John Harbaugh.jpg

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh explained his team's rule proposal that would call for a player to wear a pinnie during the game.

(AP Photo)

Among the notable NFL rule change proposals was Baltimore's submission regarding the identification of eligible receivers who normally wear ineligible jersey numbers.

The crux of their proposal: A player wearing what is normally an ineligible number (50-79 and 90-99) would put on a "jersey vest" matching the team uniform with an appropriate number for his eligible status.

The Ravens were burned a year ago when offensive lineman John Urschel appeared to declare as eligible against the Cardinals, only to have his first-down catch called back because the officials did not recognize that Urschel had reported as eligible.

At Tuesday's AFC coaches breakfast in Boca Raton, Fla., Ravens coach John Harbaugh explained the thinking behind his team's proposal.

"Nike would have a stretch pinnie that could easily be put on and put off, compared to what we have now logistically, the hoops that a referee has to jump through to establish who's eligible and who's not eligible, there's really no comparison," Harbaugh told reporters in Florida. "The whole idea is to simplify this for the fans and the officials. The rule is multi-layered and complex. It's very difficult for fans to understand. It's very difficult for officials to officiate on the field. They've gotten it wrong almost every time over the course of the last few years -- for every team. They got it wrong for New England last year. After our game (in the 2014 playoffs), New England had a touchdown scored on them that was illegal that the officials missed. So it doesn't need to be that way."

Harbaugh is referring to the 2014 AFC divisional round, when the Patriots confused the Ravens by declaring Shane Vereen ineligible even though he lined up as a slot receiver. The NFL changed a rule last offseason to combat this tactic. Now, an ineligible player cannot be flexed more than two yards beyond the next interior offensive lineman.

Still, Harbaugh believes there can be additional clarity on ineligible/eligible receivers.

"They organize the numbers for a reason -- to say that these numbers are eligible and these numbers are ineligible way back when," Harbaugh said. "That's why you don't see Sid Luckman-type quarterback numbers anymore, OK? There are numbers that determine certain type of eligibility. Colleges never got away from that. For some reason, we got away from that and we keep adding layers onto this thing as far as where guys can line up and how they can line up, how they identify an eligible number as an ineligible player. It's a different signal now, because they didn't have the ability to do that in our game against New England."

"So it's a very simple way to solve a problem that we've already had in the NFL," Harbaugh added, "and colleges have always done -- just to make it easier for the fans and the officials, easier for everybody to understand."

Dean Blandino, the NFL's VP of Officiating, said this week that the proposed rule change would "create logistical challenges."