The tuck rule may be no more.
The Competition Committee explained during a Thursday media conference call that it has proposed the scuttling of the tuck rule. The owners will vote on the change next week in Arizona.
Under the new rule (if it is passed), a quarterback who has pumped the ball and who loses possession while bringing the ball back into his torso will be deemed to have fumbled. Under the current rule (and as Raiders fans know too well) it is an incomplete pass.
The strangest aspect of the decision to eliminate the tuck rule is that there has been no recent, high-profile incident that has prompted the move. Chairman Rich McKay explained that officials persuaded the Competition Committee to make the change during the meetings that resulted in this year’s wave of proposed rule changes.
Actually, it appeared that the officials already took matters into their own hands, during the Ravens-Broncos playoff game.