The NFL appears to recognize it has an officiating problem and is going to explore ways to remedy this for the 2015 playoffs.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the league is setting up a conference call with “top officials in football operations, officiating and beyond this week to determine ways to further assist in-game officials in the postseason.”
“Specifically, the officials will discuss possibly expanding the ability of Dean Blandino, the head of officiating, to communicate more regularly with in-game officials during the playoff games,” La Canfora writes.
This is happening because the league doesn’t want high-profile mistakes (like we’ve seen all year long) to have an impact on the playoff games. Another aspect of potential change to help officials do their job correctly is an idea to add up to 15 additional cameras per stadium to help officials see plays from more angles.
Of course, none of this would make any difference when trying to determine what a catch is or isn’t. Blandino himself recently admitted there will always be “subjectivity” to that rule (read more about that here), which means it could go either way on any given play, which is something we’ve seen the past few years.
Still, any opportunity to improve the game is worth pursuing. It will be interesting to see what the league and its officials can conjure up towards that end. One thing is certain: Nobody wants the officials to be the determining factor in games, especially ones in postseason play.