Don't replay—just play

SHAWN CHENG/YH caption

While some whining about bad officiating is nothing new to the NFL or to any other league, Dungy's complaint seems more legitimate considering the league's newest rule change. For the first time since 1991, instant replay is back. In Dungy's case, all three questionable calls were reviewed. Worst of all, the questionable fourth-quarter first down throw had been correctly ruled a catch on the field before referee Ed Hochuli, via his instant replay monitor, overruled the first decision and ruled that the throw actually had been incomplete. Sheepishly hiding behind the phrase "everybody makes mistakes," the NFL officially reported after the fact that all three final decisions, even after being reviewed on the field, were incorrect.

The NFL first adopted an instant replay system just before the 1986 season in response to a rash of complaints about officiating. But six seasons later, the rule was dropped as many teams became disillusioned with the new method of "correcting" mistakes. For the next eight years, plans to return to a similar corrective system floated around until another rash of calls reflecting poor judgement last season led to the reinstate-ment of instant replay.

In designing the newer system, however, the league tried to address the problems that had plagued its first attempt. First and foremost, the actual review of the call is now left to the head referee on the field as opposed to an official sitting in a private booth. In an attempt to diminish potential delays, coaches are allotted only two challenges per game, and the referee has only 90 seconds to review the play. Also, a "replay assistant" who sits in the booth is able to call for a review of any play in the last two minutes of either half and during the entirety of overtime. Most importantly, the new rule states specifically that a "decision will only be reversed when the referee has indisputable visual evidence that the call should be changed."

The rule, thus far, has been used almost exclusively to turn good calls into bad ones, or to make decisions on very close plays with nothing near the standard of indisputable visual evidence. The plan drafted to end controversy surrounding the decisions of officials has simply fueled the fire.

Many feel that instant replay is flawed in principle, and this latest incarnation is especially problematic. If the ultimate goal is to eliminate all errors by officials, then every play ought to be open to review. Furthermore, restricting the official to a mere 90 seconds to evaluate every possible angle, backward and forwards, seems contrary to the goal of perfection. Why not allow the officials themselves to call for a replay when they believe they may have erred? This form of replay is too dependent on imperfections, such as the angles available via video, the specific times when it can be used, and the judgment of the particular official watching the replay. Now, in addition to the flaws of the players, coaches, and officials, the game must put up with the defects of the instant replay system.

Regardless of how instant replay is used, its very existence seems to overlook a basic premise that sports such as baseball and basketball have accepted: officials are humans, and their errors are—and should continue to be—part of the game. Instant replay is particularly out of place in a game in which chains are used to measure whether a team has moved the ball exactly 10 yards down the field, ignoring the fact that the placement of the ball is a rough approximation at best. Any infraction of the rules depends almost entirely on the angle from which an official sees the play, assuming of course that his sight isn't completely blocked off by a full complement of 300-pound linemen. Officiating is an art, not a science, and any attempt to perfect it is destined to fail.

The NFL itself insisted in its most recent press release on the issue that "everyone makes mistakes." Everyone includes officials and their imperfections, just like everyone else's, ought to be considered a valid part of the game. In the meantime, however, Dungy is still down $10,000, and instant replay can't change that call.

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