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The NFL owners and Competition Committee have met, and they have come to an agreement on some rule changes for the 2016 NFL season. Some might be viewed as major, while others are simply minor tweaks to the current rules fans have already come to understand.
One of the most significant changes to this year's rules were how any player who garners 2 personal foul penalties, like Odell Beckham Jr. and Josh Norman did this year, would be ejected from the game. At the owners meeting, San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly had a very interesting take on the new ejection rule.
"You ever see A Few Good Men?" Kelly told USA Today. "Why the two orders? Right? If you already have the ability to throw them out of the game, why do we have to put a second order in to throw them out of the game? Throw them out of the game. If they're not playing the right way, and we already have the ability to eject them, why do we have to put another order in?"
The rule change will be for a one-year trial basis, just like the extra point being moved back was a one-year trial for the 2015 season. However, the extra point has been moved permanently back to the 15-yard line from 2016 and beyond.
The other significant rule change, on a one-year trial, was placing the football at the 25-yard line after a touchback. With the kickoffs being moved up to the 35-yard line a few years ago, the amount of touchbacks skyrocketed in the NFL. Moving the football to the 25-yard line is certainly more appealing for return teams than trying to advance the ball 8-yards deep out of their own endzone.
Here is the complete list of rule changes for the 2016 season:
1. By Competition Committee; Permanently moves the line of scrimmage for Try kicks to the defensive team's 15-yard line, and allows the defense to return any missed Try.
2. By Competition Committee; Permits the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth.
3. By Competition Committee; Makes all chop blocks illegal. "It is not one that has overwhelmed us in injury data, but it is not one we feel good about," McKay said.
4. By Competition Committee; Disqualifies a player who is penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls. Amended to one-year only.
5. By Competition Committee; Changes the spot of the next snap after a touchback resulting from a free kick to the 25-yard line. Amended to one-year only.
6. By Competition Committee; Expands the horse collar rule to include when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground.
7. By Competition Committee; Makes it a foul for delay of game when a team attempts to call a timeout when it is not permitted to do so
8. By Competition Committee; Eliminates the five-yard penalty for an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds, and makes it a loss of down.
9. By Competition Committee; Eliminates multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.