Fansided

Be on the lookout: 5 things NFL officials are supposed to watch out for this season

By Dani Bostick

Dec 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) fumbles the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) fumbles the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Be nice and don’t fight.

Next: Every NFL Team's Best Draft Pick Of All-Time

Each year NFL officials hone in on certain infractions. Points of emphasis for the 2014 season included offensive pass interference, defensive pass interference and false starts to include non-football movements at the line of scrimmage. Here’s a look at what referees will be focused on this season.

1) Hits and blocks to the head and neck.

Once upon a time, in a league far, far away, helmet-to-helmet hits were commonplace, and dazed, concussed players were hailed as heroes for stumbling back onto the field of play. Today’s NFL, however, is attempting to mitigate a public relations and policy disaster by showing they care about players’ neurological health. To that end, referees have been instructed to crack down even more on players who target opponents’ heads and necks.

2) Players being mean.

Football is a violent game, and players are trained to bring a certain level of abject nastiness and boorishness to the field. This was an area of focus last year and, according to the NFL, it made the game friendlier.

Do fans really want a friendly NFL? Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is a pioneer in NFL sportsmanship and overall friendliness, praising defenders who level him with compliments like “what a hit!” and “great job.”

While taking sportsmanship to this extreme probably isn’t necessary, the NFL does want to eliminate racial slurs, comments about sexual orientation and verbal abuse. How referees will accurately enforce this remains to be seen. Certainly introducing extreme friendliness and a culture of tattletaling to a sport predicated on violence and aggression could be a turn off to the fan base. “But, ref! He hurt my feelings!!!!”

3) Fighting.

Players will be ejected this year if they engage in fighting. Players who don’t walk away from the fight will be fined. Steve Smith was ejected in a preseason game because of a fight that ensued after Redskins linebacker Keenan Robinson slammed Ravens receiver Kamar Aiken head first into the ground.

4) Players pulling other players off of a recover-the-loose-Ball pile.

This new area of focus has the potential to perplex fans who are unaware officials have put on the lookout for this infraction. Listen up! If you aren’t part of the pile from the beginning, don’t join in the fun. That includes pulling players off in an aggressive manner. In other words, if you are an NFL player, you need to stand around the scrum awkwardly instead of getting involved (which, honestly, also looks a bit awkward).

5) Catches that aren’t catches. 

In order for a catch to be ruled as such, players need to collect the ball, get both feet on the ground, maintain control of the ball, and become a runner. Confusingly, players don’t actually need to run to become a runner. The NFL says they simply need to have “the ability to ward off or protect himself from impeding contact.”

More from FanSided

Home/NFL