NFL owners on Wednesday approved a series of new rules, including one that will expand the influence of repeat officials amid the ongoing demands from coaches for more oversight of playing day officials.
Owners rejected more robust proposals for a full-time judge in the air, including one of the Baltimore Ravens that would create a referee. Instead, owners have taken the more modest step of empowering the existing repeater – who sits in the press box of each stadium – to consult with referees on certain “specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious” lying video evidence is present, “according to the language of the rule.
Repeat officers cannot flip flags or reverse calls themselves. But they can now advise the referees on the basis of what they have seen in repetitions in broadcasts in the areas of possession, completed or intercepted passes, the position of the ball in relation to the boundary or finish line, and whether a player below contact is. Coaches do not have to fly the challenge flag to give the advice, which some officials have been giving informally to referees for years.
In other news regarding Wednesday’s votes, NFL owners have:
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Approved the relaxation of the rules for the number of players who can carry in certain positions due to extensive training groups. Backs, wide receivers, tight ends, defenses and linebackers can all carry numbers in the single digits if they prefer. Based on existing NFL rules, players who want to change their numbers this season must buy out the stock from the NFL’s manufacturing partners. This does not apply to players who give 2021 notice that they want to change numbers in 2022.
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Approved a one-year experiment in an effort to make it easier to repair outside kicks. In 2021, the receiving team on the kick-off will be limited to nine players within 25 meters of the ball. Last season, NFL teams recovered only three of the 67 kicks on the leg, the lowest total and the recovery rate since at least 2001.
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Eliminated overtime in preseason games.
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Has changed a rule that will now force a loss down if two passes are completed behind the scrum line.
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A rule change that ensures the enforcement of all accepted penalties during consecutive try attempts, defined as an opportunity for a team to score one or two additional points during a kickoff.