It's been a week since the NFC Championship Game, and Saints fans are still pretty livid about the no-call that sent the Rams to the Super Bowl instead of them. Everyone can agree that it was a horrible no-call. The NFL admitted it. Even Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman admitted it!
Naturally, the reaction was swift. But it's not like there's much anybody could do about it. Yes, there's a rule on the books that says the commissioner has the authority to order the game replayed from that point. But it's ridiculous to suggest he should've used that power. The Saints have every right to feel cheated, but the Rams would feel equally as cheated if their victory had been taken away from them. It's not the first blown call in NFL history!
There's also now a conspiracy theory regarding the officials in the NFC Championship Game. Four of them live in Southern California, and they were all involved in the blown call. I get the perceived conflict of interest, but to think there was some sort of bias favoring the Rams is ridiculous. Keep in mind, there was no NFL team in the Los Angeles area from 1994 until three years ago.
Sure, they could've assigned that crew to Patriots-Chiefs instead (then the Patriots fans could've shut up about them getting Clete Blakeman, too). But neither team objected when the official assignments were made. Just like no one objected when they did the first Saints-Rams game this season (which is the reason, the NFL said, that they were assigned to the NFC game). And, if there hadn't been one of the most infamous no-calls in NFL history at the end of the game, where the officials live wouldn't have even come up.
We all know it should've been a penalty. Even Robey-Coleman was surprised a flag didn't come out. Most people were clamoring for pass interference, although I can see how they missed that in real time. However, even if the ball had been tipped, which was the official's original explanation for not throwing a flag for pass interference, there should've been a 15-yard personal foul penalty for the obvious helmet-to-helmet hit! Everyone knows that, which is why NFL VP of Officiating Al Riveron called Saints coach Sean Payton immediately after the game to admit they screwed up.
In the aftermath of the no-call, the discussion turned to whether or not the play should've/could've been reviewed. The NFL has always been leery of including judgment plays subject to review, and with good reason. They don't want to take the subjectivity out of it, especially on bang-bang plays, and they don't want plays essentially being officiated twice (once on the field, once in the booth).
However, plays in marquee/playoff games have a tendency to draw the Competition Committee's attention. I'm still not sure how that wasn't a catch for Dez Bryant in that Dallas-Green Bay playoff game, but it was after the Jesse James play that they realized the definition of a catch had to change. Same thing with the tuck rule, which doesn't even exist anymore. Same thing with the after-the-fact unnecessary roughness penalties/suspensions after the high-profile incidents with Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham, Jr.
Next, it's pass interference. Don't be surprised if defensive pass interference is something that becomes reviewable starting in the 2019 season. At the very least, it'll be discussed. At length.
For the most part, I agree with the NFL's stance on whether or not penalties should be reviewable. They could call holding on every play if they wanted to. And the last thing anyone needs is coaches throwing out the red challenge flag on every play where they think a penalty should've been called and wasn't. But pass interference is different. Because we've seen so many games turned on phantom PI calls or, like the NFC Championship Game, where it should've been called and wasn't.
If they do make it reviewable, it would only be on plays where a flag is actually thrown. Call the penalty, then determine if it wasn't. You're getting into very dangerous territory if you do it the other way. You can't have officials in the replay room who have the benefit of all those replays from all those different angles overruling the officials down on the field who have to make that decision in the moment while also watching everything else that's going on during the play. There's no momentum for that, either. Don't make it a penalty after the fact.
And that's the irony of the entire Saints-Rams situation. Even if pass interference was a reviewable play, they wouldn't have been able to review the Robey-Coleman play because no flag was thrown.
Making pass interference reviewable seems to be the next logical step, though. They've had it in the CFL since 2014, so they have a model that works to use as a basis for developing an NFL rule. In fact, I'd imagine it would be very similar to the Canadian rule, where they can use any of their challenges on pass interference as long as they have timeouts except for in the last three minutes (the CFL has a three-minute warning instead of a two-minute warning).
The only difference I'd suggest would be that you can only challenge if the flag is thrown. This won't make Saints fans happy, but you can't challenge plays where no flag is thrown and you think there should be. In Canada, either team can challenge a potential pass interference, whether a flag is thrown or not.
Was the NFC Championship Game fundamentally changed by the no-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman's pass interference? Yes! It might've cost the Saints a chance at the Super Bowl (although you can't say they definitely would've won had it been called), but it could end up benefiting the entire league in the long run. Because making pass interference subject to instant replay would be a game-changer.
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