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Roger Goodell announces proposed changes to improve pace of games

NFL gambling, Roger Goodell
Courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, USA Today Sports

The NFL has heard the cries of fans that are tired of the way games drag on and tend towards herky jerky, rather than a smooth ride. To that end, Roger Goodell announced some proposed changes and some changes that are going into effect for the upcoming NFL season.

The NFL owners are voting to centralize replays, which should certainly cut down on time in between controversial plays that need to be reviewed. Whether that actually improves the quality of reviews remains to be seen, but one thing most fans can certainly agree on is that it’s never fun watching a herd of zebras look at one another with confusion painted across their faces.

Instituting a game clock following extra points and potentially after touchdowns will ensure that teams will have to hustle off the field after scores, but we’re not sure the players will appreciate such a change. Especially those who like to ham it up with post-score dances to appease the masses.

Standardizing the starting of the clock after runners go out of bounds seems like it could potentially wreak havoc with offensive playcalling and substitution packages. This, in turn, could lead to more delay of game penalties, which would inevitably drag out games, rather than speed them up.

Working to standardize halftime breaks sounds great, as does the idea of working with broadcasting partners to “avoid untimely breaks in the action.”

However, not everyone is down with shortening the halftime period.

These ideas have some intriguing potential that could lead to better flow and pace of play. However, they also could lead to some other problems that might make their positive efforts moot. It’s going to be interesting to see how these plans are implemented and how they will work.

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