Any Thoughts About Challenges for PI Allowed?

Rule change yesterday makes PI penalties reviewable by coach`s challenge for the coming year on a trial basis, also non calls such as in the tragic Rams/Saints playoff game.

One problem some mention is on a Hail Mary play which is a scrum and has pass interference every time.

To fix the whole PI issue, I would like to see the NFL adopt a high standard and say PI will not be called unless it is flagrant to eliminate touchy refs from being ready to call it for next to nothing. This change would be to eliminate phantom calls like the one we had against us when playing the Saints (could not be seen even on replay) and hopefully never flagged so a challenge does not have to be used. Along with that idea, to solve the Hail Mary issue, make it formal policy, as it is in current practice informally now, tell teams the same high threshold to call PI remains on Hail Mary plays.

I really hate how refs have the power to ruin a game, especially on a phantom PI call. I like the change.

 

Good post, I like the change but I wish it weren't required. Why does the NFL have rules written in such a way that a ref can call it when it suits him?

 

As long as Al Riveron isn't in total charge of it.
That guys screws the Steelers more than John Holmes did to porn star chicks.

 

Just gives Tomlin one more challenge to f up

 

I understand they can't challenge PI in the last 2 mins (like other challenges), so that's intended to fix the Hail Mary issue?

I think the really interesting thing here - aside from the fact that it's a fairly radical rule change, even if it works fairly well in the CFL - is the precedent for allowing challenges on non-calls. That could be huge. If you can challenge a non-call on PI, why not on, say, holding?

I'm all for the change, but I do wonder if this will add to the drama rather than dispelling it.

 

Yeah, maybe because a Hail Mary play is late in the half or end of game, maybe no issue.

On the non call issue, yeah, how do you know it should have been PI instead of defensive holding for sure? It`s the refs opinion if the ball was in the air already. Some plays it is very close. So maybe when you red flag you also gamble the call should have been PI, but you lose because it should have been defensive holding? They must have thought about this. Maybe they will call the defensive holding and you "win" the challenge (don`t lose a challenge)?

 

I agree and it also crosses into the "judgement call" thing. Roughing the QB, holding, catch/no catch, could be interesting.

 

Yeah, great point. It's a slippery slope.

On a side note, they could clean up PI a bit if they got rid of that ridiculous face shielding rule. If you're trying to stay with, whats basically, a deer zig-zagging down the field, without technically being able to touch or impede their progress, then they should be able to do anything they can, short of touching them, to stop them from catching it. That rule is ridiculous. Like db's aren't at enough of an disadvantage. If you're a wr and don't want a hand in front of your face, create some separation.

 

I never liked that it became a 'spot' foul. Make it a 10 or 15 yard penalty, or base it on severity. I think being able to challenge or review might be a step in the right direction, but it's complicated and can still be misinterpreted.

 

The over regulation of the game continues to happen for no reason. They are still going to get the calls wrong regardless of replay. Better to leave judgement calls on the field where they belong. Whatever the results might be so be it.

Sports corruption will continue to have a place in sports. There's just to much money involved.

 

I guarantee by November fans will hate this rule.

If there's 3min left in a game, and you have a challenge left, as a HC you'd be br crazy not to challenge any incomplete long pass you throw. Hey, role the dice get a 40yd penalty.

Then in last 2min, every pass will be reviewed. Some ticky tack incomplete Will be reversed, a play like Haden in New Orleans will be upheld because there was SOME contact.

And here's the kicker: a long incomplete pass with contact is challenged, the challenge is denied because it was def holding not PI, and holding ain't reviewable.

This will be a mess. Replay is the devil hiding behind the ideal of 'lets just get it right', an impossible standard in a over officious game.

 

This rule change opens the door to all kinds of nonsense in the future. It's an overreaction.

 

Yes! The lesser of two evils

 

They have a 'command station' and Al Riveron is at the helm. Maybe the new rule will correct more than it gets wrong, but I have my doubts.

 

I like the new rule, if it was in place last season maybe the Steelers beat the Saints . Sean Payton admitted that wasn't PI on Haden in the endzone covering Kamara.

 

A review of that play could easily have concluded that there was Some contact between Haden and Kamara and the ruling on the field stands. Remember, the most hated call over the last few yrs was the Jesse James non catch vs NE. This was reviewed and ruled not a catch. Had there been no replay, it would have been a TD. Believing more replay will make the game fairer/better is like believing more government will improve your life.

 

I think they'd be further ahead by enforcing the existing rules before creating more. The NFL doesn't need to be more complicated. It's like when driving while talking on a cell phone was made illegal. It already was illegal, it's called reckless driving.
Decide what PI is and enforce it, like they did with a catch last season.
Wait until this new PI rule screws the Steelers a couple times, opinions will change.

 

Games are going to be 4 1/2 hours long soon with all the stoppages. Officiating has been destroying the game for decades and now they will micromanage the daylights out of it.

You want to change the momentum? Just have more commercials. Decide an outcome here and there. I've already seen it. This just solidifies it even more.

 

Typical NFL self destruction. I remember how they continued the pussification of the game early last year with the "crown of the helmet" fiasco. No one knew wtf was a good hit and what wasn't, even the coaches. Same here. The current regime cannot get out of their own way it seems. The best way to solve the problem is to just find refs that know what the hell they are doing and not be PC in their hiring.

 

PI calls inside the last 2 minutes won’t be challenges, they’ll be booth reviews, so they will still happen.

The Hail Mary play has the potential to have a bigger impact than most everyone realizes. It could potentially change the outcome of games. A lot of them.

 

I see this type of thing written often. I would concede that Tomlin has not had a good challenge rate these last two years, but has been comparable to other coaches throughout his career. His career challenge rate is something like 45 percent (most coaches are between 40 and 50 percent). His is actually higher than Belicheck’s.

 

I agree with you on making the penalty less severe. In a lot situations, it becomes a problem because of the total yards involved. In its current format it encourages QBs to heave it downfield (in some situations - ala Joe Flacco).

 

I've always hated the fact that pass interference on the Hail Mary play is an accepted part of the game. The same with offensive holding. Write the rules in such a manner that they do not leave calls open to the officials whims.

 

Ok, but realize that well over 50% of Hail Marys will result in PIs.

Knowing this, in certain situations teams will be more likely to just chuck it downfield even if you can’t reach the end zone. Just getting in field goal range will do.

Imagine a team down by 2 on their own 25 and down to the last play of the game. Just Hail Mary’ing it to the other teams 25 and getting a PI allowing for 1 untimed play, a FG, that results in the win.

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.