PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A proposal to reseed the NFL playoffs was rejected by team owners and withdrawn by the league's competition committee on Wednesday.
The owners did pass several resolutions, including eliminating the forceout on receptions; allowing teams to defer their decision to the second half when winning the opening coin toss; and making field goals and extra points subject to replay review to determine whether the ball passes over the crossbar and through the uprights.
In addition, any direct snap from center that is untouched by the quarterback now will be a live ball; in the past it was considered a false start and the play was blown dead. The 5-yard penalty for incidental contact with a facemask has been eliminated, with the 15-yarder remaining for any grasping or twisting of the facemask.
On Tuesday, the owners approved a communication device in the helmet of one defensive player.
The lack of support for reseeding, in which a wild-card team with a better record than a division winner would play at home in the first playoff round, did not surprise New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
"I do believe if you win a division, it's good for your fans to know you will have a home game," Kraft said. "To win a division, there is a reward and we wanted to keep that."
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher said eliminating the forceout rule was approved unanimously and that it will help officiating. A receiver now must get two feet inbounds unless he actually is carried out of bounds by a defender after catching the ball.
Also:
• League commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated he wants to meet with former Patriots employee Matt Walsh, who has indicated he has more information about the team taping opponents' signals. But Goodell added "at some point, I will run out of patience."
• Atlanta president Rich McKay said the competition committee will look into scheduling more games between division opponents late in the season to combat the possibility of meaningless matchups.
