With the NFL's expanded use of the replay assistant to correct errors made by field officials in real time, field officials will be clearer about the role of the replay assistant in change.
NFL Competition Commission Chairman Rich McKay told Rich Eisen on Wednesday that starting this year, the referee will specifically explain that the referee changes after the replay assistant is introduced.
We used to say when the referee comes and confronts you and says: After the discussion It was determined that there was no intentional grounding“It's going to change this year,” McKay said. When the replay assistant says something or influences the referee, the referee will say: “After consulting with the replay assistant, the flag is raised. . . .
“We'll try to explain to you at home and you're on the field what's going on because…it's something for people at home and they start thinking about things, but people on the field don't know it either. So our idea was to be very clear and transparent about what's affecting Call and why.
This is good. It would be better if the replay assistant gets full and complete authority to help manage based on the things that appear on the screen. When it comes to officiating, the biggest disconnect comes from the gap between what field officials (trying not to get run over) see and what the rest of us at home see. Restart Assistant can fill this gap.
The sooner the NFL does this, the better position the NFL will be at countering perceptions, which may be misleading, that reform is in place.
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