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NFL’s Unwillingness to Change Instant Replay Impacts League’s Product

The National Football League had an opportunity over the past week to change the way instant replays are conducted. It also had the ability to expand instant replay.

Outside of a minor rule change impacting the end of each half and overtime, the league decided against implementing any changes.

This comes on the heels of two big time controversies during the playoffs this past January. It also comes with an intensified opinion from some around the league that current replay rules just aren’t working.

If the NFL’s motivation for originally instituting instant replay some 27 years ago was to take as much human error out of the equation as possible, there’s absolutely no reason for the league to continue existing under the archaic platform we see today.

Why shouldn’t officials be able to review a pass interference penalty? Such a call may be up for interpretation, but there are certain calls that have been made over the years that common sense dictates shouldn’t have been made. More than that, what about the idea that officials can actually pick up a flag without further addressing why they threw the flag in the first place? Just ask the Detroit Lions and Matthew Stafford about that one.

Here’s the NFL’s Competition Committee’s stance on why it doesn’t believe that instant replay should be expanded to include penalties.

The Committee does not support the extension of the Instant Replay system to include a review of penalties. Not only would it be a significant philosophical adjustment, the Committee believes it would have unforeseen negative effects for on-field officiating.

Huh?

So getting a call right that 99 percent of unbiased observers at home or in the press box already know is wrong would represent “unforeseen negative effects for on-field officiating?” Now, that’s a backwards philosophy. Heck, maybe it’s a philosophy that is in need of adjustment.

The committee continued:

Even using objective facts, the system’s expansion over the years had led to complications in application.

So it’s not changes in the replay system that the committee is worried about. Instead it’s the vehicle used to implement instant replay that has the committee worried. Well, why not change said vehicle as well?

At this point, it’s rather obvious the competition committee is willing to water down the product on the field by enabling a continuation of a replay system that has proven to be outdated. That product is being watered down by outside factors (officiating/human error) that could easily be fixed if those in power weren’t afraid to undergo a “significant philosophical adjustment” and disable “complications” in its application.

It’s kinda like the league is telling fans and players that it’s okay with the outcome of a game being decided by bad calls because it doesn’t want to rock a ship that’s already on the verge of sinking.

If this past year’s playoffs were any indication, there won’t be anyone around to throw a lifesaver the league’s way when another important game is decided by an archaic review system.

For that, the league should be ashamed.

Photo: USA Today

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