According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL will wait until after the season to consider changing its rule that nullifies the automatic review of a play if a coach throws his challenge flag when the play will be automatically reviewed by rule . A play is automatically reviewed by rule if the play involves a change of possession, a score, or occurs after the two minute warning.
Twice in the last two weeks, NFL coaches were victimized by their emotions and were unable to have a play reviewed because they challenged a play that by rule was automatically reviewed by the referees in the booth. Both Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith and Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz were on the wrong end of a rule that was put in place to deter unnecessary delays.
Last week after Mike Smith’s failed challenge attempt, the NFL’s Director of Instant replay Dean Blandino appeared on the NFL network and addressed the rule. Blandino told the NFL Network:
“The rule was put in place really to prevent a team in a challenge situation from creating a delay,” …So we tell our coaches, ‘Don’t throw the flag.’ Our officials should get to the sideline, explain to them that the play is not challengeable, and then the replay official is looking at it and he will stop the game and look at it if he deems that it needs to be stopped.”
To add insult to injury, when a coach throws a challenge flag on a play that is automatically challenged, it is a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
