Your “One Week Until the Jets/Bears/Giants Blow Their Pick” Thursday Evening Open Thread

The Draft is next Thursday! [DFO] will be your Open Thread headquarters, so tell your friends.

NFL Notes:

• It’s “New Rules” Day:
  • Replay will now involve “consultation” between the refs of the field and the booth in New York.
    • In technical terms, the authority to consult with referees on certain “specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious video evidence is present,” according to the language of the rule.
      • This will be limited to the areas of possession, completed or intercepted passes, the location of the ball relative to the boundary or end line, and whether a player is down by contact.
  • A relaxation of rules for the numbers that players of certain positions can wear because of expanded practice squads.
    • Running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defensive backs and linebackers can all wear numbers in the single digits now if they choose.
      • So, quarterbacks, punters and place-kickers can wear numbers 1-19, defensive backs 1-49, and then running backs, tight ends and wide receivers 1-49 and 80-89. Offensive linemen can wear 50-79, defensive linemen 50-79 and 90-99, and linebackers 1-59 and 90-99.
    • Fun fact: based on preexisting NFL rules, players who want to change their numbers this season will have to buy out the inventory of the NFL’s manufacturing partners.
      • To avoid this, they have to announce a number change one year prior to the season where they want to do so.
  • Approved a one-year experiment in an attempt to make it easier to recover onside kicks.
    • In 2021, the receiving team on kickoffs will be limited to nine players within 25 yards of the ball.
  • They eliminated overtime in preseason games.
  • They changed a rule that will now force a loss of down if two passes are completed behind the line of scrimmage.
  • They approved a rule change that ensures the enforcement of all accepted penalties during successive try attempts, defined as an opportunity for a team to score one or two additional points during a one-scrimmage down.
    • I think that means no “fifteen yards will be added to the kickoff”, but the language is confusing to me.
  • They’ve decided to focus on taunting for the 2021 season.
    • They will focus on “acrimonious interactions” between players.
    • Touchdown & other such celebrations will still be allowed, so long as there is no aspect of the celebration that involves provoking the other team.

• Reaction has been swift on the jersey numbers front:
  • Tom Brady doesn’t like it.
    • “Good luck trying to block the right people now!!!!”
      • He actually included the four exclamation points in the original tweet.
    • He doubled-down later, with the Instagram note on the right some reporter helpfully clipped.
      • I’m guessing he fears regressing to that dorky kid who was barely drafted out of Michigan.
  • Jalen Ramsey loves it.
    • So much so that I predict a future [DFO] article referencing it.

Lol nah me & bro working together to figure this thang out 🤟🏾 https://t.co/1UKpwpOBP4

— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) April 21, 2021

Oh, and the new schedule will be released on May 12, in a LIVE! special on the NFL Network.

Sad news today as Les McKeown of the Bay City Rollers died, aged 75.

Considered one of the first true “boy bands”, because they were all between 16-21 when they formed the group – they were one of the biggest international acts between 1975-78. However, they were controlled by a manager – Tam Paton – who not only prevented them from accessing their royalties, but allegedly used drugs to keep the band dependent upon him and to attempt sexual assaults on them. What wasn’t alleged but proven was that he was a sort of Scottish Jimmy Savile, hiding in plain sight. In 1982, he was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to molesting 10 boys over a three-year period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrkNoWIho_M

The Bay City Rollers sold more than 120 million records in the 1970s, and alleged Paton deprived them of up to £50m in royalties. They sued Arista Records in 2007 over unpaid royalties they were promised. Paton died in 2009, and to spite the Rollers left his estate – valued at £2.9 million – to charity. After nine years of legal battles they settled with Arista/Sony in 2016 for $3.5 million, with each band member getting just over $100,000.

There were personal troubles for McKeown, as he killed a 76 year-old woman while driving in Edinburgh in 1978. Despite allegations of excessive speed, he was only found guilty of reckless driving. He was fined £100 and banned from driving for a year. McKeown claimed in numerous interviews over the years that the guilt over the incident never left him, and was a big part of his alcoholism.

RIP, you magnificent Scottish bastard.

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Toronto vs Winnipeg – 7:00pm | Sportsnet
• NBA:
  • Phoenix vs Boston – 7:00pm | TSN
  • Philadelphia vs Milwaukee – 7:00pm | TNT / Sportsnet360
  • LA Lakers vs Dallas – 9:30pm | TNT / TSN
• MLB:
  • No national broadcasts without MLBN

It’s Sexy tomorrow night, so I’ll see you cats on the weekend.