What You See is What You Get

Next week, the NFL rules committee will meet in Orlando, Florida to discuss possible rules changes for the upcoming season. According to the AP story, the committee will be looking at player safety, false starts, and this gem:

The committee also is considering recommending to officials that they make sure there was holding on a play before throwing a flag.
"We want to make sure they actually see the foul," McKay said.

Gee, ya think? You mean actually seeing the foul hasn't been a requirement for throwing a flag in the past? I would have thought that would be something cover in the first few weeks of training. Maybe somewhere between learning to operate the Tivo on the instant replaymachine and Ed Hochuli's weight training sessions, they could have mentioned to someone that, ya know what, how about we only call things if we see them? Fortunately, it looks like the NFL has finally got a handle on that little detail this year. I'm sure that brings much relief to Seahawks' fans everywhere.

In other possible rules changes, the NFL is looking into expanding the horse collar rule to include any tackle from behind in which the defender grabs inside the jersey. If that doesn't work, they may just resort to playing flag football with the wide receivers.

Also to prevent injury, there will be an advisory against defenders hitting a quarterback in the legs. This leaves a 2 inch by 3 inch square just below the ribs but above the pelvis that defenders are allowed to contact on a QB.

Finally, the committee will also include the Chiefs annual proposal that they be allowed to participate in the playoffs regardless of how they choke down the stretch.