Jon Gruden thinks the NFL should abolish instant replay

[robjay04]

With the unrivaled popularity and nonstop scrutiny, the NFL will always be one play, one missed call, one botched coin flip away from controversy. Fair or not, it's the reality of doing business in a day and age where nothing slips past Internet sleuthers, media talking heads and just about everybody else.

But instead of more oversight and regulation -- namely in the form of more instant replay -- ESPN NFL analyst and former Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden is in favor of less of it. Like, a lot less of it.

“I would eliminate all of it,” Gruden said in an interview with Men's Fitness, via PFT. “Everything's disputed now. Was he inbounds? Was it a turnover? It's taken the juice out of the stadium. There are too many timeouts. Let the people on the field officiate and hold them accountable. Look, there's going to be some bang-bang plays that have to be officiated. And who's going to make the decision? The instant replay man in New York City?”

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...-thinks-the-nfl-should-abolish-instant-replay

Now it does seem a little rash but truthfully it makes a lot of season.

Honestly, does instant replay make the NFL a better product? I can't say that today's game is better than the NFL I grew up with and the stoppages have a lot to do with it.

 

[mattjames2010]

Viewers and the the money that the NFL brings in says that instant replay hasn't hurt the NFL product much at all.

A few months ago, I was watching an old game on Youtube and the commentators were discussing the need for instant replay in the NFL. I'm guessing this was the 1984-85 season before the committee voted on it.

I think this is the case of the "Ah, the good ol' days". The NFL is not better without instant replay.

 

[Rogah]

Honestly, does instant replay make the NFL a better product?

Yes it does.

It would be impossible to never have controversies, but instant replay has righted a helluva lot of wrongs.

I can't say that today's game is better than the NFL I grew up with and the stoppages have a lot to do with it.

Yeah, the sport is really dying.

 

[Rogah]

Viewers and the the money that the NFL brings in says that instant replay hasn't hurt the NFL product much at all.

A few months ago, I was watching an old game on Youtube and the commentators were discussing the need for instant replay in the NFL. I'm guessing this was the 1984-85 season before the committee voted on it.

I think this is the case of the "Ah, the good ol' days". The NFL is not better without instant replay.

People overly romanticize the past. If we could take the 1984 season (for example) and somehow magically recreate it perfectly play for play, but with today's TV technology and social media and exposure, there would just as much b*tching and moaning and whining and complaining about how poor the product is, how things used to be better, how bad the officiating is, etc.

 

[landroverking]

Maybe the only things that should be replayed are TDs and turnovers.
Your thoughts?

 

[TellerMorrow34]

It probably needs some tweaking but it certainly shouldn't be removed.

 

[robjay04]

Maybe the only things that should be replayed are TDs and turnovers.
Your thoughts?

I think it should be considered. Stopping the game to make sure two feet are in bounds on a 8 yard catch needs to stop. I don't think instant replay needs to be abolished completely but it has evolved too much.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Instant replay doesn't need to do go away it just needs to be managed better. When there is a close call and I can see a replay 10 seconds later and determine if it is a good call or should be overturned then so should someone from the league. There isn't a need to stop the game, watch the ref walk off the field and put the headset on, go to 3-4 minutes worth of commercials, then watch the ref take off the headset and walk onto the field and announce their verdict. After this many years, I still can't believe the league hasn't got a faster process for instant replay. After all, it's called instant replay.

 

[Wolfpack]

Instant replay doesn't need to do go away it just needs to be managed better. When there is a close call and I can see a replay 10 seconds later and determine if it is a good call or should be overturned then so should someone from the league. There isn't a need to stop the game, watch the ref walk off the field and put the headset on, go to 3-4 minutes worth of commercials, then watch the ref take off the headset and walk onto the field and announce their verdict. After this many years, I still can't believe the league hasn't got a faster process for instant replay. After all, it's called instant replay.

Notice the part about the 3 minutes of extra commercials? They know what they are doing?

 

[DallasEast]

Instant replay doesn't need to do go away it just needs to be managed better. When there is a close call and I can see a replay 10 seconds later and determine if it is a good call or should be overturned then so should someone from the league. There isn't a need to stop the game, watch the ref walk off the field and put the headset on, go to 3-4 minutes worth of commercials, then watch the ref take off the headset and walk onto the field and announce their verdict. After this many years, I still can't believe the league hasn't got a faster process for instant replay. After all, it's called instant replay.

^This.

Technology should be providing greater assistance for officials, making it easier to call games. Instead, the quality of officiating has increasingly diminished with the implementation of each new additional technological aid.

In my opinion, the question should not be why the NFL keeps instant replay since it's bogging down games. The real question should be why (seemingly) a majority of officials cannot visually interpret what's being replayed for them in short order. Worse, what's the deal when the officials have total control over how they operate the replays for themselves?

I believe many of the usual delays are due to officials not wanting to be second-guessed by their peers, the media and fans after they see the replay. They may hope that their reviews cannot be scrutinized more strongly afterwards, so they continually re-review replays and contemplate thoroughly whether the rulebook has been followed exactly. If true, they're wasting everyone's time. People automatically reject conclusions that contradict their own. And they uphold their conclusion more strongly the longer it takes the official to say differently. I also think certain delays happen because some refs aren't as competent as others utilizing the technology they're forced to work with.

Maybe installing full-time refs into games would be a partial solution, at least. Perhaps if all refs were truly qualified in all aspects of their job, delays would be minimized to a much more tolerable degree.

 

[Hoofbite]

It's primary use is to look for any possible reason to negate a play that everyone believes should stand. It rarely undoes some grand injustice, and more frequently it's determining outcomes based on a specific aspect amongst many.

It's flawed. I agree with him. The NFL would be better without the automatic second guessing and scrutinizing of every play. They spot the ball as best they can and people rarely have a problem with it. The clock ticks an extra second here or there in the first 3 quarters and nobody has a problem with it. Only in the 4th quarter does this matter. It's a heightened level of scrutiny applied only to specific plays. Plays which happen to be the biggest and most impactful plays.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Maybe the only things that should be replayed are TDs and turnovers.
Your thoughts?

If it's questionable then review it... That's where it's going anyway.

To "abolish" it would be going backwards... Anti-improvement.

 

[Rogah]

Notice the part about the 3 minutes of extra commercials? They know what they are doing?

Every regulation game has a fixed number of commercials. Plus I give the NFL credit in that they can control the length of most games. The vast majority of games finish within 10 minutes of the ideal 3:15 mark. They know how to speed things up and slow things down when needed.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Removing instant replay opens the door to ref bias. Jon Gruden is a moron and always has been.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Get better officials.