NFL will allow pass interference, including non-calls, to be reviewed on replay in major rule shift

[Eugene]

Source: USA Today

NFL will allow pass interference, including non-calls, to be reviewed on replay in major rule shift

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY Published 8:11 p.m. ET March 26, 2019 | Updated 8:44 p.m. ET March 26, 2019

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton got what he wanted.

NFL owners voted Tuesday night to allow offensive and defensive pass interference penalties, including non-calls, to be subject to challenge and review. For the 2019 season, coaches can challenge any flags or missed penalties until the final two minutes, when such instances are subject to booth review only.

"I personally believe it was the fact that every club wanted to get, and the league wanted to get these plays right," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a news conference after the vote. "Replay is to get it right. And ultimately people compromised, I think, on long-held views because they want to get the system right. They want to get the play right."

Owners voted 31-1 in favor of expanded replay, with Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals being the lone negative vote, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the result of the vote had not been made public.

The substantial shift comes on the heels of the Saints' NFC Championship Game loss to the Los Angeles Rams, in which Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman was not called for a pass interference penalty against New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis in the final two minutes of the game.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/03/26/nfl-replay-rule-change-pass-interference-review-challenge/3283189002/

[stopbush]

2. Good. Now they need to tighten up what gets called as PI in the first place.

So tired of teams heaving the ball downfield hoping for a PI call. They should limit a PI call to a 10-15-yard penalty. Screw these 30-40-yard gains on a PI call.

[rickford66]

3. That gives the defense license to interfere.

A blatant interference should also include the defensive player to be pulled for a couple plays. Also don't call holding if it occurs completely out of the play. While I'm at it. Allow a team to "buy" a timeout by "spending" points. I have crazy ideas for basketball also.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Fine with me

If only they could find a way to speed up the replay system. It really slows the game down, even though it does result in more fairness.

[Maxheader]

5. That'll add another 45 minutes to the game..

Ya think?..

[JayhawkSD]

6. This should be expanded.

I would propose that every play be reviewed by officials, using all available camera angles, to assure that no infraction of any rule goes undetected and unpunished. This will result in at least one penalty on every play, rendering player skill irrelevant and making the most frequent scoring play the 2-point safety. Negative bonus points would be applied to the team which commits the most penalties on a single play. Las Vegas could take bets on which team would earn those negative bonus points.

Football games would enter the realm of cricket games, which frequently take two or three days to play.

[JayhawkSD]

7. On a more serious note.

The NFL wants high scoring games. They want to see scores like 45-38. They believe that fans will become bored and not watch if the defense is allowed to make any sort of valid effort to prevent the other team from scoring.

Pass defense is already a joke. It used to mean trying to prevent the receiver from catching a pass. That's now defined as "pass interference."

Pass defense is now defined as letting the receiver catch the pass and trying to tackle him before he scores.