More NFL officiating reviews for one year only? Yeah, right | Opinion
NFL owners voted to expand the power of its replay officials in the event replacement refs are used this season. But more on-field tech is here to stay.
PHOENIX – With team owners voting this week to add muscle to the NFL’s replay command center in New York, the genie has officially left the bottle. A punch thrown in the heat of the moment? That has long been a no-no that could result in disqualification.
But now the call could come from New York if the officials in the stadium just happened to miss it. And yeah, tack on a 15-yard penalty, too. Blowing it on an obvious pass interference call?
Now there’s a backup plan in place for the replacement officials – pressed to detect nuances in an NFL game so much faster than the college competition they adjudicated – to get a call right that everyone else in the stadium and at home knew better in real time. Talk about the long arm of the law. The NFL just expanded the power of its instant replay apparatus, of course in the name of getting it right.
The first measure allows for replay to better settle any he said-he said skirmish that might erupt. The second one amends a rule for one-year only – and only in the event the NFL has to use replacement refs – that will allow for broad communication with the fill-in officials to correct blatant errors. One year?
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