CFL Looking at Replay Challenges Again

[jerrym]

This month the league will be looking at whether it should change the rules governing replay challenges again. Personally, I loved Ambrosie's decision to reduce the number of replay calls to one per team per game, along with an automatic review of all scoring plays, as the extra reviews were slowing down the flow of the game too much. Having one per game also made the use of the flag to demand a replay review a strategic decision, rather than a search for a penalty call because one had more flags to throw if the current one didn't work out.
Furthermore, my sense was that last year most fans welcomed Ambrosie's change of this rule.

It’s clear the league’s aggressive approach to replay struck a tipping point early last summer when a mid-season intervention became necessary.

With teams able to use as many as three challenges per game, coaches began using them not just to overturn incorrect calls, but also to search for possible penalties that might negate plays that went against them.

If the opposition made a big offensive play, why not toss a challenge flag and ask the command centre to look for illegal contact on a receiver? Give coaches a low-risk, high-reward tactic and they’re going to use it.

The problem is the games slowed to a crawl.

Among the viewers who found the game unwatchable was new commissioner Randy Ambrosie, who rallied his troops to make a mid-season rule change that restricted coaches to just one challenge per game.

“We went too far, too fast,” said Ottawa general manager Marcel Desjardins. “There’s a fine line.”

Under Ambrosie’s direction, the importance of getting a call right has to be balanced against something called “game flow,” a topic that soared to the top of his priorities last summer and has remained there ever since.

“It’s clear that replay really impacts the flow of the game from a player, coach or fan perspective,” said CFL senior director of officiating Darren Hackwood. “It’s all the same and they don’t want these negative stoppages. It impacts the officials too, everybody. It’s a balance between using replay for its intended purpose and limiting it so we’re not impacting the game flow.”

One option the league’s rules committee is expected to discuss in March is allowing the command centre to correct some officiating mistakes without there needing to be a challenge and subsequent delay.

For example, should the command centre spot an obvious situation where a receiver is ruled in-bounds when replay clearly shows he is out, should it be allowed to overrule the call on the field without a team needing to burn its only challenge?

https://www.tsn.ca/replay-continues-...-cfl-1.1012640

[jerrym]

The CFL rules committee is recommending that illegal contact challenges by coaches no longer be allowed in addition to other proposed rule changes.

Darren Hackwood, the CFL’s senior director of officiating, said the moves are all aimed at enhancing player safety and improving the flow of game. “Our commissioner and board of governors have clearly mandated us to focus on promoting and protecting the health of our players,” Hackwood said in a statement. “The rules committee has responded by recommending the board approve several measures that would broaden or clarify rules designed to improve safety for players.”

The committee is also asking that coaches can no longer challenge illegal contact on a receiver. It also wants the replay official to automatically review “potential touchdowns” — plays where it seems a TD has been scored but were marked down short of the goal-line.


Here’s a look at some of the rule changes the committee is asking the board of governors to approve in time for the 2018 season. They include:
— Making it illegal for players to forcibly block an opponent that’s moving back towards his own goal-line. This is referred to as a “blindside” block.

— Outlawing low blocks that occur outside the tackle box, which is the area between the tight ends and from the quarterback or kicker to two yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

— Broadening the definition of spearing to include any time when a player delivers a blow with his helmet as the initial or primary point of contact. This wouldn’t apply to a low-running ball carrier.

— Eliminating a loophole in the sleeper play rule by making it illegal for a player entering a game remaining outside the numbers to receive the ball in any manner, including a kick or lateral.

— Simplifying the rule on what constitutes a quarterback making a legal pass behind the line of scrimmage by defining it as the passer having at least one of his feet on or behind the line of scrimmage instead of requiring the release point of the ball be behind the line of scrimmage.

— Eliminating the force out rule by requiring a receiver catching a ball to have at least one foot inbounds regardless of mid-air contact.

— Increasing the penalty for pyramiding — a player using another to elevate himself to try and block a kick — from five to 10 yards.

http://www.680news.com/2018/03/22/cf...-of-governors/

[jerrym]

Because fans have made it clear that they are tired of coaches using challenges that slow down the game and often are fishing expeditions to find illegal contact penalties, this kind of challenge will be ended. Ted Wyman also discusses other recommended rule changes in the article below.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/c...82398399957383

[argolio]

Agree with changing the force-out rule and ending illegal contact challenges. If other 10-yard penalties can't be challenged, neither should I.C.

Too bad they're not looking at changing P.I. from a spot foul to a 15-yd penalty. That would greatly reduce fishing for penalties on long/desperation passes.

[KCargosfan]

Agree with changing the force-out rule and ending illegal contact challenges. If other 10-yard penalties can't be challenged, neither should I.C.

Too bad they're not looking at changing P.I. from a spot foul to a 15-yd penalty. That would greatly reduce fishing for penalties on long/desperation passes.

This.

[jerrym]

The CFL Board of Governors this week approved the rule changes recommended by the rules committee in March, including the elimination of challenges for illegal contact.

• it is now illegal for any player to deliver a forcible block on an opponent while moving back towards his own goal line, sometimes referred to as “blindside” blocks.

• outlawed low blocks that occur outside of the “tackle box”, an area that extends from tight end to tight end and from the quarterback or kicker to two yards beyond the line of scrimmage

• widened the definition of spearing to include any situation where a player delivers a blow with his helmet as the initial or primary point of contact. This does not apply to a low running ball carrier.

• eliminated a loophole in the “sleeper” play rule by making it illegal for a player who enters the game and remains outside the numbers to receive the ball in any manner including a kick or lateral.

• simplified the rule on what constitutes a quarterback making a legal pass behind the line of scrimmage by defining it as the passer having at least one of his feet on or behind the line of scrimmage instead of requiring that the release point of the ball be behind the line of scrimmage.

• eliminated the “force out” rule by requiring a receiver catching a ball to place at least one foot inbounds regardless of whether he was contacted in mid-air.

• increased the penalty for “pyramiding” – the practice of using another player to elevate one’s self in an effort to block a kick — from five yards to ten yards to deter the behaviour.

http://3downnation.com/2018/05/23/cf...er-reviewable/

[R.J]

Challenging for Illegal Contact is gone, which I'm sure a lot of fans (myself included) are very happy to hear.