As teams prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft, the owners just concluded their annual meetings in Orlando, Florida.
The purpose of the owner’s meetings is to bring together top representation from each NFL team to discuss possible changes to rules, policies, and regulations.
NFL teams are allowed to submit official proposals to the NFL Competition Committee for rule changes before the owner’s meetings take place.
Here are the requests submitted for 2024:
For the team proposals to lead to an actual rule change, 75% of the owners must approve of it during the official vote.
Of the proposals suggested above, the 75% threshold was reached on only one of them, and it was submitted by the Detroit Lions.
The rule change submitted by Detroit is one of three large-scale changes we will be discussing today, and how they can benefit the Dallas Cowboys.
A New Challenge
Detroit and the fighting Dan Campbells submitted a proposal to the league to amend Rule 15, Section 1, Article 1.
In short, they proposed that one successful challenge out of two should merit the ability to challenge for a third time.
The owners voted and they agreed. This will change the strategy in which challenges are viewed, and add a new wrinkle to the decision on when to throw the red flag.
Mike McCarthy wasn’t shy with his challenge flag during his time in Green Bay.
According to Pro Football Reference, in 13 years with the Packers, McCarthy threw his challenge flag 93 times, an average of just over seven challenges per season.
In four years with the Cowboys, he has just 10 total challenges for an average of 2.5 challenges per season.
McCarthy’s success rate hasn’t been stellar either. As a head coach, he’s challenged 103 plays. 51 were overturned and 52 were upheld.
It’s pretty much a 50/50 shot when McCarthy challenges so a third opportunity per game has fair odds to fall in the Cowboys’ favor.
Hey! You Can’t Tackle Me Like That
The next rule passed is one that is drawing ire from some fans but mostly from current and former defensive players.
There is a tackle that has been given a name for the first time since the horse-collar tackle was made famous by former standout Cowboys’ S Roy Williams.
This new tackle is called the hip-drop tackle, and it can be dangerous but many would say banning it is just another way to give offenses an advantage.
Conspiracy theorists would tell you scoring was down last season and that’s the only reason this new rule passed.
Others will tell you that this tackle has caused countless injuries, including to Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and former Dallas RB Tony Pollard.
The actual mechanics of the tackle require defensive players to wrap up the ball carrier and drop their weight to the ground to bring them down.
Dropping the defender’s weight requires dropping the hips down and swinging the lower body towards the ball carrier.
This usually leads to the ball carrier’s legs being pinned between the ground and the defender’s body while the rest of their body continues momentum forward.
You can see how this can cause some serious injuries, and it will now be prohibited.
The consequence of that tackle is a personal foul resulting in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down for offenses.
It’s Jon Fassel’s Time to Shine
The final change for the 2024 NFL season we will discuss today is the massive change to NFL kickoffs.
Gone are the days of the traditional kickoff. Instead, it’s been replaced with the XFL’s version of a return.
If you’ve been following the breadcrumbs over the past few years, you’d know this change was coming eventually.
The NFL has been actively working to eliminate high-speed collisions on kickoffs.
First, they moved the kickoff from the 25-yard line to the 35-yard line. Then they eliminated the wedge. Now we’ve come to this.
The kicker will still kick from the 35, but the other 10 players on the kickoff team will line up on the receiving team’s 40-yard line.
Returners will line up between the goal line and the 20, in the “landing zone” as it’s currently being called.
Only the kicker and the returner can move while the ball is in the air, and the reduced space between the kickoff and return teams will lead to less impactful collisions.
This is the perfect opportunity for Cowboys ST Coordinator Jon “Bones” Fassel to shine.
The new alignment allows creative coaches to scheme returners into open space, almost like designing an offensive run play with 10 offensive linemen.
Fassel has shown us his creativity before, but I imagine McCarthy and OC Brian Schottenheimer will play a bigger hand in play design.
More touches for speedy KR KaVontae Turpin can only mean good things for the Cowboys moving forward.