The relevant portion of that article:
The NFL has discussed centralizing the replay system, likely in New York.
For uniformity of calls, mostly. And why not, after seeing the disastrous Jeff Triplette reversal of a likely correct call in Cincinnati? I’d prefer to have the same people looking at all replays. It lessens—though doesn’t eliminate—the chances of a mistake because the foremost authorities on the calls, led by VP of Officiating Dean Blandino, would be overseeing the process from the NFL command center. Mike Florio and I reported on this last night on NBC, and I can tell you it’s being seriously considered. Nothing is likely to change before 2015, however. I’d expect 2014 to be a study year for the project.
Sounds like the public wants to take replay—and probably a lot more—out of the hands of referees at game sites. Florio asked on Pro Football Talk: “Should the NFL move the instant-replay function out of the stadium?” By early this morning, 83.7 percent of those responding (5,591 of 6,681) said yes. I asked my Twitter followers last night: “Should the NFL centralize replay in one place?” It was 149-9, yes (94.3 percent).
The league would consider this not only because a uniformity of eyes looking at the calls could lead to more consistency, but also because it would likely shorten games. The time of games (3 hours, 11 minutes, 20 seconds, on average, this weekend) has slowly crept up in the last few years, and the league wants to bring it back down. The time it takes for replay is getting onerous. We measured the fateful Triplette reversal Sunday, from the time he announced that the Cincinnati rushing play near the goal line was being reviewed to the time he announced the reversal: four minutes, 10 seconds … even though the time a ref can spend under the hood is only one minute. There is no question that process can be streamlined by getting rid of the mechanical procedures at the game site that accompany the replay process.
For the record, times of games in the last six seasons, including this one through Sunday night’s Saints-Panthers game:
2013: 3:08:30
2012: 3:06:32
2011: 3:05:48
2010: 3:04:12
2009: 3:03:42
2008: 3:02:12
Stay tuned for offseason debate on this topic.
This would be really interesting. The benefits are twofold: it takes the responsibility out of the hands of refs who already have plenty on their plate and gives it to people who can quickly access great angles of the reviews, and it also streamlines games so we don't keep getting longer and longer games.
I'd be all for it.
