Sky Judge - when can they call down?

[Bermuda Triangle]

Are there defined criteria for the Sky Judge to call in and overrule one of the countless blown calls on the field?

 

It seems like there's no rhyme or reason for the involvement of the Sky Judge, much like that Black Jacket Refs who ran onto the field in the '20 WC game against Houston.

[Wraith]

As far as I know, the NFL still hasn't officially acknowledged the existence of the "Sky Judge." The on field officials still pretend they went back and talked about it some more. It doesn't seem that there are any rules at all.

 

Don't get me wrong, I overall think it is an improvement to the game flow but the fact that it just showed up unannounced mid-season last year with no oversight or transparency bothers me.

[NewEra]

No rhyme or reason- if they called down for every missed call the games would last 5+ hours.  It’s a slippery slope and will likely remain as is until they decide they want to fix what is broken.  Spend million on more cameras and more officials in the booth.  To use todays technology to help the on field officials to do an almost impossible job.  The money is there.  The technology is there.  The desire to make things better clearly is not.

[dbmu1977]

They must have called in to say no on digs catch before the half. It sucks that they don't reward an outstanding play by a super star athlete , what a catch

 

Or more like what is a catch?

 

 

[K D]

Dear sky judge, please let this be a catch. Amen

[WhoTom]

58 minutes ago, Wraith said:

As far as I know, the NFL still hasn't officially acknowledged the existence of the "Sky Judge." The on field officials still pretend they went back and talked about it some more.

 

The announcers have talked about it during games, although I'm not sure they use the term "Sky Judge." If the NFL didn't want it acknowledged, they wouldn't be talking about it on the air.

 

[Solomon Grundy]

It seemed to be a lot of usage last night

Edited January 16, 2023 by Solomon Grundy

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

1 minute ago, WhoTom said:

 

The announcers have talked about it during games, although I'm not sure they use the term "Sky Judge."

 

OK, fine:

[Rubes]

1 hour ago, dbmu1977 said:

They must have called in to say no on digs catch before the half. It sucks that they don't reward an outstanding play by a super star athlete , what a catch

 

Or more like what is a catch?

 

 

 

I was watching that part of the game without sound, and it didn't look like an in-bounds catch to me (spectacular, but not in bounds)...but they kept replaying it over and over, like there was a chance it was...? Can someone explain that? It didn't look close to me.

 

[GregmoBuffalo]

2 hours ago, Rubes said:

 

I was watching that part of the game without sound, and it didn't look like an in-bounds catch to me (spectacular, but not in bounds)...but they kept replaying it over and over, like there was a chance it was...? Can someone explain that? It didn't look close to me.

 

Romo had his finger on the replay button.

 

[Mr. WEO]

Sky Net?  huh?

[1st&ten]

3 hours ago, Rubes said:

 

I was watching that part of the game without sound, and it didn't look like an in-bounds catch to me (spectacular, but not in bounds)...but they kept replaying it over and over, like there was a chance it was...? Can someone explain that? It didn't look close to me.

 

The NFL has changed rules over the years to allow for more scoring, I dont know why they don't go to the college rule of one foot down on the sidelines. Seems like it would allow more catches & cut down on all these reviews.

[Doc Brown]

3 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

The NFL has changed rules over the years to allow for more scoring, I dont know why they don't go to the college rule of one foot down on the sidelines. Seems like it would allow more catches & cut down on all these reviews.

If we were born with one foot I'd agree with you.  However, two feet should be in play for it to count.  Plus, even if that was the rule you'd pry still have a similar amount of reviews if it was one foot.  "OOOOOOOOHHHHH...the left foot may have hit a blade of grass their Jim."

[1st&ten]

5 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

If we were born with one foot I'd agree with you.  However, two feet should be in play for it to count.  Plus, even if that was the rule you'd pry still have a similar amount of reviews if it was one foot.  "OOOOOOOOHHHHH...the left foot may have hit a blade of grass their Jim."

Well I see your point but they allow one hand catches & one hand deflections. Speaking of blades of grass did you see the game where Romo & the Ref king went on & on about the bubbles or whatever they called it on the turf ?

[Big Turk]

4 hours ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

Are there defined criteria for the Sky Judge to call in and overrule one of the countless blown calls on the field?

 

It seems like there's no rhyme or reason for the involvement of the Sky Judge, much like that Black Jacket Refs who ran onto the field in the '20 WC game against Houston.

 

As far as I know it's when a clear and obvious reversal is seen.

18 minutes ago, 1st&ten said:

The NFL has changed rules over the years to allow for more scoring, I dont know why they don't go to the college rule of one foot down on the sidelines. Seems like it would allow more catches & cut down on all these reviews.

 

Simply eliminating the ground causing an incompletion once you have possession and two feet down going out of bounds would help enough in this regard.

[Billz4ever]

7 hours ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

Are there defined criteria for the Sky Judge to call in and overrule one of the countless blown calls on the field?

 

It seems like there's no rhyme or reason for the involvement of the Sky Judge, much like that Black Jacket Refs who ran onto the field in the '20 WC game against Houston.

If the Sky Judge isn't used that often, maybe they could actually be the one who keeps an eye on the play clock since the officials on the field seem to have a problem recognizing when the clock is at zero and the ball is still under center.