The NFL already had to tweak the pass interference review rule to put the onus on the coaches to make a decision, Now, they may even try and figure out a way to make Hail Marys exempt from pass interference review. There was always a very simple answer to a missed pass interference, but unfortunately, the NFL can’t travel back in time to make their decision better. The NFL should have just added a sky judge.
Mike Florio made the perfect point that even if teams can’t take advantage of benefitting from a Hail Mary pass interference review, the league’s rule makers will have to define what exactly is a Hail Mary. Once coaches know what a Hail Mary is defined as, they will figure out a way to take advantage of the rule. That’s their job.
The sky judge makes things easy. It’s an extra official. When we get an extra official we get extra eyes on the game. They can see offensive pass interference and defensive pass interference. They can see if a guy is lined up offsides and it is missed. Remember that missed false start that actually got a referee relieved of his duties? It’s not missed if there is a sky judge.
A sky judge doesn’t create the need for a long review process. Officials won’t have to go over to their Microsoft Surface to check on the play. That won’t be good for Microsoft but it would be appreciated by fans. The sky judge can simply buzz down and say what happened. It was pass interference or it wasn’t pass interference. The decision is simple.
The sky judge wasn’t just an answer for pass interference, it was an easy answer for everything. Fans simply want the game to be called correctly. They don’t want more replay review.
