The One NFL Rule That Needs To Change
There are many rules in the NFL. Ones that some deem fair and others who think that there are too many rules. There is one rule that absolutely drives me nuts and one rule that needs to be changed. The intentional ground penalty is a penalty that occurs when the Quarterback throws a ball on the field with no eligible receiver in sight and they are in the pocket. One of the things I do not like about that rule, is that when the Quarterback throws the ball out of bounds out of the pocket there is no penalty. The only thing that happens is a loss of down and the offense can continue to drive if they are able to. From my perspective, throwing the ball out of bounds feels more intentional grounding then throwing the ball away on the field. Throwing the ball out of bounds should have more of a penalty and make a team’s offense think more about what they are doing. If a Quarterback throws the ball out of bounds outside the pocket, it should be a five-yard penalty and a loss of down. In almost every other sport, if there is an out of bounds violation, the penalties are consequential and help the opposing team.
In baseball, if a catcher, fielder, or pitcher throws the ball out of play, the runner advances and in some cases also scores. In basketball, if you throw the ball out of bounds, the opposing team gets possession of the ball and the opportunity to score. When golfers hit out of bounds or in the water, they lose a stroke, which is costly when you are playing in a tournament. Hockey’s out of bounds rule is worse than the NFL. If the puck goes out of bounds, the two teams will faceoff at the nearest faceoff spot from where the puck went out of bounds. Imagine going bowling and you throw the ball in the gutter. You do not get a do over and attempt to knockdown more pins. They even have harsh penalties in NASCAR for being out of bounds. If a driver is outside of their pit box when making a pit, they generally lose a lap, and depending on what race track you are at, it is extremely hard to make up a lap. As you can see, there are plenty of examples of penalties when you go out of bounds.
Many fans think there are already enough rules in the NFL that do not make sense and ones that are not consistently forced. If the NFL put more emphasis on the penalty for throwing out of bounds, you could see a lot more excitement, strategy and probably some wild plays unfolding. I have always felt that intentional grounding penalty is silly if the ball is on the field of play. Regardless if there is a receiver or not, you should not be able to throw it out of bounds and only lose a down. It doesn’t matter if you’re inside or outside of the pocket. If you throw it out of bounds, it should be a five-yard penalty from where that play started. I would love to see the NFL have less penalties and more action. If they took away intentional grounding on the field on focused on penalties for out of bounds, it would make for a more interesting game. Even though examples were provided, it is a huge stretch to think that the NFL would ever consider changing the rules as it relates to intentional grounding and throwing it out of bounds. I applaud the NFL for trying to make the game safer but they should also try to make it exciting and have rules that make sense.
