The Rams-Saints Play Wasn't Called a Penalty, So Being Able to Review Penalties Would not Help, Folks

Sarcasm doesn’t always play well on the internet, so I want to go ahead and say that the headline to this piece is dripping with it. Also, by putting this statement up front, I’ll be able to tell who didn’t read beyond the headline at all.

The reason for my sarcasm are these statements coming from NFL Network employees.

And make no mistake, if they are saying it, it’s because they are hearing it from within the league, and this is like a trial balloon floating out how, gosh darn it, we just cannot do anything about what happened. Sorry folks, there was never a flag thrown, so you’re outrage in wanting penalties reviewed is misplaced, the moose up front should have told you.

So let’s be clear here: this could be fixed if they wanted to. There’s no magic Ten Commandment tablet saying “Thou Shalt Not Reverse a Call on a Non-Penalty.” Yes, penalties can be judgment calls. So can all sorts of reviews. Is that angle good enough to tell where the ball was relative to the line of scrimmage? Can we extrapolate anything once it goes into a giant pile of bodies? Did the ball move a little signifying a loss of control, or was it an adjustment while there was always control?

Of course, it took them forever to finally make some headway after opposing common sense changes to the catch rule. Don’t expect this to be any less.

What do you think Bill Vinovich prefers today? Becoming more of a public figure because of a non-call his crew failed to make, or being able to correct it on the field by reviewing the play and making a judgment that it was a clear penalty?

I am not a fan of the college review system where seemingly every play is reviewed, even if neither side would risk anything to change a few yards of field position. I like the challenge system in the sense that it requires decisions, but is an available out if there is a key call or moment. Why you would have that out but restrict it from correcting clear errors does not make sense to me.

So I would make it so penalties and non-penalties could be challenged by a head coach, just like other challenges. In the final two minutes, just like other challenges, a review assistant could institute a review on a play. But just like spotting of the ball is usually going to fail because it is not clear, you’d be risking a timeout if you really wanted to challenge a hold on every play (and you couldn’t do it with limited challenges anyway). Coaches would save it for a key moment.

But if the tackle pulls down a rusher with two hands from behind and it goes uncalled, and the coach wants to challenge on a key third down, do it. It will only be overturned if it is an egregious miss. Hypothetically, if a defender creamed a receiver before the ball arrived, it could be reviewed and a flag thrown.

Because here’s what I would do: I would make the referee or another member of that crew make the call on a penalty/non-penalty challenge. If Bill Vinovich looks at it and sees a clear penalty that went unflagged, he can change the call. It ultimately falls on him, so let the person who would catch the flak decide whether the call was so clearly missed that it merits a flag.

Instead, we are hearing the “sorry, nothing can be done on plays that aren’t flagged” nonsense. Leave it to the NFL to come up with that one. Of course something can be done. It’s not hard.