When the NFL brought on the addition of the replay official, it felt like the league was taking the necessary steps to protect the integrity of the game. Now that’s become an outdated and flawed way of getting the calls right.
It was always going to be subjective to whoever the replay official is for the game, and if they decide they want to change the call or confirm it and ultimately alter the trajectory of the game.
That’s what one call can do at this point in the season. In the regular season, it may not be a major problem. But in the playoffs, the ramifications of every call and scrutiny behind it affects who wins and who loses.
This occurred in the AFC Championship game between Kansas City and Buffalo on Sunday night. Whether Josh Allen got the first down came down to the naked eye, slow motion replay and a conversation over a headset.
It’s time to ditch an outdated and heavily-flawed approach for a more modern and precise process to keep the game exciting and fair. The NFL has to use the technology that exists to make situations like Josh Allen’s sneak up the middle that was called short more fluid.
Change to NFL replay system is long overdue, including using the right technology
In soccer, they moved to what they call the Video Assistant Referee over a decade ago. It’s essentially the same thing as the replay official. But the most advanced way soccer protects the game with close calls is using a system that tracks the ball.
There’s technology in the soccer ball as well as at the threshold of the goal line and it helps, in real time, the referee determine if a goal was scored or not. It’s something the NFL could adopt.
The NFL already plays games in England every year, why not ask them how their goal line technology works and if it’s feasible for American football? The best part about it is it’s decided in real time. Just like when there’s discussions on whether the ball crossed the plane of the goal line or not, the referee would know almost instantly.
These changes would speed the game up from continued replays and it would be more accurate than someone watching the play over and over in a remote location.
The same technology could be used with the first down markers. They’ve already installed pylon cameras and use them with the first-down markers. Adding a chip can’t be that difficult. Soccer has been using it for a decade.