or 15 yards, how about putting the offending player in the penalty box for a play?
Or, even better, the team offended could have a choice of accepting the penalty yardage, or having the other team's offending player put in the penalty box.
If two players, one on offense and one on defense, commit an infraction, both would be put in the penalty box. It would be easy to adjust the situation, too. For example, each team could get two penalties with just yardage imposed, but the third penalty would be both yardage and the benching of a player for a few downs.
I'm willing to bet that such a penalty box rule would result in fewer penalties, especially if the Penalty Box was a real box on a stand near mid-field, close enough for fans to throw garbage at the player and hurl insults at the team.
Teams could charge more for seats near the penalty box, and vendors would be allowed to sell rotten tomatoes along with hot dogs and beer.
I would still watch football from the safe confines of home, but it would be more interesting with actual player and fan participation in the execution of penalties.
