This week at the NFL owners meetings, several big items were on the agenda. Here’s a quick look at some of the most important points they discussed and if they apply to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Field surfaces
The league is planning to dedicate a lot of time and resources to studying the impact of various playing surfaces on injuries in an effort to maximize safety for players. The Steelers play on grass at Acrisure Stadium but we understand many teams cannot use a natural surface.
Hip-drop tackles
The league is looking at options to minimize hip-drop tackles which can result in more injuries than a more normal tackle. While we concede this is a potentially dangerous play, you cannot legislate the violence out of a violent sport.
Impact of new kickoff rules
Owners are discussing whether or not the new rule about kickoffs is working. Through six weeks the touchback rate on kickoffs is 80 percent. We are grateful for the new rule if it means Gunner Olszewski’s opportunities to make a mistake are minimized.
Guardian caps in the regular season
The league is very happy with how Guardian Caps helped reduce injuries in training camp and could foresee an application in the regular season. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been a huge proponent of the Guardian Caps.
Changes to coaching interview rules
The league is considering pushing the date to start interviewing external candidates for head coaching jobs to after the division round of the playoffs. Steelers assistants don’t typically land big promotions anywhere but on the team so this isn’t likely to be an issue.
