NFL: Flagging the Officials for Rules That Need Some Work

Everyone thinks that their team gets the short end of the stick when it comes to penalties. Being angry at the men in the zebra stripes is part of being a fan.

But when you look at teams that you don't have any emotional attachment to and shake your head in disbelief and some anger, there's got to be some kind of problem.

What started a couple of years ago with some very poor calls at inopportune moments has exploded into some of the worst aggregate officiating in any sport, at any time in history.

This isn't just an article, it's a forum. I'm going to present to you five rules that I think need some serious work this offseason (if not right now). And then, in the comments, I hope you'll add rules that you take issue with and why.

1. Excessive Celebration

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SAN DIEGO - DECEMBER 20: Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco #85 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts in the end zone after making a 49 yard touchdown catch against the San Diego Chargers on December 20, 2009 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. (Photo by

Back in the 70s, 80s, and even the 90s, celebrating a touchdown was raised to an art form. Dances, elaborate routines, and team celebrations became common. Some, like the Ickey Shuffle, even got a name and a personality all their own.

And then it became evil to do such a thing.

In the early 2000s, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, who now play on the same team, were the late arrivals to a party that should never have ended. In the glory days of decades gone by, they'd have been comic geniuses.

Now, they're showmen who's particular brand has no place in a league that is earning its No Fun League moniker.

The excessive celebration penalty was put in to reduce taunting. Okay. That's fair.

To a degree.

Scoring a touchdown is the job of every NFL player whenever possible. When it happens, it's the culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Celebrating it should be second nature.

The problem is, if you take it much further than a smile and maybe (only if you're lucky) a spike of the ball, you've got a fine, a penalty, and an earful from the commissioner on the kinder, gentler NFL.

If that's not enough, look at it this way:

Players aren't allowed to do anything that remotely taunts anyone when they score a touchdown, but if Ray Lewis, Larry Foote, or any other defensive player sacks a quarterback, they can do whatever dance they want as the aforementioned player lays in a bloody heap next to them.

Consistency, anyone?

I'm all for abolishing this rule all together. We already have a taunting penalty for fight-instigating things like throat slashes and full-on confrontations with opponents or fans. Flagging a player for simply celebrating their achievement with a little jig or some other antics (Chad Ochocinco has a million and then some) seems foolish and a bit oafish for a sport that is, after all, just a game.

2. The Lack Of a Force Out

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 14: Dez Bryant #88 of the Dallas Cowboys runs a kick off against the New York Giants on November 14, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

You know the world's been turned upside down when there are not only rules that need abolished, but also ones that need reinstated. Here's a case for that.

The rule used to be that, if you made a catch on the sideline, but were forced out of bounds before your feet touched the ground, it could be ruled a catch if you'd have otherwise come down safely inside the white line.

Then, with so many rule changes tipping the balance in favor of the offense, it seemed like the NFL picked a rule out of the blue that, by changing it, would give the defense back some measure of competitive advantage.

There's an old saying that, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Well, the NFL likes to tinker, so it should be no surprise that they tried to fix something that had been working fine for decades.

The problem now is that even if a receiver does everything right while running an out route or anything that takes them to the sidelines, as long as a defender can somehow manhandle them out of bounds before they put parts of two feet down, their work is meaningless.

Where does this effect a game adversely? How about two minute drills? Quarterbacks need to throw to the sidelines to stop the clock without wasting timeouts or precious downs. If they can't (and defenders are getting better at forcing receivers out), they could lose the game.

I'm not blaming any loss on this rule change. Teams have to play with the rules given to them.

But if those rules are broken, they need to be fixed. This is a classic rule that should be reinstated to the books. It makes no sense that a player can basically be carried out of bounds with possession of the ball and still have it considered an incomplete pass.

3. When a Touchdown Is Not a Touchdown

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GREEN BAY, WI - OCTOBER 03: Calvin Johnson #81 of the Detroit Lions drops to the end zone after catching a touchdown pass between Derrick Martin #29 and Charles Woodson #21 of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 3, 2010 in Green Bay, Wiscons

When is a touchdown not a touchdown?

More than any other rule this year, this one has had a terrible effect on games. Teams have actually been robbed of victories because the officials have no choice but to correctly enforce a logic-defying rule.

For a catch to be considered complete, the receiver must not only possess the ball, he must make a football move with possession. If he is in mid-air and going to the ground, he must retain possession all the way through contact with the field.

It's the last part that makes no sense, although you can argue that "football move" is one of the most ambiguous terms in the history of sports.

We've long since established that the ground cannot cause a fumble. If a player loses the ball because the ground knocked it out of his hands, it's still not a live ball. But the ground can evidently cause an incomplete pass.

Seriously?

