After a 31-1 vote at the annual owner’s meetings, The NFL ruled for reviewing penalties that have transpired on the football field. Stemming from the obvious missed call back in February, between The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams, the owners have voted almost unanimously for the ability to allow coaches to challenge on the field that a penalty was missed.
Prior to the 2019 season, penalties were not reviewable via instant replay, which was decided by the competition committee in order to speed up the flow of the game and avoid any possible referee vs coach disputes. In result, coaches will still have 2 red challenge flags which will be able to challenge a play that just transpired on the field, or if a penalty was not properly called.
Sean Payton, Coach of The New Orleans Saints, along with owner Gayle Benson, proposed the following rule to the committee last week, and both were happy with the results. Since the no-call occurred in the NFC Championship last winter, Payton has been striving to get things done and finally kept his promise to the league to make a positive impact on the way the game is played and ruled upon. In the video below, is the play that would later cost the Saints a chance at reaching another Super bowl.
Owner Gale Benson also states, “Sean did a great job, I’m really proud of him.” While Benson saw the results, Payton was working behind the scenes at the owner’s meetings trying to get work done, “Felt like we had to go around the block twice to get to the right address," Payton said, according to ESPN's Dan Graziano. He added: "I think we got it right," according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
With significant backing from players and coaches around the league, other figures have shown their support such as Carolina Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera, stated, “What we want to make sure is we can get it right.” And while most coaches are pleasantly happy with the ruling, many fans are left questioning the impact the new adjustment will have on the flow of the game as a maximum of 4 challenges could now occur contest, lengthening the match already elongated by a plethora of long winded commercials.
"This is what I wanted to happen," Saints owner Gayle Benson said, per NFL Network's Ian Rapport. "That's why I made my statement. (The non-call in the title game) will never happen again."
But is this ruling in the best interest for the league or the fans? What do you think?
Joe Viscione
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