Owners Back Anti-Cheating Measures

PALM BEACH, Fla., April 2 -- NFL owners endorsed Commissioner Roger Goodell's measures for cracking down on cheating as the annual league meeting ended Wednesday at a resort here.

The owners ratified a series of relatively minor rule changes but overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by the league's competition committee to change the formula for seeding playoff teams.

The focus of the meeting was Goodell's anti-cheating measures in the aftermath of the videotaping scandal involving the New England Patriots. Although the measures didn't require the owners' approval, Goodell sought input, and the owners pledged their "full support to the commissioner in his efforts" in their written resolution.

The measures include unannounced inspections by league officials of teams' locker rooms, stadium press boxes and in-game communication equipment; a lowering of the standard of proof required to impose discipline; and annual certifications by teams that they complied with all rules and reported all violations.

During his post-meeting news conference, Goodell was asked repeatedly about the league's attempts to negotiate an agreement with the attorney for former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh. The deal would provide legal protections for Walsh to be interviewed by league officials about possible further wrongdoing by the Patriots. Goodell said he would "run out of patience" at some point and didn't rule out eventually pursuing other avenues to attempt to get Walsh to divulge what he knows, but indicated he remains hopeful at this point of completing an indemnification agreement.

"I think it's important that we get to the bottom of it," Goodell said.

Said league counsel Jeff Pash: "We're having a good dialogue with his attorney. I think we're making progress. . . . There's a reason why attorneys get paid by the hour."

The reseeding proposal by the competition committee would have made wild-card teams eligible for the third through sixth playoff seeds in each conference rather than merely the fifth and sixth seeds. The intent was to eliminate some meaningless games late in the regular season, but many owners wanted to maintain the reward for a team that wins its division.

"It went down in flames," New York Giants co-owner John Mara said.

The proposal needed 24 votes among the 32 teams to be enacted. It didn't even make it to a vote, being withdrawn by the competition committee after a show of hands demonstrated how little support it had.

"It doesn't mean we won't have a new proposal at some point in the future," said Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay, the co-chairman of the competition committee.

The owners approved proposals to eliminate the "force-out" rule, requiring a receiver to get two feet in bounds for a legal catch even if shoved by a defender; to make field goal attempts subject to instant-replay review; to eliminate the five-yard version of the face-mask penalty; and to give the team that wins the coin toss before the game the option to defer its choice and receive the second-half kickoff.

A proposal to connect one defensive player per team to a coach on the sideline via a wireless communication device during games was approved Tuesday. A proposal by the competition committee to create a five- to seven-day window before the opening of the free agent market each year in which players eligible for free agency could negotiate with all teams is to be considered by the owners at their next meeting in May. So, too, is a proposal by the Kansas City Chiefs to restrict the length of players' hair.