NFL rules committee to look at replay and IR

[NoSaint]

Anyone else find it strange that somehow it's in the rule book that in this one particular situation it's okay to hore collar (more likely it's omitted, but it's still strange)?

Nope - it's mentioned specifically. Fans went nuts when smith took down brees in the pocket in the 49ers playoff game. It was the first I realized that this was an actual exception.

[UConn James]

The guy in the booth can make a call about 3x faster cuz he doesn't have to waste everybody's time (especially mine)walking over to talk to coaches, listen to players lobby, make announcements to the fans, walk to the camera and back, etc. This would be a long overdue change as I know the NFL is losing viewers because of the outright stupidity of the current system. Every single time somebody calls for a review I either change the channel or leave the room. If it's not a Bills game, I might find something else to do and not bother to come back to it for a long time, if it all. And I cannot be the only one who wants to watch football but won't waste time staring at people talking about officiating decisions. It's one of the things diminishing my enjoyment and interest in watching a ballgame and I imagine I'm not alone.

 

+1 WRT fewer game delays.

 

But there's also a thing to be said of taking the referees out of the decision from a conflict of interest point. Regardless that most NFL refs want to get the calls right, there is an appearance of/chance for impropriety. As it stands, it's like asking a burglar to decide whether his break-in was legal.

 

No matter what, that ref is going to have a certain level of defensiveness whenever a red flag is thrown against him or his crew. The league can try to use all the language and training they want, but that initial "You're telling me I don't know what I saw? This is my job!" is still there. Better to remove it from ever being a factor.

 

And it would be nice to not have to see pathetic whining to the refs as they're headed to the booth. (Note: the whining for a ref to throw a flag will not stop). Like it or not, this lobbying has the ability to put a thought into a head. If the replay comes entirely from upstairs, there's NO player-judge contact to influence a decision.

 

The IR rules are also something that should've been instituted a while ago. Guys with a slight injury are cut because a team needs bodies. I'd also throw in to raise the roster limit by 2-3 players, especially if/when the league goes to an 18-game schedule.

[PromoTheRobot]

I love the players on IR being able to return rule. I'm not too sure about the booth official overruling decisions cuz at the end of the day, he/she is also a human being and can make mistakes. What makes the booth official any better than the referee on the field?

Just saves the time of the field ref having to run to a monitor. They do it that way in college and I like it better. They already have a booth replay ref reviewing TDs.

 

PTR

[Rubes]

Anyone else find it strange that somehow it's in the rule book that in this one particular situation it's okay to hore collar (more likely it's omitted, but it's still strange)?

 

Perhaps, but I think the main reason horse collar tackles were singled out a few years ago is because of the injuries that accompanied them. Typically, these occurred when a player was sprinting down the field and got caught from behind with a horse collar, and it was that type of situation that caused the injuries. It's probably less of a concern when a QB is within the 15-yard "pocket", since he's not likely running (at least, not full speed).

 

All that said, it does seem strange that they wouldn't have just outlawed all horse collars, and it seems like they should just do it.