Football Rules

As the football season opened, puzzled followers read and reread the new rules and finally fixed these essential changes in their minds:

1) Goal posts will no longer stand on goal lines, but in the same relative positions ten yards back. This shift will prevent injury to players smashing into posts on touchdown plays and will eliminate confusion caused by the old position of posts, often in the way of goal line plays and punts from back of the line. Drop-kickers will have to boot ten yards harder to score three points.

2) Time changes. Attacking teams are limited to 30 seconds between plays (eliminating "stalling" when a team is ahead in the last quarter). Attacking teams may crouch in a "huddle" only 15 seconds giving signals. Shift plays are prohibited unless the attacking team stops a full second between the players, shift and the snapping of the ball from centre. Violation of the 15-second "huddle" rule costs five yards; violation of the one second shift rule, 15 yards.

3) Quarterbacks breathed easier. No longer can a team that has just punted pick up a muffed punt and score. The punting team can recover such a punt but the ball is down where muffed.

4) Lateral passes are protected. In previous seasons only forward passes were declared dead when uncaught or knocked to the ground. Now the attacking team can perfect a lateral passing attack with same protection. This change is expected to develop a complicated and spectacular system of open passing play. Lateral passes, however, can be intercepted like forward passes, and run back for gains and touchdowns.