Review system up for review at meetings
League to take another look at replay challenges after a year of long delays and errors
WINNIPEG — The video review process was one of the main topics on the agenda this week in wintry Winnipeg, where the CFL’s presidents and general managers gathered for their annual year-end meetings.
Where the review process is headed is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say the league’s fan base would like to see some changes after a 2016 season in which there were long delays and even a handful of errors made by the review judge.
Last December, when the league held these meetings in Las Vegas, the GMs and presidents got the ball rolling on making more penalties reviewable. Three months later, the CFL announced coaches could challenge seven more infractions in addition to defensive pass interference: offensive pass interference, illegal contact, illegal interference on pass plays, no yards, illegal blocks on kick plays, contacting/ roughing the kicker or passer, and illegal interference at the point of reception on kickoff attempts.
Coaches used the new rules to go fishing for penalties in the first few weeks, leading to a mind-numbing number of challenges, so the league made a change in late August. No longer would a team’s first challenge be “free.” Each was tied to a timeout, meaning a team would lose one if it got a challenge wrong.
That reduced the number of challenges, but there was still an average of one more challenge per game this season.
Which poses the question: Is the league going to stick with the status quo or reduce the number of penalties that can be challenged?
The goal of making more penalties reviewable was to create more offence, especially when it came to illegal contact. Offences averaged 49 points per game this season, an increase of 4.5 points from 2015 and 12.3 points from 2014. It was only 0.3 more points, however, than what offences produced during the 2013 season.
ALL-STARS NAMED: Calgary Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was the lone unanimous selection in CFL all-star voting by the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches. The rest of the offence: Running backs Jerome Messam (Calgary) and Andrew Harris (Winnipeg); receivers Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker (Edmonton), Ernest Jackson (Ottawa), and Emmanuel Arceneaux (B.C.); tackles Derek Dennis (Calgary) and Jovan Olafioye (B.C.); guards Travis Bond (Winnipeg) and Spencer Wilson (Calgary), and centre Jon Gott (Ottawa). Defence: Ends Charleston Hughes (Calgary) and John Chick (Hamilton); tackles Almondo Sewell (Edmonton) and Micah Johnson (Calgary); linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill (B.C.), and Bear Woods (Montreal); cornerbacks Tommie Campbell and Ciante Evans (Calgary); halfbacks T.J. Heath (Winnipeg) and Jamar Wall (Calgary), and safety Taylor Loffler (Winnipeg). Special teams; Kicker Justin Medlock (Winnipeg), punter Richie Leone (B.C.) and returner Chris Rainey (B.C.).