The 2022 NFL season has ended and the long off-season dull has set in. There have been some surprising announcements including legends retiring and trade rumors for others, but there have also been some exciting developments between the league and its protege league.
The NFL and the XFL agreed this week to a partnership that would benefit both leagues. The goal of this partnership remains to be unforeseen, but rumors include grooming players, testing rules, and more.
For the XFL this would mean a lot more exposure, and a great deal of validations, but how does this help the NFL?
This agreement could potentially allow easy transitions for players moving up or down. Young and up and comers would more easily be able to negotiate contracts with NFL teams, and there could be deals between NFL organizations and XFL teams to draft players who need development, in a similar system to the MLB’s feeder leagues.
And like the MLB, the NFL could use the XFL to test new rules and see how they would best be implemented into games before they are brought into the big show.
With that in mind, here are a few rules that the XFL has adopted, that the NFL should consider implementing.
Rule 1 -The game clock stops after every play inside of two minutes at the end of the half and the end of the game, but each team only gets two timeouts per half.
Because of the strategy used by teams to throw the ball and conserve the clock at the end of each half, this would allow for teams to use a broader playbook and create more dynamic end game outcomes.
Rule 2 – Two Forward Passes behind the line of scrimmage
In the past season, we saw more flea-flickers and double passes than we have seen in a very long time. Why not take it to another level and allow two forward passes. This would add an entirely new portfolio of never-before-seen plays to the league.
Rule 3 – Punt coverage can not run until the ball is kicked.
To avoid fair catches, and injuries from blindside hits, this rule seems like it should have been implemented a long time ago. This rule allows the return team a chance to return the ball, and every fan can agree this is far more exciting than a fair catch most of the time.
Rule 4 – For overtime decisions, each team gets five turns to score on a single play from the 5-yard line. Most points after the turns win the game.
This rule is pretty straightforward, and maybe even stolen from soccer, but it does have the advantage of avoiding ties in most cases and giving each team a fair shot, which has been a point of contention after the 2021 playoff season.
What the relationship between the XFL and NFL will be is yet to be made clear, but with the help of the league it looks like the XFL is going to have a bright future, and a great community to develop young players and fans from more regions.
