The NFL announced on Thursday afternoon some rule changes for the upcoming season. First thing the aternative plan for the onside kick was tabled. The plan called for a 4th and 15 play as an alternative to the onside kick. It could be discussed again some time in the future. Other rule changes include:

A bylaw change increased the number of players who could return for injured reserve from two to three per team.

Made permanent the expansion of automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful or unsuccessful point-after-try attempt.

Expanded defenseless player protection to a kickoff or punt returner who is in possession of the ball but who has not had time to avoid or ward off the impending contact of an opponent.

This last rule change is courtesy of Bill Bellichik, and the dastardly Patriots:

Teams are prevented from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running. The rule will eliminate the ability for teams to drain clock while in punt formation with more than 5 minutes remaining on the game clock, which became more prevalent this past year.

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