The bigger surprise is that this has never really been an issue before this year, even though the rule hasn't changed. Two games have been decided by this type of call in 2010. Other games have been affected by it greatly.

It's a simple enough fix if you think about it. Leave the first part of the explanation the same (maybe try to define what the devil a football move actually is) and eliminate the last part. Two feet (or knee, elbow, rear end, etc.) down, possession, catch.

4. Quarterback Protection

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MIAMI - OCTOBER 4: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is hit as he passes by Cameron Wake #91 of the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Field on October 4, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

If you're a pocket passer in the NFL, life is good. You're relatively safe from contact once the ball is delivered. In some cases, you're basically safe from contact period unless you have the ball clenched in both hands.

If you tend to scramble, run the ball effectively, or like to make plays outside the pocket, you probably should have some ice packs ready because you're not only going to get hit, you're not going to benefit from it even if the hit occurs late.

I understand the need for protecting players who play a violent game, but there's a point where it either becomes impractical or inconsistent. In this case, it's mostly the latter.

I've personally witnessed pocket quarterbacks (think Tom Brady or Peyton Manning) getting hit right as the ball is leaving their hand by a player who dove through a lineman to make a hit. In many of those cases, the defender is flagged for roughing the passer.

The rule isn't quite what you'd think. Roughing the passer is defined as hitting the quarterback even when you, the defender, had a chance to stop yourself. Chasing a guy down a minute after he threw the ball is roughing the passer, landing on the quarterback because he threw a split second before you hit him is not.

Except when it is called that way.

Pocket quarterbacks who don't scramble (Tom Brady leaving the pocket without being under duress is almost unimaginable) seem to benefit from these calls. The league's officials want to protect them.

Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger, among others, don't get the same benefits.

I've seen both of those quarterbacks hit very late with no flags thrown. If you jabbed the official, I'm almost certain the explanation would be that they're mobile and that they should expect to get hit.

Fair enough. Brady, Manning, Kyle Orton, and others step into hits when they step up in the pocket, so maybe they should expect some legal contact too.

This isn't a rule that needs abolished. It's a rule that referees need some lessons on properly enforcing.

5. Helmet Contact

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NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 19: James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers forces a fumble by quarterback Vince Young #10 of the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on September 19, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Steelers won 19-11. (Photo by Grant Halvers

The NFL, with a nod towards hockey in some ways, is by far the most physically demanding and violent sport in the pantheon. Translation: people will get hit, people will get hurt, and people will get hurt badly.

The trick for Roger Goodell and company is to come up with some way to protect its players from serious, life-threatening injuries while not compromising the game's legendary competitiveness, appeal, and inherent violence.

They've always succeeded until they started putting quarterbacks in dresses and told the players to make any hits they could without using brute force.

I agree that players should not be allowed to use their helmets as the tip of a freight train-type missile. Spearing has been a rule for as long as I've been alive and should be in the book because it can lead to death if done even the slightest bit improperly.

But the thought that helmet to helmet hits and blows to the head are the only way to seriously hurt someone is ludicrous and short-sighted.

There are two places on a football player's body where they are most vulnerable to serious injuries: the head and the knees.

The NFL wants to prevent concussions more than anything. The focus on that is clear and is commendable, but concussions come from more than jarring blows to the neck and head. If a receiver falls wrong making a catch, they could concuss themselves too. Running backs and linemen get concussions just from working in and around the trenches.

The new rules about suspension and fines for blows to the head is like putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. It may stop some of the bleeding, but in the end its a futile gesture.

Also, threatening the players only hurts the game. If players are afraid they'll be suspending for making legal contact, then they play more tentatively. Mediocre plays become big plays. Big plays become touchdowns.

At least one of the James Harrison hits against the Cleveland Browns serves as a good example.

When Mohammed Massaquoi caught the pass in Harrison's back yard, he lowered his body to make himself smaller to absorb the hit and to possibly spin away from it. Harrison lowered himself simultaneously to deliver a hard blow to the receiver's chest to try to knock the ball loose or, in the very least, put him on the ground.

Since all of that decision-making and posture-changing happened in the space of a finger snap, the players collided nearly head-on.

Here's the other problem with the whole rule against hits to the head. Who's protecting the people who accidentally hit someone in the head? They can get concussed just as easily. Look at Dunta Robinson and DeSean Jackson. Both players were hurt, but Jackson wasn't fined or even mentioned as a fine candidate.

What About You?

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HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 12: NFL referee Ed Hochuli #85 during the NFL season opener between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Those five rules are what's eating at me this NFL season.

What rules are you upset about? Has your team been victimized by poor calls at poor times? Does offensive holding make you insane with anger? Do you think the NFL should declare open season on quarterbacks?

Let's hear from all of you about what you'd change if you were in charge of the NFL's rule book.