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Roger Goodell finally admitted on Wednesday that Los Angeles Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman should have been called for pass interference late in his team's 26-23 win over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game.
Not even that long-awaited about-face from the commissioner, though, will do much to quell heightened criticism of the NFL's officiating if rule changes aren't implemented to ensure a similar blunder could be avoided going forward. The good news is that the league is already looking into them.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the NFL will consider a plan this offseason that allows coaches to challenge judgement calls by officials with video review, under penalty of a flag or time run off the clock if the call on the field is upheld. The proposal is designed to assuage concerns of those against allowing the review of judgement calls by ensuring the team asking for it incurs some measure of risk, lowering the incentive for coaches to challenge them altogether, Schefter says.
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A source told ESPN that the league is intent on passing a measure addressing judgement calls by officials, even if the one in question ultimately isn't adopted.
The Saints would certainly have benefited from such a rule if it had been in place this past season. Even before Goodell finally caved, the entire sports world was fully aware of what video of the incident shows, which is that Tommylee Lewis was hit by Robey-Coleman well before the ball arrived, which should have resulted in a flag and subsequent first down, allowing New Orleans to both run more time off the clock in regulation and potentially score a touchdown.
It's too little, too late for the Saints, of course. But the next time a similar controversy arises, the implementation of a rule like the one reportedly being mulled could nip it in the bud before it becomes nationwide news.
