Team owners on Wednesday barred ball carriers from using the crown of their helmets to make forcible contact with a defender in the open field. The previous day, they eliminated the peel-back block everywhere on the field.
"This meeting is primarily about evaluating our rules both from a safety standpoint and what we think we can do to improve and make the game better," Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We made some very significant progress on both of those fronts."
The second significant player safety rule passed this week came with much debate - and some criticism, naturally, from running backs. Several coaches and team executives expressed concern about officiating the new rule, but Goodell championed it and it passed 31-1. Cincinnati voted no.
But if it was good enough for football's greatest running back, NFL owners figure, it should work in the 21st century.
"Jim Brown never lowered his head," Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney said with a smile. "It can be done."
The changes were the latest involving safety, and head injuries in particular, with the issue receiving heightened attention amid hundreds of lawsuits filed by former players claiming that the NFL did not do enough to prevent concussions in years past. League officials have defended the NFL's record and did so again Wednesday.
"I have always thought that player safety has been at the forefront of our discussion for a long, long time," said Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee that recommends rule changes. "The game has gotten safer over time. Where we have really focused is on the big hits, the open field hits and hits where players truly can't defend themselves. In this step that we are taking, we are trying to protect the player from himself with respect to this rule."
The tuck rule, one of the most criticized in pro football, was eliminated. Now, if a quarterback loses control of the ball before he has fully protected it after opting not to throw, it is a fumble.
The Steelers were the only team to vote against getting rid of the tuck rule. New England and Washington abstained.
"We have so many continuing action plays, it's a different scope," said Ravens coach Marvin Lewis, also a member of the competition committee. "Because of the evolution of replay and putting turnovers into automatic reviews, it just seemed like an easier transition to make right now.
"It was put in before for player safety, but it is not being ruled as that. There's a mad scramble for the ball."
Peel-back blocks had been legal inside the tackle box, but now players can't turn back toward their goal line and block an opponent low from behind anywhere on the field.
Video review now will be allowed when a coach challenges a play that he is not allowed to. But the coach will be penalized or lose a timeout, depending on when he threw the challenge flag.
That change stems from Houston's Thanksgiving victory over Detroit in which Lions coach Jim Schwartz challenged a touchdown run by the Texans' Justin Forsett. Although officials clearly missed Forsett being down by contact before breaking free on the 81-yard run, when Schwartz threw the red flag on a scoring play that automatically is reviewed, the referee could not go to replay.
That loophole has been eliminated.
Goodell was eager to get approved the competition committee's proposal to outlaw the use of the crown of the helmet by ball carriers, and there was talk the vote would be tabled until May if the rule change didn't have enough support.
But after watching videos of the play that clearly showed the differences in legal and illegal moves by ball carriers, the owners voted yes - and then applauded the decision, something Rams coach Jeff Fisher said is "rare."
"We had discussions with the players association and the players themselves, the coaches' subcommittee," said Fisher, co-chairman of the competition committee. "A lot of people talked to us about this rule and how to roll it out in our game."
The penalty will be 15 yards from the spot of the foul, and if the offensive and defensive players both lower their heads and use the crown of the helmet to make contact, each will be penalized.
"It'll certainly make our runners aware of what we expect relative to use of the helmet," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "One of the questions I ask a lot is who gains from this, offense or defense? And it's a toss-up as to which side of the ball has the advantage on this rule, if any. The main thing is it's pro-health and safety, and that's the big thing."
The owners discussed simply using fines on ball carriers to eliminate the tactic, but instead voted to make the rule change.
Goodell announced that the Pro Bowl will be held in Honolulu on Jan. 26, the Sunday before the Super Bowl. The commissioner has considered scrapping the all-star game, but was satisfied with the level of performance in this year's matchup, won 62-25 by the NFC.
He added that the system for choosing the players won't change, but some consideration has been given to having team captains select their rosters, rather than an AFC vs. NFC format.
The Rooney Rule that requires every team to interview at least one minority candidate when there is a coaching or general manager opening was discussed at length. This year, with eight coaching vacancies and seven for GMs, no minority candidates were hired.
Goodell said he was disappointed in those results and would like to see more flexibility when teams ask to interview candidates whose clubs still are playing.
"One of the major focuses we've had was that we are going to reinstate the symposium program that we've had in the past," Goodell said. "That was primarily focused on coaches, but we are likely to have some potential GM candidates also attend with the coaches."
The owners also approved tight ends and H-backs wearing numbers between 40 and 49. Previously, they were supposed to have numbers in the 80s. --
AP Sports Writer Bob Baum contributed to this story.
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Jannik Hansen and Dale Weise also scored for Vancouver (14-9-6), which ended a two-game losing streak.
Jaden Schwartz and Patrik Berglund both scored in the third period for the Blues (16-11-2), who lost for only the second time in seven games. St. Louis had won three straight with rookie goalie Jake Allen. He stopped 16 Canucks shots.
The Blues outshot the Canucks 34-19. Vancouver managed only a total of five shots in the first and third periods.
After being badly outshot in the opening frame, the Canucks woke up in the second period and scored three unanswered goals.
Schneider started after watching the previous four games from the bench. He was kept busy in a scoreless first period as the Blues outshot the Canucks 15-3.
He made saves on David Perron from left wing and Alex Pietrangelo from the right point. After retrieving his own rebound, Perron sent the puck to Pietrangelo.
Later in the period, he robbed Pietrangelo from short range with his glove and foiled Andy McDonald, who returned to the Blues lineup after missing 10 games with a knee injury.
