Ethiopian Review

Punts will apparently routinely be striking the bottom of the massive screen that looms 90 feet above the field at Jerry Jones’ new stadium. The league’s solution: Replay the down.

The NFL will not ask Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to raise the video board in his new stadium so that it won’t obstruct high punts, and instead is changing the rule book to allow for re-dos if the football strikes the board.

After consulting with the competition committee and NFL staff this week, Commissioner Roger Goodell today said the following rule will be in effect for all remaining exhibition, regular-season and postseason games:

“If a ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.

“If there is not an on-field ruling that the ball struck an object, the replay assistant is empowered to initiate a booth review, including if the event occurs prior to the two-minute warning. If, prior to the two-minute warning, no booth review is initiated by the replay assistant, a coach’s challenge is permitted under the customary procedures for such a challenge.”

The rule also says that, in the event a down is replayed, the game clock will be reset, and all penalties will be disregarded except personal fouls.

The massive board in the just-opened $1.2-billion stadium hangs 90 feet above the field. In the third quarter of last Friday’s exhibition game against Tennessee — the first football game in the venue — a punt by the Titans’ A.J. Trapasso struck the underside of the gigantic video screen, which stretches from one 20-yard line to the other.

The ball bounced straight down and was ruled dead, meaning the down had to be replayed. And the plunking wasn’t surprising, seeing as second-stringer Trapasso hit the video board at least three times during warmups, and starter Craig Hentrich nailed it a dozen more.

The concept of a mulligan doesn’t make sense to everyone around the league.

“This game wasn’t created to kick and throw around obstacles,” NFL Network analyst and former coach Mike Martz said in a conference call earlier this week. “It just has to get fixed.”

- By Sam Farmer | LA Times