The Decision to add pass inteference to list of reviewable plays could dominate this Regular season.

[polamalubeast]

LATROBE, Pa. – By mid-afternoon yesterday, the 2019 wannabe Pittsburgh Steelers had assembled on campus here, and the clock began ticking toward the start of the NFL regular season. For the next three weeks, the Steelers will use the grass at Saint Vincent College to attempt to solve, or at least get a better handle on, a wide range of issues attached to the apparent strengths and weaknesses of their roster.

A couple of weeks later they will cut to 53 and possibly utilize the waiver wire to tie up some loose ends. But what will they find awaiting them at the start of this regular season, besides Tom Brady and the defending champion New England Patriots? That’s a big unknown, even to Al Riveron.

You see, 2019 is being billed as NFL 100, a celebration of the National Football League’s 100th season, and it wouldn’t be a good look for the conversation to be dominated by some inconsistent or overzealous application of the new rule allowing called or uncalled pass interference penalties to be subject to instant replay.

Already there have been warnings sounded.

As Peter King wrote for NBCsports.com: “We won’t know for a while if we’ve finally gone too far with replay, if reviewing the consistently controversial calls of defensive and offensive pass interference will be the Rubicon the NFL just can’t cross … I’m as concerned with the unintended consequences of this rules tweak as the intended one. Yes, we all want obvious blown calls to be fixed. But if you read this column, you watch football. And you see the super-slo-motion replays of pass interference, and if you’re with five people watching, there could be a 3-3 or 4-2 split about whether there was pass interference on the play … and maybe even whether the offensive players or the defensive players were the guilty party. Or whether both were.”

As NFL Network’s Rich Eisen wrote after vice president of officiating Al Riveron conducted a symposium for the network back in June: “Riveron would show a sequence involving a possible offensive pass interference, pause the play and ask the room if we would throw a flag for OPI. Half of the room would say ‘yes’ and the other half ’no.’ Then, he would ask us if there was no penalty called, would we, as the replay official, put a flag down on the field for OPI. Half the room said ‘yes’ and the other half of the room said ‘no.’ Riveron’s well-taken point: not everything in this endeavor is going to be so glaring and easy to correct as the NFC Championship Game non-call.”

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https://www.steelers.com/news/labrio...he-2019-season

I think it's going to be worse, very controversial, more frustrating than the catch rule in 2017 ... I think it's a horrible idea.

[tube517]

The NFL will screw this up, too. Watch.

[Edman]

Yet another judgment call that is vague and all comes down to interpretation and slows game pace down. Because there just isn’t enough of those already and the NFL needs another one of them.

I see another reffing disaster on the horizon. The more you legislate the game and make it “safe”, the more arbitrary and unfair it becomes.

[Mojouw]

I think the league also announced that is getting rid of the few full time refs and making them all part time again. So cool. Make the rules far more complicated and impossible to comprehend and then let part-timers that basically train on game days make all the decisions. How can anything go wrong!

These guys should be watching film, refereeing simulated games, using computers and whatnot to replicate situations and scenarios. They should be working together in their same game day crews to establish consistency and cooperation among officiating crews. Then they should switch jobs (like baseball umpires) to get a feel for other portions of the field and game.

But that would make sense and cost money -- so no way Goodell and the owners ever agree to that.

[hawaiiansteeler]

But that would make sense and cost money -- so no way Goodell and the owners ever agree to that.

the league has to watch their pennies, the NFL is hardly generating any revenue

[polamalubeast]

[steelreserve]

2018: Playoff game ruined by shitty blown pass interference call

2019: Playoff game ruined by stupid desperation junkball followed by equally desperate challenge and a bullshit 50-yard pass interference penalty when the receiver basically ran over the DB but he "wasn't looking back for the ball" or some garbage. Mark it down.

[Mojouw]

2018: Playoff game ruined by shitty blown pass interference call

2019: Playoff game ruined by stupid desperation junkball followed by equally desperate challenge and a bullshit 50-yard pass interference penalty when the receiver basically ran over the DB but he "wasn't looking back for the ball" or some garbage. Mark it down.

WRs are going to jump into DBs to get calls. Smart NFL teams are going to coach their wideouts to play like the Houston Rockets jumpshooters. And it's gonna suck.

