Rules committee: Deee-fense!

Traditionally, the NFL has made rule changes with the goal of increasing offense in mind. As the rulebook has evolved over the years, practically every change has been to help the offense and increase offensive output.

This year, though, the NFL's defenses are getting the help. A TON of help.

* The sideline forceout rule on receptions has been essentially eliminated. If you're a receiver and don't get two feet in bounds, whether or not the defender hits you, you're screwed. The defender actually has to carry the receiver out of bounds for the referee to call a foreceout. This is a massive rule change, and I'm surprised the offensively-minded NFL has gone this way. It affects every team's goal-line passing strategy, and it would appear to KILL the Linehan offense of throwing everything to the sideline. Good thing Al Saunders is here. Then again, half the time, the referees ignored the fact the defender drove the receiver out of bounds anyway, so this rule change could be negligible. Physical CBs just got that more valuable.

* The five-yard facemask penalty has been eliminated, which would appear to mean incidental facemask penalties won't get flagged at all. That would seem to save defenses a lot of automatic first downs that they would have given up in the past. I suspect the league will tighten how it calls 15-yarders, in order to maintain player safety, but this rule should still help defenses.

* A direct snap that the QB doesn't touch is now a fumble instead of a false start. Funny, I thought that play was a fumble already. It sure should be; now it is. Another chance for the defense to take away the ball.

* Though I'd prefer the radio helmet for QBs to be eliminated, because it makes crowd noise/participation irrelevant, the league has evened things up by allowing a radio helmet on defense. Seems like this will create blitz opportunities and defensive big plays while also eliminating some defensive gaffes that allow big plays on offense.

Even the Rams defense should be better next season, given the help everyone's getting from the NFL rules committee.