There are many stages of grief that a team can go through following the end of their season. It appeared the Los Angeles Rams were stuck in the bargaining phase in February when the team reportedly had two rule changes prepared based on Zach Charbonnet’s clutch two-point conversion in Week 16.
Now, though, it seems McVay’s Rams have reached acceptance. Once again, the Rams have chosen not to pick up the ball and withdrew the proposals ahead of the NFL owners’ meetings. The two rules would have aimed to eliminate plays like the one seen in Seattle’s 38-37 overtime victory, in which Charbonnet scooped up a seemingly incomplete pass that ended up being ruled a completed two-point conversion.
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The first of the two rule changes proposed by the Rams would have changed the rules around backward passes, treating them like a normal fumble. In the case of the Week 16 game, this would have meant that only Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold could advance the ball, and Charbonnet’s recovery would have resulted in an unsuccessful conversion.
The ladder of the two-rule changes would have aimed to eliminate the long review process that kept both teams waiting on that fateful Thursday night. The Rams were proposing a 40-second timer from the end of the play to the initiation of replay review. According to Pro Football Talk, over 100 seconds passed before the referee, Brad Allen, announced that the play was under review in Week 16.
While we’ll never know how the proposed rule changes would have fared, it seems unlikely to pass due to the wacky nature of the play. The Rams have not commented as to why the rule changes were dropped, but maybe the owners’ meeting roundtable interviews will yield clarity.
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Only two teams, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, submitted proposed changes to the rules, according to the NFL. While the Steelers’ change was relatively minor, Cleveland’s proposal is quite significant and would let teams trade draft picks up to five years in the future, expanding from the current three-year threshold.
Any rule change needs at least 24 of the 32 owners to vote in favor of it to get approved. For now, it seems Charbonnet’s instinct to pick up the ball after a whistle will become teach tape for the rest of the league.
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