My friend had an idea: “just take all the refs off the field during the entire game and use the replay to decide where the ball is placed for the next play. And, oh yes, also look for any fouls that should be called. Even have the "Fan Of The Day" come out and place the ball in the correct position each play after the review.”
Sounds like a good idea, even the fan of the day part. The fan could wear a headset, and the almighty replay official in the booth could tell him where to put the ball.
Announcements of penalties and what not could come from the booth. But how would a coach call time out? A coach could hit a button to stop the clock, but players wouldn’t be able to have a button that could be pushed.
The bad part: in football it’s long been said that a penalty could be called on every play – especially holding and pass interference. The players and officials would have to reach a happy medium of when to call a penalty and when not to, on a consistent basis. Would this delay the game more than the current system? Not sure.
Like today, teams in fear of having a good play overturned on a review would hurry to snap the ball before replays could be reviewed. If the offense thought the defense had committed a penalty they would take more time in the huddle. But what if the game was almost over and the clock was ticking?
Rams/Saints: obvious pass interference. Not sure what happened in the game after that, but I heard the Saints still had two or three other chances to win, but couldn’t convert on offense or defense. Plus there were three or more penalties on the Saints that weren’t called, including two facemasks.
Patriots/Chiefs: at the end of the game neither defense seemed capable of stopping the other offense. Both teams scored multiple times. There were some penalties called and others that weren’t – on both teams. The Chiefs intercepted a tipped pass that should have won the game for Kansas City, but it was waved off count because another Chief lined up offside.
Overtime: several years ago the NFL changed their sudden death rule – the team receiving the opening kickoff in OT had to score a touchdown to win. Kick a field goal and the other team still received one possession. Both in the Super Bowl against the Falcons, and Sunday’s NE/KC AFC Championship, neither the Falcons nor the Chiefs’ defense could stop the Patriots in the fourth quarter. It was no surprise that Brady was able to drive his team down the field for a touchdown. Had the Pats not won the overtime toss, all they would’ve needed to do was hold the Falcons/Chiefs to a field goal, then score on their first possession.
In the old days overtime games were rare, like the iconic 1958 championship between the Colts and Giants. In the early 70’s the Chiefs and Dolphins played the longest game in history. Several Chargers had to be helped off the field after their historic overtime game in the 80’s.
Years ago regular season games could end in a tie. Overtime was added to create excitement, but several games went on for several quarters. Fans grew weary and tuned out. The current NFL overtime rule was put in so games wouldn’t go on and on, for the safety of the players. Most players are physically exhausted at the end of a regulation game, and continuing to play increased the risk of injury. But in the playoffs there has to be a winner, so perhaps the rules for overtime playoff games need to be changed.
I think I saw an article where people were claiming the Chiefs loss was caused by racism, that Patrick Mahomes was denied the ball in overtime because he was black. Another meme photoshopped a famous photo of Chiefs QB Len Dawson in the first Super Bowl. Dawson was sitting on the bench smoking a cigarette. The meme superimposed Mahomes’ face on Dawson’s body, with Dawson’s number 16 changed to Mahomes’ 15.
The 1962 AFL championship game went to overtime. The game was played in Houston with a fierce wind blowing from one end zone to the other, giving a clear advantage to whichever team had the wind at its back. Dallas Texans head coach Hank Stram told team captain Abner Haynes should he win the toss in overtime, to choose to defend the goal so they’d have the advantage in the wind.
Haynes won the toss and declared “We’ll kick at the clock.” But since he first said “We’ll kick” the Oilers were able to choose which goal to defend, to have the wind at their back. The Texans had to kick off into the wind. Fortunately for Haynes and the Texans, the first overtime period ended without a score. Early in the sixth quarter the Texans intercepted a George Blanda pass, and later kicked a game-winning field goal. A few months later the Texans moved to Missouri, and were renamed the Kansas City Chiefs.
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