NFL owners to consider centralized video review

Don’t hold your breath, but NFL owners next week will mull a radical new rule proposal that would allow coaches to challenge all plays.

Everything. Even if a penalty wasn’t called.

In an afternoon conference call on Thursday, NFL senior VP of officiating Dean Blandino said the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks are jointly proposing this radical videoreview amendment.

“( The) significant change in the Buffalo/ Seattle proposal would be allowing a coach to challenge any officiating decision, which would include a foul that is called or a foul that is not called,” Blandino said, in answer to a question from Postmedia.

“That is a significant change to our current replay rule, and it is something that will be on the floor, and be debated and voted on next week.”

The league’s annual meeting begins Sunday evening at a posh hotel in Phoenix and is scheduled to conclude midday Wednesday. At least 75 per cent of owners (meaning at least 24 of 32) must approve any playing-rule or bylaw change.

Currently, NFL coaches cannot challenge judgment calls such as offensive holding or defensive pass interference, whereas for the past three seasons CFL coaches have been able to challenge the latter, whether or not the infraction was called on the field.

But rest assured, the controversial NFL proposal will be debated, and likely voted down. The influential competition committee is especially conservative on the issue of expanding replay, to the chagrin, even outrage, of many head coaches.

Still, that this proposal has the backing of two teams gives it more than just quackidea weight, and could prove a catalyst in the eventual — probably inevitable — expansion of plays that can be reviewed.

In all, 15 new rules proposals — submitted either by the competition committee, or by individual or allied clubs — will go before owners next week.

The likeliest rules to pass always are those proposed by the competition committee itself, which this year adds two members ( Denver Broncos GM John Elway and Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians) to the returning eight of Atlanta Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay, New York Giants co- owner John Mara, Dallas Cowboys executive Stephen Jones, Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy, Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome, Houston Texans GM Rick Smith, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.

This year there are eight competition-committee proposals.

One, as announced by commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday, would switch the ultimate responsibility of deciding video reviews from a game’s on- field referee to the NFL’s video-replay command centre in New York City. There, three executives — Blandino, Al Riveron (senior director of officiating) and one of the NFL’s officiating supervisors — would render all replay verdicts.