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Free agency and the 2019 NFL Draft are in the rear view mirror and offseason programs are underway, but the start of training camp remains more than two months away for most NFL teams. However, as the league moved to expand the use of instant replay back at the annual league meeting in March, with the spring league meeting starting today in Key Biscayne, Florida, the topic is back in the news.
Over the past couple of months there has certainly been pushback and debate regarding the proposed expansion of replay to include pass interference, one person of note has a very different proposal. Specifically, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told Peter King that he’d like to see the league eliminate, or at least reduce, the use of instant replay.
The NFL is far from perfect. So what would you do to improve it? I asked 25 smart football people that very question.
— Peter King (@peter_king) May 20, 2019
My latest Football Morning in America column is live: https://t.co/GSevZyhUUU pic.twitter.com/z1BbxGgdwR
As noted in the tweet, King queried 25 people involved in the NFL in different ways, including coaches like Carroll, former front office executives like Amy Trask of the Oakland Raiders and Ron Wolf of the Green Bay Packers and others. Some wanted the number of penalties reduced, some wanted rosters expanded and others wanted players to be allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
On the flip side of the argument, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN wanted to do the exact opposite. Rather than eliminate instant replay, Paolantonio suggests capitalizing on the replay stoppage to further engage the audience rather than force them to endure a stoppage of indeterminate length.
I think the NFL should televise the instant replay review. That’s right: Make it part of the network broadcast. The payoff would be immediate and lucrative. One, it would turn an annoying stoppage of play into must-see TV. The audience would see and hear the on-field referee, the instant replay ref in the booth and league officiating guru Al Riveron in New York, dissecting the play. Ratings go up. Two, sponsor this segment. Cha-ching! That’ll get the networks’ attention. Three, a televised review would be the holy-grail of prop bets. The league’s new casino partners would love that action.
Which of the proposed changes from the article do you feel would best benefit the league? Or which would you have the most interest in seeing?