POINTS OF EMPHASIS

NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating, Dean Blandino, goes over the rules changes and points of emphasis for 2016 with the Philadelphia Eagles' coaches.

Field Goal/Extra Point Rush Tactics

Game officials will monitor and strictly enforce the rules pertaining to illegal acts committed by the defensive team while trying to block field-goal and extra-point attempts during the 2016 season, including:

Making forcible contact below the waist of offensive blockers.

Grabbing an offensive blocker and pulling him to the side or toward the ground to create space or a gap for a teammate to rush through.

Using the hands or other parts of the body to push off an offensive blocker to gain leverage in an effort to block the kick.

Not only do these tactics create an unfair advantage for the defense, they also are potentially dangerous and could lead to player injuries.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford slides safely in a 2015 game against the Bears. NFL officials in 2016 will make sure that once a runner begins a feet-first slide before contact is imminent, defenders cannot make any forcible contact and must treat the sliding runner as they would any runner who is down by contact. (Paul Spinelli via AP)

Quarterback Slide

Once a runner begins a feet-first slide before contact is imminent, defenders cannot make any forcible contact and must treat a sliding runner as they would any runner who is down by contact. Once a runner begins a slide and becomes protected, he can no longer advance the football, regardless of contact by an opponent. Runners who slide sideways or headfirst will not have special protection.

Runners (especially quarterbacks) who want the protection afforded sliding players must make every effort to slide feet-first before contact is imminent. If a runner starts his slide when contact is imminent, a defender is not prohibited from making forcible contact, as long as it is below the head/neck area.

Low Hits on Passer

Quarterbacks in a passing posture within the pocket are protected from forcible contact to the knee area or below. A defender may still make contact low as long as he only uses his arm(s) to swipe, wrap or grab the passer in an attempt to tackle him.

Pre-Snap Movement

Game officials will pay particular attention to and enforce pre-snap movement by offensive linemen, particularly movement of the ball, which simulates a snap. A center dropping or turning his head, or a guard tapping the center, is legal provided the movement is not quick or abrupt.

Crown of Helmet

For safety reasons, the Committee believes that crown-of-the-helmet hits by defenders that were previously legal because the defender did not line up the runner should be illegal regardless of whether the defender lines up the runner prior to making contact. When the rule was first implemented, game officials were instructed to look for three elements for interpreting the rule for initiating forcible contact with the crown of the helmet:

The player must line up his opponent

He must lower his head

He must make forcible contact with the crown of the helmet.

Game officials will be instructed to call fouls when a defender lowers his head and makes forcible contact with the crown of his helmet on a runner outside the tackle box. The line-up requirement will still apply to a runner, since in many instances that player ducks his head to protect himself from impending contact by a defender, rather than to deliver a blow.

The NFL Competition Committee will direct game officials in 2016 to penalize coaches who do not comply with the rule. (Paul Spinelli via AP)

Coaches in Field of Play

Despite being a point of emphasis in previous seasons, the issue of coaches leaving the bench area to gain the attention of the game officials or entering the field of play for other reasons continues to be a widespread problem. The Committee sees no other recourse than to direct game officials to penalize coaches who do not comply with the rule.

A head coach can leave the bench area to get the attention of a game official when the snap takes place at a yard line not within the bench area and the coach is trying to call a team timeout or challenge an on-field ruling, and during an injury timeout to check the welfare of an injured player.

A coach cannot leave the bench area to question a game official, and at no time is a coach allowed onto the field of play. At no time can an assistant coach leave the bench area, even during breaks after scoring plays. These rules remain in effect during any timeout. Only incoming substitutes, team attendants or trainers seeing to the welfare of a player may enter the field. Violations will result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and the coach and/or the club may face additional discipline.