Click here to submit your question

Question: Ed, about the new rules. Do you defer to the second half or take the ball? And do you think the new rule for out of bounds catches will give the defense an advantage? With the way the rule is written I think one-foot-down should be a catch.

Ricky Smith, Pensacola, Fla.

BOUCHETTE: I think the first rule is unnecessary and I like the second. What does it matter who wins the coin flip? It's like they are trying to give the winner an extra reward, giving him a choice whether to take the ball now or in the second half. It's a choice that was unnecessary. So, what used to be the winner is now the loser because almost always the winner will decide to defer to the second half. That means the loser has to choose and, barring terrible weather conditions, he almost always will decide to receive the opening kickoff -- thus, the winner will kick off, where in the past he received, the opening kick. I'm glad the NFL owners spent so much time on that one. I like the out-of-bounds rule, and I've seen it already make a difference in a few preseason plays. If the receiver can't land in bounds, he should not get the catch. It's a rule that favors the defense, and there have been few of those over the past 30 years.