Coaches Should Be Allowed To Challenge Penalties

[BillsImpossible]

One challenge per half, or two challenges per game.

Within those two challenges, a coach should also be allowed to challenge a penalty that was not called.

When NFL referees get trigger happy and throw their yellow hankies on to the field at critical moments in games when they should not, coaches should be allowed to challenge those calls.

When NFL referees don't throw their yellow hankies on to the field when they should, coaches should be able to challenge those non-calls as well.

How many times have you seen a flag thrown on a phantom penalty in the NFL? It happens every single week.

How many times have you NOT seen a flag that should have been thrown on a penalty that is blatantly obvious? It happens every single week.

Sometime referees get their calls wrong, and replay has proven that to be a fact.

Sometimes referees also get their penalty calls wrong as well, but there is no remedy?

That's not right.

2 penalty or non-called penalty challenges per game should be implemented in the name of fairness and good business policy.

I think that is fair.

Everyone on this board has seen the phantom pass interference call. DB gets flagged for defensive pass interference when there wasn't any, offense goes on to score, wins the game as a result.

Everyone on this board has seen the blatant hold on a defensive lineman or linebacker that was not called, and the offense goes on to score.

It's 2013, almost 2014. Games are so close, and everyone is watching NFL bigwigs.

When zebras make penalty calls that can ultimately decide football games, their decisions should not be absolute.

Their decisions on penalties should be able to be challenged, and their non-decisions on obvious penalties should be able to be challenged as well.

[BLeonard]

The only way it would work is if you had a referee not on the field making the call on a challenge... I don't see many officials changing their minds on a call/non-call like holding or PI.

Personally, I've felt that even the challenges that they do have should be taken out of the on-field officials' hands. Some referee crews call things tighter than others and a PI this week could be a non-PI the next week, simply due to different officials on the field. IIRC, the NHL has all questionable calls sent to the home office in Toronto, where a group of officials there reviews the play and makes the final call. Having a system like this would help keep the officiating constant.

-Bill

[Typ0]

There is a remedy in place. The teams file a grievance and the NFL apologizes if there was a mistake made.

[Pinkerton Security]

Absolutely not. Penalties are generally judgement calls, theres a reason they cant be challenged. Also, there is probably "holding" on every single play at some point, so where do you draw the line? Just doesnt make sense.

[Thief]

NaturalBornSpiller is 100% right. I am a ref. Challenging judgement calls will never be allowed and it would be ridiculous to do so. The common idea is that mistakes vs each team kinda even out assuming the ref is unbiased and always acting in good faith.

[GingerP]

The stop the game enough already. The stoppages for every turnover and TD are already enough disruption, on top of the coaches challenges. It is reaching the tipping point.

[trapezeus]

watching a bunch of games this weekend, there was very little flow this week. partly on players sucking, but the stoppages were awful. even at the end the games were still a little painful. challenges (even if limited) would keep slowing things down.

Also, a good way to get the reffing quality up is to fire jeff triplett. this guy has blown several games, gotten a coin flip wrong and is like 10000 years old. You had the guy on the first monday night game with glasses and he sounded like he was going to throw up. you have ed hochuli that can write a 40000 word dissertation on the penalty and still be wrong but no one questions him because they think they'll be beat up.

Keep the refs from being tenured in when they have a habit of sucking.

[Johnny Bugmenot]

There is a remedy in place. The teams file a grievance and the NFL apologizes if there was a mistake made.

Apologies are worthless. The league has never overturned the outcome of a game, or arranged for a rematch, because of crooked officiating. That's because they don't want to. The NFL is a multibillion dollar industry. ESPN said it best: spreading out the wealth to 32 teams is a recipe for deflating ratings, so the league has a vested interest in keeping its television suitors happy by keeping the Jacksonvilles and the Buffalos down. Why did Tebow end up on the Jets and Patriots-- two teams that least needed him-- the past two years? Because the media said so, the same ones that made sure Vick ended up in Philly.

The officiating is merely an extension of that. Of course a NE-BUF is always going to end up with ten Bills penalties and only two on the Pats. Go look it up and you'll find that in almost every game the past decade. Furthermore, you can't even publicly criticize them if they are screwing things up, which of course SCREAMS of a cover-up.

[Typ0]

Yeah...and that might not have any correlation with the quality of the teams.

[better days]

There is a remedy in place. The teams file a grievance and the NFL apologizes if there was a mistake made.

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE. The game has already been decided at that point.

