mightyspaz
03-28-2004, 05:59 PM
Replay will be back, but maybe not forever
March 28, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The NFL rule makers want instant replay to be added permanently.
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But if they cannot get their way, they will settle for the next best thing: extending it for five years.
"There's always plan 1-B," John Mara of the New York Giants said Sunday when the NFL meetings opened. "We think we have more than enough votes to get it in permanently, but if we feel there's enough opposition, we're open to compromise."
Given the history of replay as an officiating aid, it looks as though there will be a compromise, in this case the fallback position of extending it a few more years.
Replay was first implemented for the 1986 season, voted out in 1992, then brought back in 1999 in its current form, with the coaches' challenge system.
It was put in for three years in 2001, and this year the competition committee, which includes Mara, voted 8-0 to put it in permanently.
But that requires approval from three-quarters of the teams -- 24 of 32. So if replay goes in permanently, it would need 24 votes to remove it, and that makes some owners nervous.
"I have my reservations, because we've been hurt by replay a couple of times," said Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian, who voted in the committee for permanent replay. "So yes, I'm for it, but I can see some people still wondering."
The committee also voted to make a slight change to replay, adding a third challenge for a team that has used its first two successfully.
But it voted against two other proposals: modifying overtime to give each team a shot at the ball, and adding two teams to the playoffs, raising the number to 14. That decision was based in part on studies that show the lowest-seeded teams rarely advance, and on what committee members felt would be an unfair advantage to the single team in each conference that would earn a bye.
In addition to replay, items to be discussed include upcoming negotiations to extend the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association beyond its expiration date after the 2007 season. The owners also will discuss negotiations on a new television contract -- the current one has two seasons left.
They also are expected to add to the rules a 15-yard penalty for excessive on-field celebrations; extend the revenue-sharing agreement for logos and other licensed items; discuss extending by two days the one-week postseason period to interview assistant coaches for head coaching positions; and adding an interview process for front-office personnel during that time period.
On Monday, commissioner Paul Tagliabue delivers his state of the league speech.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
March 28, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The NFL rule makers want instant replay to be added permanently.
Advertisement
But if they cannot get their way, they will settle for the next best thing: extending it for five years.
"There's always plan 1-B," John Mara of the New York Giants said Sunday when the NFL meetings opened. "We think we have more than enough votes to get it in permanently, but if we feel there's enough opposition, we're open to compromise."
Given the history of replay as an officiating aid, it looks as though there will be a compromise, in this case the fallback position of extending it a few more years.
Replay was first implemented for the 1986 season, voted out in 1992, then brought back in 1999 in its current form, with the coaches' challenge system.
It was put in for three years in 2001, and this year the competition committee, which includes Mara, voted 8-0 to put it in permanently.
But that requires approval from three-quarters of the teams -- 24 of 32. So if replay goes in permanently, it would need 24 votes to remove it, and that makes some owners nervous.
"I have my reservations, because we've been hurt by replay a couple of times," said Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian, who voted in the committee for permanent replay. "So yes, I'm for it, but I can see some people still wondering."
The committee also voted to make a slight change to replay, adding a third challenge for a team that has used its first two successfully.
But it voted against two other proposals: modifying overtime to give each team a shot at the ball, and adding two teams to the playoffs, raising the number to 14. That decision was based in part on studies that show the lowest-seeded teams rarely advance, and on what committee members felt would be an unfair advantage to the single team in each conference that would earn a bye.
In addition to replay, items to be discussed include upcoming negotiations to extend the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association beyond its expiration date after the 2007 season. The owners also will discuss negotiations on a new television contract -- the current one has two seasons left.
They also are expected to add to the rules a 15-yard penalty for excessive on-field celebrations; extend the revenue-sharing agreement for logos and other licensed items; discuss extending by two days the one-week postseason period to interview assistant coaches for head coaching positions; and adding an interview process for front-office personnel during that time period.
On Monday, commissioner Paul Tagliabue delivers his state of the league speech.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved