Upon Further Review, the NFL Has A Problem

Just three games remain in the NFL season -- the three most important games of the season -- and of all the potential concerns and problems that exist one tops the list: the league's shoddy, slow instant replay system.

A replay system of some sort has existed since 1986 and its current incarnation relies on coaches to challenge controversial plays for review. In theory, that limits the number of potential interruptions in a game and enables coaches to focus on a couple of key plays in any particular game that need review.

The sport and its fans need more, though.

The challenge system falters because not every play can be reviewed and because the reviews themselves are overly time consuming -- especially when the outcome of many of those plays should be obvious.

Even worse, the disposition of challenges often become made-for-TV moments that lengthen the game because decisions are never shared until a broadcast comes back from commercial. That in itself makes games longer than necessary. It seems that broadcast partners could capably catch viewers up on what happened while they were gone if the NFL could hustle the process along a bit.

In addition, replay challenges, a maximum of two per game, come at a cost. If a coach's challenge proves unsuccessful, his team loses a timeout. And that's just silly, because while trying to enhance the integrity of the game you're also forcing decisions that alter its integrity.

Last week's Giants-Packers game provided only the latest example of the many problems with replay. In that instance, an obvious fumble happened on the field, was challenged and then, amazingly, was reviewed and still ruled as a fumble. Even when the video evidence to the contrary was obvious.

Such examples happen in almost every game almost every week during the season. And the insistence on a replay system that allows the referees on the field to judge their own work provides just another flaw. That conflict of interest, combined with a willingness to determine the intent of players rather than simply judge what the video shows, makes the system ineffective and inefficient.

To improve its approach, the league needs a review system that monitors every play, with all of those plays eligible for review by someone not working on the field. Ironically, the NFL does just that in the final two minutes of the game.

If it's that important for the end of the game, it should be that important for the entire game.

Without such a change -- and with the problems that exist in the system as currently constituted -- replay remains a ticking time bomb that, hopefully, will not embarrass the league any further this weekend or two weeks later in the Super Bowl.