NFL commissioner Roger Goodell kicked off the league’s annual owners meeting on Sunday with a speech to the group.
AMB Group chief executive officer Steve Cannon, Falcons president Rich McKay, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn were the team representatives on hand for the opening meeting at The Ritz-Carlton hotel. Owner Arthur Blank is back in Atlanta tending to “personal business,” according to his spokesperson. He will not attend the meeting.
The league meeting, with a packed agenda of several rule and bylaw changes, runs through Wednesday. While the hot-button topic of how to best handle national anthem protests by players will be discussed, it’s not on the official agenda.
In the NFL, rules changes must be approved by 24 of the NFL’s 32 owners.
Here are five key issues facing the owners:
1. What's a catch. McKay, who is chairman of the competition committee, has been working with his team to clear up the rules on what is exactly a catch. The competition committee will propose changes that will set a new standard for a catch.
A controversial play last season in the New England-Pittsburgh game led to the proposed changed. The advent of instant replay has changed what was traditionally called a catch. Formerly, when a player made a reception and a football move, a catch was rendered.
Under the current rule, a player had to maintain the catch through contact with the ground. Slight ball movement, sometimes detected by instant replay cameras, would render catches incomplete.
In the Patriots’ win over the Steelers in Week 15, Pittsburgh tight end Jesse James caught a potential game-winning touchdown. The score was overturned because after sticking the ball across the goal line, the ball moved after he hit the ground.
Under the proposed change, the touchdown would have been allowed. The Steelers would have wrapped up the No. 1 seed for the AFC playoffs.
Also, the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant’s catch against the Packers in the playoffs in Jan. 2015 would have been a catch. Devonta Freeman’s leap across the goal line against the Redskins in Oct. of 2015 would also be a catch under the proposed rule.
The committee will now look for a player getting both feet down or another body part and/or making a football move which could be a third step, reaching or extending the ball.
Receivers will no longer be required to maintain full control when going to the ground.
"We tried to simplify the rule with a three-step process," McKay said Friday. "Control, two feet down or a body part, and then anything that is a football act. It could be like Jesse James reaching for the goal line.”
2. How to enforce pass interference. The Jets proposed a rule change for pass interference.
The flag would now be a 15-yard penalty instead of a spot foul where the infraction occurred.
"The difference between college ball and professional defensive backs is the (pros) were too skilled and too smart, and you can play the play, you can be strategic about it," said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s chief of football operations and former defensive back. "You don't want a defensive back being able to strategically grab a guy, eliminate the options (on a play).”
Last season, there was one 50 yards or longer defensive pass interference call, three of 45 or longer and seven of 40 or more, according to McKay.
3. Josh McDaniels rule. After Indianapolis thought it had a deal with New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to become their head coach, he backed out after the Super Bowl
The league is considering allowing teams to negotiate with and name their new head coach during the postseason even if his team is in the playoffs.
4. Women locker rooms. San Francisco has proposed that all NFL stadiums by 2021 have three separate and permanent locker rooms to be exclusively designated for female football staff on game days.
The would be for game officials, home team staff members and visiting team staff members.
Katie Sowers, who broke into the NFL as an intern with the Falcons in 2016, is an assistant coach with the 49ers. She was the second female coach hired by an NFL team. Kathryn Smith of Buffalo was the first.
Also, the NFL has two on-field female officials in Terri Valenti and Sarah Thomas.
5. Expanded coaches' challenge period. Coaches will have a set amount of time during a commercial break to throw a challenge flag.
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