Proposed Rule Change Counters Vrabel's Clock Management

The NFL's competition committee wants to amend things so teams can't run time off the clock as the Titans did in victories over Houston and New England.

Mike Vrabel likes to say that those who know the rules can take advantage of the rules.

The ability of the Tennessee Titans coach to do exactly likely means he will have to learn at least one new rule for 2020.

Twice last season – the second was in the wild card victory over New England – Vrabel ordered the Titans offense to commit multiple dead ball penalties to help run time off the clock and protect a lead.

Friday, the league announced that one of nine proposals the NFL’s competition committee will consider “prevents teams from manipulating the game clock by committing multiple dead ball fouls while the clock is running.”

The majority of the recommended changes came from teams, including four by the Philadelphia Eagles. This one was submitted by the competition committee, which suggests it will pass.

The change – as it is written – will require the clock to start on the snap “if the offense commits a dead-ball foul during the fourth quarter or overtime that is accepted.”

Already, such protections exist for the final five minutes of play.

However, with 6:32 remaining in the playoff game against the Patriots, the Titans led by one (14-13) when they faced a fourth-and-5 from the New England 36. The punt team allowed the play clock to run out and took a delay of game penalty. The game clock started again with 5:52 to go – this time with a 25-second play clock – and 23 seconds later linebacker Wesley Woodyard intentionally jumped offside. That made it fourth-and-15 from the 46. Rather than allow the Titans to do it once more, the Patriots gave back five yards when they committed a neutral zone infraction with 5:14 to go (15 seconds into the play clock). Again, the game clock started and the Titans waited until one second remained on the play clock before they finally punted … with 4:51 remaining.

By the time the Patriots offense ran a play, the Titans had taken 1:48 off the clock.

“I just try to understand what the rules are and play by them and use them to our advantage where we can,” Vrabel said a day later.

Although the score was not as close, Tennessee did the same thing in the regular season finale against Houston. Two false starts and one delay of game (the second false start was upgraded to unsportsmanlike conduct because it was a third straight dead ball penalty) allowed the Titans to exhaust 1:28 of the fourth quarter without any action.

Vrabel and Tennessee were not the first to exploit that particular rule for clock management. They did it well enough, though, that they likely will be the last.