The National Football League’s competition committee is composed of football knowledgeable men who carry the responsibility to make the game safer, entertaining, and competitive.
Their emphasis on safety is of greater concern in today’s game in light of the noticeable awareness of concussions. The issue is of paramount importance not only to the committee, but to everyone who enters the violent arena of pro football.
Football, by its very nature, is violent, i.e., “Ya gotta knock somebody down.” It’s blocking and tackling. You don’t have to “knock somebody down” in hockey, lacrosse, and/or basketball, but those sports are also violent. With the exposure of the bounty program and the subsequent action of cease and desist by Commissioner Roger Goodell, hopefully we will see a return to civility on the part of players. This is not a call to remove the physicality required in today’s game, but for a better sense of fair play.
The competition committee also wants to ensure that a balance is created between offensive and defensive strategies. For example, the bump and run rule of some 35 years ago was to allow receivers a better opportunity to “get open” and increase scoring.
For 2012 the committee is going to allow all replays currently viewed only by the on-field referee and the replay assistant in the booth to be seen by all in the stadium.
The concern here is that while this procedure will allow fans in the stadium to view all available angles, (which those at home already see) a decision by the referee to confirm or correct an on-field call is based not only on the play, but also on interpretation of the rule involved.
An example is the “tuck rule” play in the 2001 AFC divisional playoff between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots. After further review the call was reversed by the referee in the favor of the home team (New England) because of a rule interpretation of which the fans were unaware.
So if a call does not favor the home team, could there be unruly fan behavior in the stadium? How much are fans entitled to know/see?
Will you be in favor of all replays for stadium fans to see?
To contact Jim go to www.jimtunney.com or email him at jim@jimtunney.com.
