Innovation

he American Heritage Dictionary defines innovation as the act of introducing something new. In the eyes of Peter Drucker, innovation is a "change that creates a new dimension of performance."

The game of American football evolved from a particularly brutal beginning to the game we know today; it's still full of physical contact, but it has numerous rules in place to promote player safety and to permit, as the NFHS Officials Manual puts it,

… competition to be conducted in an equitable, exciting and interesting manner ….

Because (American) football started out as primarily a kicking game, it was only through controversial rules changes that the forward pass and other current conventions of the game were adopted. The point to be made here is that the game is always evolving: Coaches introduce new formations, new blocking schemes, etc.; officials adjust their mechanics to cover those new formations better; rules are modified, and so on.

Continued...