# Resolved: Rules changes in all four major U.S. sports that completely fix their flaws **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb, basketball-nba, hockey-nhl, football-nfl\ **Created:** [October 14, 2023, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578 "2023-10-14T20:14:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/41 "2023-10-15T15:07:38Z")
Good point there, thanks for the clarification. After looking it up, it appears that this rule also applies to the end of the 2nd quarter, so my modification might be moot after all. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/42 "2023-10-15T15:11:21Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > In my youth it seemed that runs scored were a big thing, now RBIs get much more attention. RBIs have always been a more popular stat. Historically they were always the stat most associated with winning MVP Awards. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/43 "2023-10-15T15:46:03Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I assume that it’d be “replay the down” if the yardage penalty didn’t result in a first down for the offense, yes? Correct. Thanks for pointing that out. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/44 "2023-10-15T15:48:00Z")
I’m fine with defensive interference when it should actually be applied. Too often for me it’s being called for what should be holding or passes not likely to be caught. Otherwise no receiver will have a chance to catch a pass for more than 15 yards unless he’s wide open. The automatic 1st down with a 15 yard penalty means little to the defense because in most cases a reception would have resulted in a 1st down anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/45 "2023-10-15T15:53:11Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > then OPI should be a turnover, since the assumption is that the player interfered with would have caught the ball. I think the assumption is that the defender has been denied the opportunity to defend the pass, not necessarily catch it. I think that OPI should be a 10-yard penalty plus loss of down. > [@TriPolar](#): > > The automatic 1st down with a 15 yard penalty means little to the defense because in most cases a reception would have resulted in a 1st down anyway. That’s a good point, but as has already been pointed out, the 15-yard penalty seems to work pretty well in the college game. (In college, DPI in the end zone results in the ball being placed at the 2-yard line.) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/46 "2023-10-15T16:33:21Z")
> [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > I’m unsure as to whether to award an automatic touchdown if DPI occurs in the end zone, because that’s not even a thing right now. There’s a meta-rule (I don’t know if it’s written down or not) in football that a team can’t score because the other team fouled. They can score despite the foul, in which case, decline the penalty and count the score. Anyway, awarding a TD on pass interference would violate that meta-rule. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/47 "2023-10-15T16:38:29Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > There’s a meta-rule (I don’t know if it’s written down or not) in football that a team can’t score because the other team fouled. Exception for certain penalties in their own endzone (intentional grounding, holding) that result in a safety. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/48 "2023-10-15T17:19:33Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > In CFL, the ball must be returned; there is no fair catch rule. Makes the game much more exciting. The CFL has that thing where a team can score one point on a kick-off, punt or missed FG by downing the ball in the endzone, which means the defending/receiving team has to prevent that from happening. There is no “touchback”, unless the ball goes out the back. Of course, the single is facilitated by the fact that the endzone is twice as deep and the goalposts are on the goal line. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/49 "2023-10-15T17:32:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > - Kicker kicks off from his own 35 yard line > - The other ten members of the kicking team line up at the opponent’s 35 yard line > - All members of the return team (other than the returner) line up at their own 30 yard line (i.e., five yards away from the kicking team) > - No one other than the kicker and the returner may move from their set positions until the ball is fielded. bI’d think they could mitigate most of the injuries by just lining everyone else up between their respective 40 and 45 yard lines, and kick from the 30. That way, there’s very little opportunity for anyone to get up much of a head of steam before they’re getting to grips with the opposing team. Plus, the further-back kickoff and closer kickoff teams would tend to lend themselves to better field position and/or more breakaway kickoff returns, thereby heightening crowd excitement about kickoffs. Onside kicks might be a bit more interesting; maybe remove the “has to travel 10 yards” rule, and just make it have to go 3 or 5 or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/50 "2023-10-15T17:33:45Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > NBA: break up the game into multiple sub-games, where the team with the most points wins that game (like in tennis). That way, you have points that matter throughout, rather than just at the end. The CBA did something like that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/51 "2023-10-15T17:35:06Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > There’s a meta-rule (I don’t know if it’s written down or not) in football that a team can’t score because the other team fouled. > > Exception for certain penalties in their own endzone (intentional grounding, holding) that result in a safety. OK, correct the meta-rule to the offense can’t score due to a defensive foul. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/52 "2023-10-15T17:35:18Z")
