Post by Cincinnati Bengals (Chris) on Oct 26, 2022 21:31:47 GMT -5
To be clear, everyone must be starting a team's announced STARTING Quarterback every week. While it turns out that the Rules Section once more needs to be updated to account for this, as many long-time league members know, the QB Rule says that each team has a starter, thereby accomplishing the joint intent of the rule (Which is to both guarantee each team has an opportunity to win by not allowing teams to hold multiple starters/decide which teams get to compete, and to make sure teams are not tanking via not having a starting QB/not compensating other teams by forcing them to drop their organically manifested second starting QBs).
While there is no rule on tanking, and the official position of the league on tanking is that we have no position, not playing a starting QB, when the league has explicitly mandated that each team must HAVE a starting QB (And goes through an incredible amount of effort to make sure every team complies with on a weekly basis), is akin to starting an inactive--or at least the closest thing possible to doing so. It may not explicitly say so in the Rules Section, but it absolutely was the intention of the Commissioners at the time to not allow teams to bench their starting QB over a backup. Doing so is at a minimum wholly against the spirit of that rule, and more aptly, an intentional attempt to circumvent the rules by finding a loophole.
This past week, @philadelphia Eagles (Andrew) had Cooper Rush in over Dak Prescott, after it was announced that Prescott would be the starter. It may have been by accident, or it may have been on purpose, but to be clear, this is not allowed. In the only previous instance of this occurring, the GM in question was set to be docked a draft position, and pre-emptively quit before he was punished (Though--and I believe this to be true--his infraction came from inattention). Since Andrew's infraction did not result in a thrown game, there will be no punishment for this instance. However, we WILL be inserting Prescott into the starting lineup for PHI retroactively.
While I personally find it inconsistent to not be punishing this infraction (Be it intentional OR accidental), I do agree with the position that this does need to clearly be stated in the rules section for us to dole out a punishment. While there is no punishment for this instance, let this serve as a warning to @everyone that starting a backup QB with the starting QB on your bench is not allowed, and that as we have now announced this to the league, there will be a punishment for teams who either intentionally or unintentionally defy this warning (This will also be posted on Proboards). Also, I invite any legitimate discussion re: this matter, and acknowledge that once again, it may be necessary to adapt the QB Rule due to changing trends in the NFL, and as we consider our experience/how the rule works for us in this league. Thank you for your attention, and let's have a great rest of the season together!
While there is no rule on tanking, and the official position of the league on tanking is that we have no position, not playing a starting QB, when the league has explicitly mandated that each team must HAVE a starting QB (And goes through an incredible amount of effort to make sure every team complies with on a weekly basis), is akin to starting an inactive--or at least the closest thing possible to doing so. It may not explicitly say so in the Rules Section, but it absolutely was the intention of the Commissioners at the time to not allow teams to bench their starting QB over a backup. Doing so is at a minimum wholly against the spirit of that rule, and more aptly, an intentional attempt to circumvent the rules by finding a loophole.
This past week, @philadelphia Eagles (Andrew) had Cooper Rush in over Dak Prescott, after it was announced that Prescott would be the starter. It may have been by accident, or it may have been on purpose, but to be clear, this is not allowed. In the only previous instance of this occurring, the GM in question was set to be docked a draft position, and pre-emptively quit before he was punished (Though--and I believe this to be true--his infraction came from inattention). Since Andrew's infraction did not result in a thrown game, there will be no punishment for this instance. However, we WILL be inserting Prescott into the starting lineup for PHI retroactively.
While I personally find it inconsistent to not be punishing this infraction (Be it intentional OR accidental), I do agree with the position that this does need to clearly be stated in the rules section for us to dole out a punishment. While there is no punishment for this instance, let this serve as a warning to @everyone that starting a backup QB with the starting QB on your bench is not allowed, and that as we have now announced this to the league, there will be a punishment for teams who either intentionally or unintentionally defy this warning (This will also be posted on Proboards). Also, I invite any legitimate discussion re: this matter, and acknowledge that once again, it may be necessary to adapt the QB Rule due to changing trends in the NFL, and as we consider our experience/how the rule works for us in this league. Thank you for your attention, and let's have a great rest of the season together!