[OpIv37]

NaturalBornSpiller is 100% right. I am a ref. Challenging judgement calls will never be allowed and it would be ridiculous to do so. The common idea is that mistakes vs each team kinda even out assuming the ref is unbiased and always acting in good faith.

We all know that isn't true though. The refs blew that hands to the face call against Buffalo late. Maybe they blew a call or two against NE early to make it technically even, but NE had time left in the game to recover. We didn't, so the bad call against Buffalo had a greater effect on the outcome.

That being said, I still agree that challenges on penalties would be a nightmare.

The league needs to go to full time refs who can spend the off-season watching tape to improve.

[stuckincincy]

Apologies are worthless. The league has never overturned the outcome of a game, or arranged for a rematch, because of crooked officiating. That's because they don't want to. The NFL is a multibillion dollar industry. ESPN said it best: spreading out the wealth to 32 teams is a recipe for deflating ratings, so the league has a vested interest in keeping its television suitors happy by keeping the Jacksonvilles and the Buffalos down. Why did Tebow end up on the Jets and Patriots-- two teams that least needed him-- the past two years? Because the media said so, the same ones that made sure Vick ended up in Philly.

The officiating is merely an extension of that. Of course a NE-BUF is always going to end up with ten Bills penalties and only two on the Pats. Go look it up and you'll find that in almost every game the past decade. Furthermore, you can't even publicly criticize them if they are screwing things up, which of course SCREAMS of a cover-up.

The stats for penalties were NE 4/35 BUF 10/75.

Note that the Bills were flagged for 2 neutral zone violations, one 12 men on field, 1 illegal formation. Sins of commission...

http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/55838/BUF_Gamebook.pdf

[Mr. Pink]

So when a big play happens, just challenge that there was a hold on the play and get it negated!!!

There's holding on every down all this idea would do is make sure some big plays got negated.

Pointless and stupid.

[Crisis]

There's enough stoppages as it is. The reviews on every turnover/score is getting excessive.

But I guess without the 5 minute review stoppage how else is the NFL going to get more commercials in?

The pace of games has slowed down so much... between defenses faking injuries to slow down offenses and reviews every time a big play happens.

[stuckincincy]

So when a big play happens, just challenge that there was a hold on the play and get it negated!!!

There's holding on every down all this idea would do is make sure some big plays got negated.

Pointless and stupid.

13 years out of a chance for the prize. Pointless and stupid is blaming that ref's (implied) bias for one particular opponent caused that long stretch. If folks think that BUF loses the benefit of the doubt, well, what has this club done to earn that through the years?

[GingerP]

We all know that isn't true though. The refs blew that hands to the face call against Buffalo late.

Wood manned up on the hands-to-the-face calls. He said the league has said all off-season that it would be a point-of-emphasis this year, so they need to be more aware and get their hands down.

The Bills can't blame the refs, they did themselves in last week. The good news is if they can get the penalties and turnovers cleaned up and maintain that level of effort they can be competitive and win some games.

[BillsFever21]

It's a great idea in theory but it would never work out. As some have already said, most penalties are judgement calls and it's not like reviewing whether somebody had both feet in bounds or if they were down before they fumbled. That would be like managers in MLB being able to challenge balls and strikes. It just wouldn't work.

[gr8slayer]

I'm going to say no, I think that there still needs to be a human element to the game, and there are already enough things going on during the game slowing it down.

[Homegrown]

When NFL referees get trigger happy and throw their yellow hankies on to the field at critical moments in games when they should not, coaches should be allowed to challenge those calls.

When NFL referees don't throw their yellow hankies on to the field when they should, coaches should be able to challenge those non-calls as well .

Oh man I can see it now ...Last play of the game, Bills score for the win...wait, scoring plays are reviewed, play overturned -Bills lose ...wait, Bills challenge for a "missed" penality, game can't end on a defensive penality, Bills line up again for a final offensive play, they score!!!!.....wait, the opponent challenges for a "missed" Bills penality on the scoring play ...points are taken off the board & Bills pushed back 10 yards and line up for the last play ...in the confusion Bills called for Delay of Game, game over ...wait, Bills challenge the "called" penality, its reviewed and overturned ...Bills line up again, they score!!! ...wait, on the play a flag is thrown on the D for too many men on the field, the opponent challenges the "called" penality ...now what?

[Turf]

The referees have made sure we're at the bottom of the league year after year with ultra timely calls on big clutch plays to make sure we can't win.