The issue with the near-automatic extra point should have been that extra points (1 point try) can only be done by dropkick. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/53 "2023-10-15T17:55:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > bI’d think they could mitigate most of the injuries by just lining everyone else up between their respective 40 and 45 yard lines, and kick from the 30. The XFL rule does exactly the same thing: the kicking and receiving teams are only lined up five yards apart. It’s just a matter of _where_ they’re lined up. If you had them lined up near midfield (as you propose), but unable to move before the receiver touches the ball, it’d give the receiver a massive head start (and distance traveled) before he encounters a potential tackler, making a significant change to kickoff return distance and relative field position for the receiving team. Historically, most kickoff returns wind up being about 15-20 yards long, and result in a starting field position around the 20-25 yard line; what you propose would probably add another 10-15 yards or more to that. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/54 "2023-10-15T18:04:04Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The issue with the near-automatic extra point should have been that extra points (1 point try) can only be done by dropkick. They wanted conversion rates to drop down from the 99+% that they had become, to something more like the 95% rate that it’d been a few decades ago. Dropkicks would have a stupidly low conversion rate, simply because it’s not been a regularly-practiced\* technique for 70 years, as well as the fact that it was phased out in the first place because changes to the ball shape, made to enhance the passing game, made the ball bounce less reliably on a dropkick. \*- Yes, yes, I know, Doug Flutie. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/55 "2023-10-15T18:08:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Dropkicks would have a stupidly low conversion rate, simply because it’s not been a regularly-practiced\* technique for 70 years, I suspect if you gave modern NFL kickers a year to practice 27 yd (10 + 2 + 15) dropkicks they would hit with 90+% accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/56 "2023-10-15T18:10:41Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > I suspect if you gave modern NFL kickers a year to practice 27 yd (10 + 2 + 15) dropkicks they would hit with 90+% accuracy. I’m going to disagree, but we wouldn’t know for certain until it was actually attempted. Again, part of the issue with dropkick accuracy is the unpredictability of the ball bounce. NFL kickers are 95+% accurate on a kick of 20-30 yards today, but that’s because nearly all of them have been practicing such kicks, on a more-or-less daily basis, for years (typically 10+ years or more, counting high school and college). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/57 "2023-10-15T18:25:59Z")
I’ll also note, regarding dropkick accuracy, that in [1933](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1933/#all_kicking), the last NFL season before the ball was changed to a more pointed shape, the extra point conversion rate (which would have been largely, if not entirely, dropkicks) was 79%. By [1941](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1941/#all_kicking) (the last season in which a kicker attempted a dropkick in an NFL game, prior to Doug Flutie in 2006), when the placement kick had taken over, the conversion rate had risen to 88%. By [1946](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1946/#all_kicking) (the first fully post-war season), it was 93%. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/58 "2023-10-15T22:14:14Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I think the assumption is that the defender has been denied the opportunity to defend the pass, not necessarily catch it. I think that OPI should be a 10-yard penalty plus loss of down. That first part is not right. OPI can be called when no one catches the ball. I agree with the loss of down part. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/59 "2023-10-15T22:40:18Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > OPI can be called when no one catches the ball. I certainly didn’t state that OPI is only called when the receiver catches the ball. Many times OPI is called when the receiver pushes the defender away from the play, and the flag is thrown regardless if the ball is caught or not. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2023, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578/60 "2023-10-15T23:17:49Z")
There is a type of OPI that was added recently, where a receiver throws a block on a defender as part of running a pattern. The receiver is not designated to make the catch and never handles or goes for the ball, but they started calling it OPI because of the injury risk to the defender, who is not expecting a hit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-rules-changes-in-all-four-major-u-s-sports-that-completely-fix-their-flaws/991578.md?page=4)