As replay assistance becomes more common in NFL games, it’s fair to wonder where the line resides between a quick fix and a full-blown replay challenge.
Early in the second quarter of Thursday night’s game, Packers receiver Malik Heath made an incredible catch for a 37-yard gain. The official who was looking right at the play believed that Heath failed to complete the reception in bounds before landing on the white stripe.
It was immediately clear, and obvious, that Heath got both feet down.
So where was replay assistance? Why didn’t the league activate the process of utilizing replay to fix clear and obvious mistakes quickly?
Packers coach Matt LaFleur had to use one of his limited challenges to rectify the error. And it was fixed quickly, because it truly was clear and obvious that Heath had caught the ball.
The potential problem is just as clear and obvious. LaFleur, after making a successful challenge, was left with only two for the rest of the game. (Current rules give the coach a third challenge, if he’s right on either of the two available to him each game.)
It wasn’t a factor on Thursday night. But it could have been. Coaches shouldn’t have to burn a challenge when it’s so clear that the official made a mistake.
Maybe LaFleur was too quick to throw the red flag. Maybe the right strategy is to argue for replay assist to overturn the ruling, and to hold the red flag until the last possible second before dropping it.
Regardless, the activation of replay assist should be consistent and predictable. It should have been used last night, and LaFleur should have still had his full allotment of challenges.
