As a fan of the National Football League, one thing has stood out to me this season: the hesitation of officials to blow the whistle and make a call, especially on fumbles. This is a disturbing trend that has been brought on by the re-introduction of instant replay in the NFL. I will go on record as being a fan of instant replay. I like that it helps referees ensure that the right call was made. I do not like the trend towards not making fumble calls, and allowing the instant replay to be the final decision, however.
How to change it? The current rules clearly state which calls are and are not reviewable by instant replay. For instance, a play cannot be reviewed once an official blows his whistle and ends the play. If the ball was coming loose in a fumble, but an official had already blown the whistle, it is ruled not a fumble and is no longer reviewable. My solution is to make any call reviewable by instant replay, and change the rules to allow two coaches’ challenges per half, instead of the current limitations of two challenges per game. In this case, it would expedite the calling of the play by the official, since he knows with confidence that the right call will come out of the situation. The rule change would stop the numerous referee huddles that often follow a fumble situation. This lets the officials make any call with confidence, knowing that if they do make a mistake, it can be changed and not affect the outcome of the game.
The most glaring situation for officials not making calls is in fumble situations. NFL officials are now waiting to make sure the ball is not loose before blowing the whistle, oftentimes seconds after a player is clearly down. This is done to allow for replays, because once the whistle’s blown, the play is dead. I propose to change the rule, allowing even a “blown dead” call to be challenged. Besides, regardless of what the average NFL fan thinks, referees make the right call well over 90% of the time. The replay machine should be there to make sure that the rest of the time, the right call arises, not to scare officials into not making a call.