Referees will specifically cite replay assistant, starting this year
As the NFL's expanded use of the replay assistant for real-time correction to mistakes made by the on-field officials, the on-field officials will be more explicit about the replay assistant's role in the change.
NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay told Rich Eisen on Wednesday that, starting this year, the referee will specifically explain that the ruling changes after input from the replay assistant.
"We used to say, when the referee would come and face you and say, 'After discussion it was determined there was no intentional grounding,'" McKay said. "You're gonna change this year. When the replay assistant actually does say something or impact the referee, the referee is going to say, "After consultation with the replay assistant the flag is picked up. . . .
"We're gonna try to make it clear to you at home and you in the stadium what's going on because . . . it's one thing for the people at home and begin to think things, but people in the stadium don't know either. So our idea was to be very clear and very transparent on what is impacting the call and why."
That's good. It would be better if the replay assistant receives full and complete power to assist with officiating based on the things seen on screen. When it comes to officiating, the biggest disconnect comes from the gap between what the on-field officials (who are trying not to be trampled) see and what the rest of us see at home. The replay assistant can bridge that gap.
The sooner the NFL does this, the better positioned the NFL will be to push back against perceptions, misguided as they might be, that the fix is in.
