All articles tagged with #penalty review
The NFL is reviewing a preseason incident where Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was hit by an official while celebrating, with potential fines being considered. Lamb was in the restricted area and was not injured, but the collision led to a sideline interference penalty, prompting the league to evaluate whether further disciplinary action is warranted.
The NFL Competition Committee has expanded the replay assistant's authority to overturn certain roughing the passer and intentional grounding penalties, aiming to correct clear and obvious mistakes. This move follows previous unsuccessful attempts to allow penalty calls to be reviewable, such as the short-lived pass interference rule change. While fans may be cautiously optimistic, there are concerns about how the new rule will be applied in practice and whether it will address the frustration stemming from referees strictly adhering to the letter of the law.
The USFL playoff game between Pittsburgh and Michigan demonstrated the value of the "sky judge" approach to officiating, which allows for quick and efficient correction of mistakes. In the game, a touchdown was initially wiped out due to a penalty, but the sky judge, Mike Pereira, reviewed the play and determined that there was no foul, restoring the touchdown. This mechanism is not currently available in the NFL, where face mask calls and non-calls cannot be reviewed. With the impact of officiating on both the outcome of games and the outcome of wagers, the NFL needs to embrace readily available devices for fixing mistakes.