NFL | Playoff-reseeding proposal shot down

PALM BEACH, Fla. — A show of hands made it obvious that reseeding the NFL playoffs wasn't such a good idea.

So the league's competition committee withdrew the proposal Wednesday after an informal vote sent it "down in flames," according to New York Giants co-owner John Mara.

The owners did pass several resolutions, including eliminating the force-out on receptions; allowing teams to defer their decision to the second half when winning the opening coin toss; and making field goals and extra points subject to replay review to determine whether the ball passes over the crossbar and through the uprights.

In addition, any direct snap from center that is untouched by the quarterback will be a live ball; in the past it was considered a false start and the play was blown dead. The 5-yard penalty for incidental contact with a facemask has been eliminated, with the 15-yarder remaining for any grasping or twisting of the facemask.

Competition committee co-chairman Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons, was not surprised about the lack of support for reseeding, in which a wild-card team with a better record than a division winner would play at home in the first playoff round.

"This idea we wanted to push this year to get the discussion going," McKay said. "There were not a lot of hands up, so we withdrew the proposal for now.

"There is the historical idea that a division champion should have a home game."

There remains concern about late-season games becoming meaningless when teams already have secured their playoff positions. Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated discussions of reseeding are not dead.

"The focus I said to the competition committee is what are the alternatives we have to make sure every game is as competitive as possible," Goodell said. "I think the debate was good."

Seahawks' Holmgren

nominated for award

The Professional Football Writers Association announced Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren as a finalist for the Horrigan Award, which is given to the NFL person who is most helpful to the media.

Holmgren is joined by commissioner Goodell, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney and Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian.

Notes

• Cincinnati Bengals WR Chris Henry has been accused of punching an 18-year-old in the face and breaking a car window with a beer bottle. Court documents show Henry was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging in the Monday incident in Cincinnati. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. The 24-year-old player was in court last week after being ticketed for driving with expired Kentucky license plates.

• Goodell is getting impatient with the stalemate between the league and Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots employee who implies he has tapes he made of opposing teams that the league has yet to see.

"If it's just taping team's signals, we know about that," the commissioner said. "At some point I will run out of patience."

Lawyers for the league and the Patriots have been negotiating with Walsh's attorney to get him to tell them what he knows. Walsh is seeking protection from any action the league or the Patriots might take once he reveals his information about the team's taping of opponents.