The National Football League emphasizes new rules every year in order for the league to get better and better each year. The new rules for this year emphasize the safety of the players more than any other priority. While there are some minor rule changes that will not be noticed, there are also some changes that could become very prevalent in some close match-ups this season.

The National Football league is attempting to protect its players by cutting down on unnecessary roughness on the sidelines and on the field. If a player is hit out of bounds or punched or kicked or anything of that nature, expect the flags to come out more often this season. Players can also no longer tackle by grabbing the collars of the opposing team and pulling down, or knock a kicker down if he is not in a defensive position (or initiate helmet-to-helmet contact with a kicker). Players also cannot commit a personal foul after the halftime expires, if they do, they are penalized 15 yards, and the opposing team may extend the period for one untimed down.

The National Football League will also be penalizing coaches and players for not knowing how many challenges or timeouts they have. If a team attempts to call a timeout or a challenge when they do not have any left they will be penalized 15 yards. This could certainly come into play this year, especially in a close game if a team attempts to call a timeout, and is penalized and than moved out of field goal range. The new official rules from the National Football League for 2005 are listed-below.

1. Players are prohibited from grabbing the inside collar of the back or side of the shoulder pads and immediately pulling down the runner. This rule does not apply to a quarterback in the pocket or a runner in the tackle box. Previously, there was no regulation about the "horse-collar" tackle. Penalty: loss of 15 yards.

2. An offensive player who is aligned in the tackle box at the snap and moves to a position outside the box cannot initiate contact on the side and below the waist of an opponent if the player is moving back toward the direction of his own end line. If the near shoulder of the blocker contacts the front of his opponent's body, the "peel back" block is legal. Previously, a player aligned in the tackle box could hit an opponent on the side and below the waist from any direction. Penalty: loss of 15 yards.

3. There shall be no unnecessary roughness, including unnecessarily running, diving into, cutting, or throwing the body against or on a player who is out of the play before or after the ball is dead. Previously, the policy on unnecessary roughness was less specific.

4. A kicker/punter standing still or fading backwards after the ball has been kicked is out of the play and must not be unnecessarily contacted by the receiving team until he assumes a distinctly defensive position. An opponent may not unnecessarily initiate helmet-to-helmet contact to the kicker/punter at anytime during the kick or during the return. Previously, there was no regulation about contact with a kicker/punter after he kicked the ball, nor was there any regulation about helmet-to-helmet contact with the kicker.

5. If, during a scrimmage kick, a player is called for illegal touching inside the receiver's 5-yard line, the receiving team may elect to take a touchback. Previously, the receiving team could choose to take the ball at the spot of the foul or elect for the kicking team to lose five yards and re-kick.

6. If, at the end of a half, the defense commits a dead-ball personal foul, the offense may choose to extend the period for one untimed down and move 15 yards forward. Previously, a dead ball foul was unenforceable after time had expired.

7. The "pocket area" is now defined as spanning the normal tackle position on each side of the center and extends backwards to the offense's own end line. Previously, there were two defined pocket areas. The first spanned from tackle to tackle and was considered only for intentional grounding. The second spanned from tight end to tight end and was considered for illegal contact.

8. If, for any reason, the play clock is stopped with fewer than 10 seconds remaining, it is re-set to 10 seconds. Previously, if the play clock stopped prior to the snap, it was automatically re-set to 25 seconds.

9. For the following fouls called during a kick play, the offended team will have the option of accepting the penalty at the previous spot and replaying the down or adding the penalty yardage (five yards) onto the end of the play: ineligible player down field; member of the punting team voluntarily out of bounds; illegal formation; illegal motion; player not reporting change in eligibility; offensive offside; illegal shift. Previously, the offended team could decline the penalty or accept a re-kick and a loss of five yards.

10 An attempt to call an excess or illegal time-out to "freeze" a kicker prior to a field goal attempt or a PAT will be considered unsportsmanlike conduct. Previously, officials were instructed to ignore the attempt and assess no penalty. Penalty: loss of 15 yards.

11. A team that is out of timeouts or has used all of its available challenges may not attempt to initiate an additional challenge. Penalty: loss of 15 yards. Previously, there was no penalty for attempting to initiate an excess challenge.

12 A player or an official is out of bounds when he touches anything other than a player, an official or a pylon on or outside a boundary line. Previously, officials outside a boundary were considered out of bounds. This change pertains mostly to cases where players running along the sideline contact officials standing on the boundary line.

(all rules in parenthesis are stated by the National Football League and are property of the National Football League)