Re-seeding fails

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The NFL proposal to re-seed its playoff tournaments (AFC and NFC) failed this morning at the annual league meeting. The format will remain that each of the four division winners in each conference will get a home game, even if their record is not better than a wildcard team.

The Bengals were against the proposal, which was not even voted on. The show of hands in support was not sufficient to move to a formal vote.

"I feel the fans understand and identify with the divisional setup we have now," Bengals president Mike Brown said early this afternoon. "They feel if we win the division we ought to have a home game. I feel that way. Why reach out for a perfect form of justice that's not attainable anyway?"

In other votes, the winner of the pre-game coin toss now can defer to receive the ball until the start of the second half. Previously, teams could not defer to receive the ball at the start of the second half.

Before the new rule was adopted, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said this morning, that he had preferred to lose the coin toss. "I'd rather play defense first and have the ball on offense to start the second half," he said. Still, Brown voted against this change, too, but later said, "There is something good about having our rules, whenever possible, be the same as the colleges."

The force-out rule was elimated. A catch is good on the sideline only if a receiver gets both feet down or is carried out. The push-out was done away with. The only way a reception or fumble recovery stands -- without both feet coming down in bounds -- is if the receiver is held up and carried out of bounds. The reason is to give the receiver and defender equal opportunity to complete the play.