NFL Replay System Here to Stay

Despite talk throughout the season of growing displeasure with the NFL's current use of instant replay to review calls on the field, don't look for the system to be scrapped by the league anytime soon. The most obvious reason is that the owners have too much money invested to just flush it down the toilet. Another good reason, which is far more important to fans, is that the system has corrected nearly 100 calls so far this season that you, as fans, would have had to live with had the current system not been in place.

Is there room for improvement?

Certainly... and I think there are a few specific issues that will be addressed in the off-season.

• I fully expect the Competition Committee to take a long look at including pass interference penalties as plays that are eligible for review. Pass interference is, by far, the most inconsistently called aspect of the game, and certainly the most frustrating for players, coaches, and fans alike. It can also be the most costly in terms of field position. I’m not sure it will be easy to come up with a plan that is acceptable to all parties, but it’s certainly worth taking a look at.

• I also believe the committee will look at allowing a team to keep their challenge if it is upheld. Currently, each team receives a maximum of two challenges per game whether the play is overturned or not. It makes little sense to take a challenge away from the coach when he is simply making a move to rectify a mistake made by the officials.

By taking away a challenge and a timeout when the original call is upheld, teams are discouraged from throwing the red flag on every close call. But why should a team, that may have unfortunately run into an officiating crew that's having a bad day, find both their challenges justifiably used in the first quarter to overturn bad calls and be left with no ability to challenge a bad call at any other point throughout the rest of the game?

• Another area that will be looked at is the down-by-contact calls. Too many obvious (after further review) fumbles are being missed because an official blew the play dead when he felt the ball carrier was down by contact before the ball came loose. At this time, the play is not contestable.

I believe the Competition Committee will make this a reviewable play and encourage the officials to allow such plays to continue until possession is established before whistling the player down at the spot where the ball came loose. If either team challenges the play, the referee would then have the ability to determine whether the ball was actually fumbled and which team recovered it if indeed it was.

I don’t know how likely any of these points are to be adopted in some form during the off-season, but I would expect they will all be on the agenda as the NFL continues to tweak the system instead of trashing it.