[tube517]

WRs are going to jump into DBs to get calls. Smart NFL teams are going to coach their wideouts to play like the Houston Rockets jumpshooters. And it's gonna suck.

Wait, WRs are paid to jump??

[hawaiiansteeler]

Wait, WRs are paid to jump??

Mike Wallace calls bs on that...

[steelreserve]

Mike Wallace calls bs on that...

Yeah, he doesn't get paid at all, last I heard!

[silver & black]

I think the league also announced that is getting rid of the few full time refs and making them all part time again. So cool. Make the rules far more complicated and impossible to comprehend and then let part-timers that basically train on game days make all the decisions. How can anything go wrong!

These guys should be watching film, refereeing simulated games, using computers and whatnot to replicate situations and scenarios. They should be working together in their same game day crews to establish consistency and cooperation among officiating crews. Then they should switch jobs (like baseball umpires) to get a feel for other portions of the field and game.

But that would make sense and cost money -- so no way Goodell and the owners ever agree to that.

I get more disheartened with the NFL every day. My team is going to a new venue, and seems to be making strides to being competitive again....... and I don't really care all that much. Maybe I'm just old enough that football isn't that important anymore, I don't know. Maybe I just miss real football played by real men.

All the hold outs, stupid rules, no defense allowed, QB's are untouchable, the assinine helmet to helmet crap, the no catch/catch shit................. The game is no longer fun, and has gravitated toward becoming nothing more than just another "game" for owners to become filthy rich. I know............ I'm all "get off my lawn!"...lol.

[Steeler-in-west]

I’m beginning to see the wisdom of getting rid of replay. Or minimize it at least, say only 2 for each team per game.

[polamalubeast]

[Mojouw]

I get more disheartened with the NFL every day. My team is going to a new venue, and seems to be making strides to being competitive again....... and I don't really care all that much. Maybe I'm just old enough that football isn't that important anymore, I don't know. Maybe I just miss real football played by real men.

All the hold outs, stupid rules, no defense allowed, QB's are untouchable, the assinine helmet to helmet crap, the no catch/catch shit................. The game is no longer fun, and has gravitated toward becoming nothing more than just another "game" for owners to become filthy rich. I know............ I'm all "get off my lawn!"...lol.

Don’t totally agree but I certainly don’t disagree either. I still really enjoy watching the NFL. There are just jaw dropping plays in almost every game each week. I find it entertaining and I just try and not let all the officiating stuff and the OUTRAGE that gets yelled into the radio, social media, and television each week about calls or non-calls get me down. That is what I think the biggest problem is. It isn’t the players or even the rule changes. It is the NFL focused media that needs to create content so they go over everything with a fine toothed comb and just nitpick calls. Look slow anything down to super-duper slo-mo HD and let me look at at 100 times from 3 angles and I will find something wrong with it! No other sport’s coverage and fans are so obsessed with the officials.

My old man always told me that if one blown call from the officials could cause you to lose, then you should have played better in the other 59.59 minutes of game time and not given the officials the chance to change the outcome of the game. I think we need to get back to that kind of idea.

[86WARD]

Yet another judgment call that is vague and all comes down to interpretation and slows game pace down. Because there just isn’t enough of those already and the NFL needs another one of them.

I see another reffing disaster on the horizon. The more you legislate the game and make it “safe”, the more arbitrary and unfair it becomes.

Basically a judgement call that comes down to another judgement call. Cool. More gray area to the NFL rules.

[hawaiiansteeler]

Basically a judgement call that comes down to another judgement call. Cool. More gray area to the NFL rules.

and games will become longer than they already are...

[86WARD]

and games will become longer than they already are...

It shouldn’t though because they didn’t actually add more challenges per say. Having said that, yes, it’s possible that although they didn’t add more challenges, that now maybe more challenges will be used?

It’s not going to be fixed...it’s just going to cause even more controversy and more “some team paid the refs” rhetoric.

[polamalubeast]

Good call or not?

[polamalubeast]

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Could have challenged on Joe Haden vs Saints last season.

That might not have been overturned, since Haden did have a hand on the WR, but there might have been clear and obvious evidence that his hand didnt push the WR in any way that impeded his opportunity to catch the football.

[steelreserve]

Good call or not?

Pass interference is almost never a good call.

[polamalubeast]

Pass interference is almost never a good call.

some are worst that others....

[polamalubeast]

WTF