Hansen opened the scoring 2:30 into the second period when he took a cross-ice pass from Mason Raymond in the neutral zone, skated over the blue line and beat Allen with a slap shot.
The goal came on Vancouver's sixth shot of the game. Daniel Sedin gave the Canucks a 2-0 lead less than two minutes later when he fired in brother Henrik's angle pass from behind the goal line.
Daniel Sedin ended his scoring drought at eight games.
Weise, known for fisticuffs rather than scoring dexterity, extended Vancouver's lead to 3-0 midway through the second period on a nifty play. He took a spin-around forehand pass from Jordan Schroeder and then deked Allen while skating across the goal mouth.
It was Weise's second goal of the season and first in 11 games.
The Blues got on the scoreboard just over five minutes into the third period when Vladimir Tarasenko's shot bounced in off Schwartz, cutting their deficit to 3-1.
Berglund pulled St. Louis within a goal at 13:38 of the third as Kris Russell's shot bounced to him off the back of Canuck defenseman Chris Tanev's head.
The Canucks received a power play with 3:06 left in the third period as Vladimir Sobotka was called for holding. The whistle finally blew after the Canucks had a prolonged delayed penalty, struggled to get the puck up the ice with an extra attacker. Kevin Bieksa just missed the net as he tried to put in a pass from Raymond.
St. Louis was blanked on three power plays. The Canucks were unsuccessful on two.
NOTES: The Canucks lost forward Zack Kassian to an injury in the first period. He had returned to Vancouver's lineup after missing the previous two games with a sore back. He fought St. Louis forward Chris Stewart, the NHL's first star of the week, less than three minutes in. ... Vancouver forward Andrew Ebbett was scratched, and David Booth remains out indefinitely with a leg injury. ... Stewart played his 300th NHL game. ... Blues forward T.J. Oshie missed his third consecutive game with a rib injury. He is expected to return Saturday in Edmonton.
The 37 year old right-hander made a surprise appearance at the St. Louis Cardinals' spring-training camp yesterday and said he's still dealing with numbing and tingling sensations in his pitching hand, arm and shoulder.
Asked if he wanted to continue pitching, the former Cy Young Award winner said, "I do. I just don't think I can."
The Missouri Tigers also got a ticket to the big dance. Mizzou is the ninth seed in the Midwest. They'll face the No. 8 seed Colorado State on Thursday.
If Mizzou and SLU make it through the first two rounds of the tournament, they would face each other in the Elite 8.
After an up and down season, the Fighting Illini made it into the tournament with a No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed Colorado in the Eastern Region on Friday.
Long, the first overall pick of the 2008 draft, spent a few days in St. Louis last week and passed a physical, but left without a deal. Kevin Demoff, the Rams' chief operating officer, confirmed the signing Sunday night.
Long is the Rams' second acquisition in free agency along with tight end Jake Cook, who got a five-year deal.
Long made the Pro Bowl each of his first four seasons. He finished last season on injured reserve with a left triceps injury and the Dolphins declined to give him a franchise tag and pay him $15.4 million next season.
Earlier in the day, Wes Welker announced he was leaving New England for a free agent deal with the Denver Broncos. That opened the door for Amendola.
Matheny had the procedure yesterday in St. Louis. Before leaving the team on Sunday, Matheny said he expected to be back at spring training for Thursday's game against Atlanta in Jupiter.
The 42 year old Matheny, who replaced Tony La Russa as manager after the 2011 season, said early in spring training that the injury probably traces back to his days as a big league catcher from 1994-06.
Bench coach Mike Aldrete is managing the team in Matheny's absence.
"It's never perfect, but that was fun to watch," interim Coach Jim Crews said after No. 16 Saint Louis trounced La Salle in the second half and clinched a share of the Atlantic 10 title with a 78-54 victory Saturday. "Really, they kept getting better and better, and that's unusual. That's very unusual."
Dwayne Evans had 16 points and 17 rebounds for Saint Louis, which led by just two points at halftime and then made 17 of 20 shots. Kwamain Mitchell had 19 points and six assists on senior day to help the Billikens (24-6, 13-3) win their first conference title since 1970-71 in the Missouri Valley and clinch the top seed in the A-10 Tournament next week in Brooklyn, N.Y.
"Everyone made plays," Mitchell said. "We kept pushing it and pushing it, and we came up with some great shots."
Rob Loe matched his career best with 20 points, hitting all seven shots. The Billikens shot 58 percent overall, one game after shooting a season-worst 30 percent in an overtime loss at Xavier.
"I couldn't be more pleased or proud or tickled for these guys to win a championship," Crews said. "It's hard to win a game, much less a championship."
Saint Louis has won 12 of its last 13 under Crews, who made it a smooth transition after taking over for the late Rick Majerus with no assurances past the end of the season. The Billikens can take the title outright if VCU loses at Temple today.
Seniors Cory Remeken, Cody Ellis and Mitchell were among the first to snip the nets.
"I'm sure he's proud right now," Ellis, an Australian import whose parents made the trip for the last two games, said in reference to Majerus. "He's watching this from somewhere. "
Tyrone Garland had 15 points off the bench for La Salle (21-8, 11-5). The Explorers entered the day in second place after winning seven of eight and had been 2-0 in the Chaifetz Arena before absorbing a 24-point loss that was the school's worst of the season.
"That was about as bad a beating as you could take in the second half," La Salle Coach John Giannini said. "I'm really disappointed with the way we played. They took it to us. They won a lot of individual battles — maybe all of them in the second half."
Ramon Galloway, who leads the Explorers with a 17.8-point average, was just 3 for 12 and had eight points.
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