Every year, the NFL looks just a little bit different because of the new rules, and rule tweaks, that the league decides upon during the Owners Meetings that take place during the offseason. There have been some significant changes passed this year, including the full banning of all chop blocks from the game, a rule the Pittsburgh Steelers and team president Art Rooney II were fully in support of.
There is another rule behind which Rooney threw his weight, however, that I’m not sure makes so much sense. And there was far from consensus on the matter, as evidenced by the fact that it is only being adopted on a one-year trial basis.