The Latest on the NFL Meetings (all times local):
5 p.m.
NFL owners rewrote the rule on using the crown of the helmet
Minkah Fitzpatrick Youth Jersey , making it a 15-yard penalty to initiate any hit with it.
Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee, called it ”a significant change,” noting that it was a ”technique too dangerous for the player doing it and the player being hit.”
McKay said the tackle made by the Steelers‘ Ryan Shazier last season that resulted in the linebacker suffering a spinal injury – Shazier underwent spinal stabilization surgery two days later – was not the impetus for the change. But it was an example of what needs to be eliminated from the game.
”This one technique, we saw so many hits when a player lowered his head and delivered a hit and either hurt himself or the player he was hitting,” McKay said. ”It was time for a change of this magnitude.”
The owners did not call for an ejection on such a play – at least not yet. In college football, when a player is penalized for targeting and a replay review affirms it, he is ejected.
Disqualifying players for these hits will be discussed in the future, McKay said, and that would involve replay reviews. He added that the coaches were ”most vociferous” about wanting these hits out of the game.
”I am very pleased to see the overwhelming support of the coaches, general managers and owners that we want to make the game safer,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer. ”This is what change that could be made immediately that could impact this technique.”
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2:35 p.m.
Texans coach Bill O’Brien is confident that J.J. Watt and Deshaun Watson will have successful comebacks from major injuries.
Watt
Cheap Dante Pettis Jersey , the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, missed all but five games with a broken left leg. Watson was a rookie sensation until he tore up his right knee in practice in midseason.
Houston has little chance of being a serious contender in the AFC South without them; it went 4-12 last season.
”J.J.’s doing really well. J.J. has a great attitude,” O’Brien said Tuesday at the NFL meetings. ”He’s a very, very positive guy. He’s been in a great mood the whole offseason about where he’s at. Obviously working very hard. Just like I’ve always said about J.J., I would just tell you that watching him and seeing him in the building every day, I would never bet against J.J. Watt.
”J.J. is a generational player in this league and he’ll be back. He’s going to be back and he’ll be back to full strength and I just watch the way he is, that’s why I feel so good about him. He’s very positive about where he’s at. He knows exactly what he needs to do to get back.”
O’Brien is hoping Watson will be available for limited work later this spring.
”I know he’s ahead of schedule. He’s been in there every day, working hard. I believe that he feels real good about where he is right now and then we’ll just take it one day at a time during the (nine-week) offseason program. … The first two weeks, you’re not really doing anything on the field. The next three weeks, you can do a little bit on the field and then the last four weeks is where you’ve really got to see, because that’s when you’re practicing, which is OTAs with no pads on.
”Maybe he would be able to do some things there. But we’re not in a rush on that, but I do think there’s going to be some things he can do throwing-wise
Harold Landry Youth Jersey , probably not in team drills, but maybe he can do some seven on seven, some of our passing drills to continue to work on the timing with the receivers, especially.”
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1:50 p.m.
Rams coach Sean McVay confirms that newly signed Ndamukong Suh will play nose tackle in defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ 3-4 system.
Los Angeles signed Suh to a one-year deal Monday. The five-time Pro Bowl pick joins three-time All-Pro Aaron Donald – the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year – along a fearsome front line.
”The one thing you feel so good about Aaron Donald is he said, `Hey the guy’s a great football player. If he can help us win, let’s get him on board,”’ McVay said. ”The mutual respect that exists between those two players was imperative and really paramount to even pursue this in the first place.”
The 31-year-old Suh has never played in a 3-4 alignment during his NFL career and is likely to face fewer double teams as a pass rusher while lining up next to Donald.
The Rams have revamped their defense since losing to Atlanta in the NFC wild-card game. They also added cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters.
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12:45 p.m.
NFL owners approved rules changes defining what is a catch on Tuesday, hoping to eliminate much of the controversy and confusion that plagued the league in recent years.
In simplifying the language of the rule, as recommended by the competition committee, the new standards require three elements:
-having control of the ball;
-getting two feet down or another body part;
-making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball.
The committee cited overturned receptions by tight ends Jesse James of the Steelers and Zach Miller of the Bears last season, and went back to similar negated catches by Dez Bryant of the Cowboys and Calvin Johnson of the Lions in previous seasons.
Also approved was making permanent spotting the ball at the 25-yard line after a touchback on a kickoff;
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets have reached the stage in their season where they only have one goal for their final game — just don’t get hurt.
With second place in the Central Division locked up — they can’t catch Nashville for first and the Minnesota Wild
Tremaine Edmunds Jersey Youth , who the Jets will play in the first round of the playoffs, are permanently entrenched in third — Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks will serve little purpose other than maintaining good habits for the postseason.
Well, a couple of personal milestones are possible.
Right winger Patrik Laine is still in the running for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy — he trails Alex Ovechkin in goals, 47 to 44.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has tied Tom Barrasso for the most wins ever by an American goaltender in a season with 43. He is expected to get the start against Chicago. Barrasso set the record with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992-93.
Laine, 19, who broke a seven-game goalless skid this week, has pretty much conceded the goal-scoring race to his boyhood idol.
“A lot of things can happen. But I don’t want to think about that. Because then it’s just going to be hard to play if you’re thinking about those kinds of things,” he told The Winnipeg Sun.
“Those past couple of games I felt like the pucks were bouncing all over the place and just couldn’t get a handle on it. It just affects you when you’re not scoring and when you’re not getting points as a second-line guy. It’s inside your head.
“But my head is pretty strong. I’m not going to let those things affect my head and my game.”
The Jets got an injury scare in Thursday’s snoozer 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames when defenseman Josh Morrissey was sent sliding into the boards, back-first, by Michael Stone in the first period. Jets fans held their breath as Morrissey stayed down for a second and winced as he made his way to the bench. He played a regular shift for the remainder of the game.
Regardless of Saturday’s result, the Jets have already set a franchise record at 51-20-10. Chicago, meanwhile, has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2017-18 campaign
Jamal Adams Jersey , following up its 50-win season last year with a record of 33-37-10, good for last in the Central.
With any playoff aspirations long-gone, the big news out of the Blackhawks was that coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman, the architects of three Stanley Cup winners since 2010, will be back next season.
Team president Joe McDonough told a news conference that he believes in continuity.
“They’ve had an incredible body of success. We’re not tethered to the past. This has been a very disappointing year and our expectations are incredibly high. We’re not going to deviate from those expectations. But I believe both Stan and Joel are the guys that are going to bring this back,” he said.
This marks the second time that the Jets have qualified for the playoffs since moving from Atlanta in 2011. They were swept in four straight games by the Anaheim Ducks in 2015.
You have to go back to 1996, when that version of the Jets played the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, to find a Jets victory in the post-season. The Jets lost the series 4-2, picking up their last win in Detroit, a 3-1 decision on April 26.
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