Two weeks ago, NFL senior V.P. of officiating Al Riveron opted not to tell referee Bill Vinovich to drop a flag after Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman wiped out Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis. Today, if there’s a similar non-call from the crew led by John Parry, will Riveron exercise his prerogative to use his pipeline into the ear of Parry to correct an obvious error?
It’s a fair question, given periodic suspicions that Riveron has indeed nudged the on-field officials in the right direction, even when such nudging violates the limits of the real-time communication system that primarily was put in place to allow instantaneous consultation for replay review.
Last year, many suspected that the league implemented the new catch rule prematurely, with a couple of Eagles’ touchdowns being upheld via replay review under circumstances that, based on the standard applied by Riveron during the regular season, would have triggered a reversal. For at least one of the two touchdowns, it’s still believed that an initial decision to overturn the catch was changed.
If Riveron uses the pipeline to Parry today, I’ve got no problem with it. Especially since that could be the thing that causes the NFL to finally embrace adding an eighth official to each crew, and allowing him or her to serve as a video official, bridging the gap between what the officials on the field see, and what the rest of us see on TV.
