95th NFL Season
Regular Season: September 4 - December 28 2014.
Playoffs: 3 January 2015.
Superbowl XLIX: February 1, 2015 University of Phoenix stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
Pro Bowl: January 25, 2015 University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
Rule Changes for 2014 so far
- Eliminating the Referee's time out after a sack (previously the clock did not stop for a sack only after the two-minute warning).
Simplify spot of enforcement on defensive fouls committed behind the line of scrimmage to enforce from the previous spot instead of the end of the run or the spot of the foul.
- Raise the height of the goal post to 35 feet from its current height of 30 feet, where it has been since the 1974 NFL Season.
Extend the restriction on roll-up blocks to include such blocks from the side as well as from the back.
- "Dunking" the football through the goal post/crossbar (or any other means of using the goal post/crossbar as a prop in touchdown celebrations) is now considered unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards). This rule was in response to New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham's tendency to dunk the football after scores. One of Graham's dunks during the Saints' Week 12 game against the Atlanta Falcons bent the goal posts so much that the game was delayed several minutes in order for the stadium crew to make repairs. In addition, the aforementioned rule change to extend the goal posts will add extra weight, increasing the chances that it could collapse. This celebration was previously "grandfathered" as legal much like the Lambeau Leap.
- Expand replays to cover recovery of loose balls even if the play is blown dead. This was in response to San Francisco 49ers defensive player NaVorro Bowman's clear recovery of a loose ball and downed by contact in the 2013-14 NFL playoffs but the ball was still given to the Seattle Seahawks after Seahawks running back Michael Robinson took it away from Bowman after Bowman was forced to let go of the ball due to a severe knee injury. Despite the indisputable video evidence of the recovery by Bowman, the play was not reviewable.
- Connecting the officiating command center to the field-to-booth communication relay, allowing the Referee to communicate with the command center during replay reviews. This was in response to some controversial replay reviews during the 2013 season, as well as league officials observing the NHL's command center. Unlike the NHL's replay system however, NFL referees will still make the final decisions instead of the command center.
- Make on-field taunting and use of racial/sexual slurs subject to unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (15 yards).
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