If the Steelers are going to support a rule that may rein in wide receiver Hines Ward, it will take some convincing from those in favor of it.
Ward broke the jaw of Keith Rivers last October with a crack-back block that flattened the Cincinnati Bengals' linebacker and ended his season. Such a play could become illegal if 24 of the 32 owners vote for the change that was recommended by the NFL's competition committee and would make helmet-to-helmet contact on blindside blocks a penalty.
The owners meetings start today in Dana Point, Calif., and run through Wednesday.
"As we stand here today, we say it's a good football play," Steelers president Art Rooney II said of Ward's block. "Too bad the guy got hurt, but it's a good football play. It's been in the game forever. We want to see how they present it."
Rich McKay, a co-chair of the competition committee, said the proposed change came about after numerous plays, including Ward's block on Rivers, were reviewed. Ward was not penalized for the block, and Ray Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of field operations, said the play was "perfectly legal" under the current rules.
Even after the NFL extensively looked at the play, there was not agreement on whether Ward, a fierce downfield blocker, had led with his body or his head when he hit Rivers.
"Some of our guys may have seen helmet-to-helmet (contact)," Anderson said, referring to his officials, "some may have seen shoulder-to-helmet."
One issue the Steelers have with the new rule is it would make it too much of a judgment call for referees.
"In general, you want to see player safety, but when it comes down to, how are they going to officiate these individual plays, it does make us nervous," Rooney said. "The helmet-to-helmet contact thing, that's usually not that difficult to officiate that, you can see that. But not when you start to say it's a blindside block, what does that mean⢠So you start to get into these things, how are they going to officiate it⢠We're not really for a real dramatic change on those kinds of things."
One change Rooney supports that won't go before the owners for a vote involves overtime.
"We'd like to see each team get one possession," Rooney said, "not make it anything that has to be a dramatic change, but really just have each team get one possession before we have to get into our sudden-death situation."
McKay and Anderson said there was a strong sentiment, especially among players that were surveyed, to stick with the current sudden-death format.
Rooney, however, said the fact that Super Bowl XLIII almost went into overtime — Santonio Holmes' 6-yard touchdown catch with less than a minute to play propelled the Steelers past the Arizona Cardinals — reinforced his belief that both teams should get one possession if there is a tie at the end of regulation.
"If we don't score the touchdown and kick the field goal and go into overtime, maybe you kick off to them and they hit one pass to Larry Fitzgerald and kick a field goal, it's over," Rooney II said. "To me it shouldn't be that way. We should at least get one shot at it, particularly in a game like that."
