NFL to get tough on off-field transgressions

While the Tennessee Titans grapple with Pacman fever -- the ever-unfolding misdeeds of cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones -- the NFL plans to take more aggressive steps toward penalizing players for their off-the-field transgressions.

Against the backdrop of double-digit arrests of Cincinnati Bengals, the legal saga of Jones and other embarrassments, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to use his first full league meeting to roll out a new conduct policy.

Goodell’s plan would allow the NFL to impose stricter penalties and suspensions on players right away, rather than waiting for the legal process to run its course, as the league now does.

“It needs to be done,” Marv Levy, general manager of the Buffalo Bills, said Sunday. “You’ll have a player that maybe has a DUI, and you’ll walk into the room where there are 53 other guys who are being tarred with the same brush. This is high on the docket and has to be considered.”

The meetings, which are taking place at the Arizona Biltmore hotel, begin in earnest today, although various committees gathered over the weekend. Goodell is expected to outline the new conduct policy on Tuesday.

“I think we’re all concerned with the things that go on off the field, and how the actions of a few might affect the many,” Atlanta Falcons General Manager Rich McKay said in a conference call last week.

In the news recently has been Jones, who has had at least 10 brushes with the law since being selected in the first round of the 2005 draft.

Last month, he was accused of being a central figure in a melee at a Las Vegas strip club that led to a triple shooting. He reportedly faces an NFL suspension that could sideline him for most or all of next season. He also failed to report to the team a February 2006 run-in with the law in Georgia.

The Nashville Tennessean reported over the weekend that Jones was rehabilitating a shoulder injury at Titans headquarters, but that Coach Jeff Fisher said the player wouldn’t be welcomed to participate in the formal off-season conditioning program until his legal issues are resolved.

Among the issues to be decided at the meetings:

* Moving the opening kickoff in overtime from the 30- to the 35-yard line. Last season, 62% of the teams that won the overtime coin flip wound up winning the game. Although that wasn’t necessarily because receiving teams scored on their first drive, those teams often had the upper hand in field position.

“We’ve looked at the statistics,” McKay said. “We believe that we can cure those statistics and make the coin toss less of a factor if we make a move on the kickoff.”

* Changing injury reports so that teams will announce on Friday whether an injured player is out, doubtful, probable, etc. Currently those reports begin on Wednesday. The new system would require teams to disclose during the week what the injury is, and whether the player practiced.

* A five-yard penalty for players who spike the ball in the field of play -- not in a touchdown celebration, but, say, after a big tackle. The competition committee believes that’s not only unsportsmanlike but also a time-waster.

San Francisco will propose adopting the college pass-interference rule, except on flagrant fouls, which would mean a 15-yard penalty instead of moving the ball to the spot of the infraction.

* Making instant replay permanent. The current system is due to expire in two seasons. This also would involve outfitting replay booths with high-definition TVs. Tampa Bay will propose making every foul reviewable, except offensive holding. That isn’t likely to receive the required three-fourths vote of teams.

* Expanding the time window for teams to interview other teams’ assistant coaches during the playoffs, and during the week off before the Super Bowl.

* Allowing teams to use an in-helmet radio for one defensive player, the way they now are able to use them with quarterbacks.

sam.farmer@latimes.com