New NFL rules.?

Question

Can somone explain the new 'ball over pylon' touchdown rule?

-- eliminated a player scoring a touchdown without the ball going over the pylon at the goal line in the corner of the end zone.

see http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-nflmeetings&prov=ap&type=lgns for more rule changes.

Answer 1

The end zone didn't stop at the cones (in theory the goal lines went around the world), so one could dive over the cones out of bounds with the ball breaking the old goal line plane and still make a touch down and that's what players were doing. The new rule has it so that the player has to have the ball break the plane on or between the pylons and not outside the pylons where the goal line still existed in the old rule book.

Also the pylons added the third dimension on the two feet touch down rule when catching balls out of bounds.

Now the ball has to break the plane on or between the pylons for it to be a touchdown. This is related to the foul zone rule in baseball which could have made home runs that much easier if those zones didn't exist.

Answer 2

Gregory should get best answer.

One part that was not clear was as soon as the player comes don he is out of bounds. According to the old rules: if he dives out of bounds, he can't legally be hit. but if he lands after the goal line it was supposedly a TD but if he landed before it then the ball was placed where he went out of bounds.

With the new rules it is not as stupid.:)

Answer 3

well if you touch it you score its really hard to explain though

Answer 4

You just explained it.

Answer 5

Yeah that's true