League meeting ends with rules changes

PHOENIX -- The annual league meeting ending this morning here with owners adopting several new, minor rules, but tabling the proposal to move the kickoff to the 35-yard line at the start of overtime.

The 35-yard line kickoff was not voted on. Owners want to examine a two-possession rule in overtime that is now used in NFL Europe.

Owners also voted down, by 15-17, a Chicago Bears proposal to expand the number of active players on game day from 45 to 47. There were concerns about each team having the same number of healthy players.

In votes, owners approved proposals to:

--Give the defense the choice of accepting a 10-second runoff for an injured offensive player if the offensive team is out of timeouts;

-- Delete the crowd-noise procedure from playing rules, when the quarterback informs a game official that he cannot hear;

-- Create a 5-yard penalty for spiking or throwing the ball at the end of a play on the field of play;

-- Make permanent replay review of down-by-contact plays, first used in 2006; and

-- Eliminate the penalty when a thrown pass unintentionally hits an offensive lineman, though it does not affect intentional grounding penalties.