The NFL wimped out, again. The league’s Competition Committee gave the 32 owners a chance to do the right thing and adopt a broader, more widespread replay format, and instead they rejected this…
Permit a coach to challenge any official’s decision, except scoring plays which are automatically reviewed.
And this…
Expand instant replay to include personal foul penalties.
Why? I mean, how does it hurt anybody to give officials the chance to make as many calls right as possible? Mistakes are made on judgment calls, too, so I see no reason why referees — who already have a near-impossible job — shouldn’t be given an opportunity to take a closer look.
It’s unfair to ask officials to make correct calls using the league’s thick and over-complicated rule book in real time. And it’s unfair to ask coaches and players to accept poor knee-jerk decisions made under those circumstances. Everything should be up for a potential challenge. It’s better to get it right.
Right?
Maybe not. Because one thing those policies would do is extend games. Replay reviews take time, and NFL games are already longer than those of their North American pro sports competitors. NFL owners are thinking more about the product as an entertainment exhibition, rather than the integrity of the sport, because the former probably has a bigger impact on the bottom line than the latter.
If you ask me, that’s selling out. I’d rather watch a three-and-a-half-hour game with all of the right calls than a three-hour game riddled with officiating mistakes.
