The NFL game is always changing. Sometimes changes are made for the better and sometimes the changes don’t go over as well as planned.
The NFL will continue to look at their rules this off-season and will make changes as they feel necessary. One big debate set for this off-season is instant replay and how it relates to penalties that were or were not called on the field.
NFL Media’s Judy Battista spoke with Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, who explained that the league is receptive to change but is also hesitant to open “Pandora’s Box.”
“We do understand reviewing what was called on the field,” Vincent said. “For a coach to potentially challenge something that was not called, we run the risk of creating fouls. ‘Yeah, that was a hold. Yeah, that was an illegal hands to the face.’ “
Will the NFL give the replay official the power to overturn judgement calls, like defensive pass interference, that are made on the field?
“We saw 12 different proposals on replay, which means it’s something we have to look at,” Vincent added. “You want to get it right but you could be creating fouls. And long term, if we start here, you just continue adding year in and year out and is that what you want? You don’t want to go down the road of opening Pandora’s Box and this year it’s expanding this and next year it’s expanding that.”
Defensive pass interference enforcement is a topic to watch in the wake of the Lions‘ controversial playoff loss to the Cowboys. Vincent suggested an alternate solution to replay that would make PI a 15-yard penalty rather than a spot foul. There’s concern that making pass interference reviewable would undermine game officials, who have to make difficult calls in real time.
Because they are talking about giving replay officials the power to change PI calls, they are also flirting with the idea of making pass interference a 15 yard penalty instead of a spot foul. Seems like a pretty big jump to me and I don’t think that will be settled this off-season.
How often is the game going to be stopped to look at potential missed penalties and how will that impact the flow of the game and in turn how strict referees will call a game?
They talked about opening Pandora’s box and this is going to be an extremely interesting issue to follow this off-season. How much will the NFL change instant replay rules and how much will it potentially affect the game as we know it today?
[NFL.com]
