The Canadian Football League’s Board of Governors have announced that they have approved a rule change for the 2012 season.
Now, “Every scoring play…”, from the rouge to the touchdown, “will be subject to review”.
I’m definitely a proponent of using technology to assist in making games as fair as they can be, but have they crossed the line? My problem is that I have a feeling this will only slow the game down further, making pauses and commercials longer. Wait, maybe that’s the point? It seems every year in the 27 years I have had season tickets, the games are just a bit slower. To be clear, I don’t mean they are played with less intensity. I simply mean that the game is becoming very “technical”, and that usually means “slower”.
Maybe I’m jumping the gun? Perhaps it can work? Nah…
Now for two rule changes I DO like, which concerns player safety. How many times did we see a player’s helmet fly off during a game? I doubt that stat exists, but if it does I bet the number is ridiculously high, considering what can occur in that situation. The CFL has amended its rules to include the following:
“If a ball carrier’s helmet comes off, the play will now be blown dead immediately. The line of scrimmage for the next play will be where the player’s helmet came off.” Further;
“If a non-ball carrier’s helmet comes off, that player can no longer participate in the play. If he does, the player will be penalized 10 yards for illegal participation. If a player hits an opposing player who isn’t participating because he lost his helmet, he will be penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.”
…and that is the last word.
