[Rich]

Originally Posted by ajmc

Football is a wonderful game that appeals to participants between the ages of 6 and 60. With such a wide age spread it's no surprise that there are slightly different Rules Codes, that take player maturity, experience, physical development, administrative assets and skill levels into consideration.

Some NFL Rules are designed for very skilled grown men, NCAA Rules take other considerations into rule development and NFHS Rules, which apply to 48/50 States take into consideration player maturity, or lack thereof, developing physical skills, developing game comprehension, and are often applied to players younger than High School, suggesting carefully considered modifications.

Having an overall flexible Rule structure, designed to accommodate these differences seems logical, has worked extremely well for over 100 years and is subject to review and revision on an annual basis.

I think many of the rules in the NFHS code are LCD rules written to make things easier on the officials, many of whom simply don't know the rules and the principles behind those rules well enough in the first place.